Description

By the pricking of my thumbs - Agatha Christie

The novel is divided into four books.

In Book 1 Tommy and Tuppence Beresford visit Tommy’s aunt Ada in a retirement home called Sunny Ridge. While Tommy talks with his aunt, Tuppence has a conversation with another resident, Mrs. Lancaster. Mrs. Lancaster unexpectedly says 'Was it your poor child? There behind the fireplace.'

A few weeks later Aunt Ada dies of natural causes. When they return to the home after the funeral to make arrangements for Ada’s possessions, they find that Mrs. Lancaster has suddenly departed. The matron tells them that a relative called Mrs. Johnson took her away. Tuppence suspects there’s more to it and tries to find the relative but the trail turns cold. One of the items Aunt Ada had left is a painting of a house by a river. The picture strongly reminds Tuppence of a house she once saw and immediately liked. The painting was supposedly given to Aunt Ada by Mrs. Lancaster.

In Book 2 Tommy is away for a few days, so Tuppence starts looking for the mystery house on her own. Eventually she finds it in a small village called Sutton Chancellor. It turns out that the house is divided in a peculiar way, front and back. The back side is rented to a middle-aged couple called the Perries. The front part has been vacant for years. Tuppence meets with the people of Sutton Chancellor. There is an elderly vicar, a talkative B&B landlady called Mrs. Copleigh, and a Miss Bligh who seems to run the parish.

Under the pretence of house hunting she tries to get more information about the house. Mrs Copleigh tells her a grim story about a spate of child killings some years ago. Then she fails to return home on the arranged day. A few days later Tommy gets a call from a hospital near Sutton Chancellor where Tuppence has been brought with severe concussion.

In Book 3 Tommy does some investigation on his own and finds that the painting was done by an artist called Boscowan. Tommy shows Mrs Boscowan the painting and she notes that there’s a boat in the picture that should not be there. Apparently the painting was altered at some point. Puzzled by this, Tommy gets a call from the doctor of Sunny Ridge. There have been some deaths that the doctor finds odd and he is worried about possible foul play. Tommy talks to an investigator friend, Ivor Smith, who hints that the house in Sutton Chancellor might have been used as a safe house for a criminal gang. He then finds a hidden letter from aunt Ada, in which she suspects that there is malice in Sunny Ridge.

In Book 4 Tuppence has recovered and they set out to investigate the mysterious house. They find an old doll that turns out to contain uncut diamonds. A party is arranged in Sutton Chancellor. Sir Phillip Starke, the local landowner, and Mrs Boscowan are invited. Tuppence gets the impression that Sir Phillip knows more about the whole affair. The next day Tuppence goes to the vicarage and confronts Miss Bligh, who she suspects was the one who hit her on the head.

Alone, she goes to the mystery house and to her surprise finds the missing Mrs Lancaster. She takes Tuppence to a secret part of the house and proceeds to tell her life story. After her child was aborted against her will she became unhinged and started killing children. The remark in Sunny Ridge hinted at this. One of the other residents had recognised her so had to be silenced. Miss Bligh, posing as a relative, resettled her into a new home. After her candour, Mrs. Lancaster then attempts to kill Tuppence.

Tuppence is saved just in time. It is revealed that Mrs Lancaster is actually the wife of Sir Phillip Starke. He had covered up her insanity and the crimes she committed. He was assisted in the cover-up by Miss Bligh, his former secretary and confidante. Tommy and Tuppence then return home.