Conventional Wisdom — Marcia Talley

Marcia writes: "Agatha Christie dedicated BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS to the 'many readers . . . who write to me asking: What has happened to Tommy and Tuppence? What are they doing now?' By the time of her last novel, POSTERN OF FATE, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford have three children. Their adopted daughter, Betty, is working in Africa and the twins, Deborah and Derek, are married. At the end of the novel, Deborah makes a brief appearance at the Beresfords with her children. Now, years later, I couldn't help but wonder what the Beresford grandchildren might be doing today."

“Conventional Wisdom” originally appeared in MALICE DOMESTIC 9, an anthology of 14 original mystery stories inspired by Agatha Christie. “The stories in this anthology are about real people: no drug dealers, no secret agents, no gangbangers, no serial killers, no stalkers,” said Joan Hess in her introduction to the collection. “Here you'll find a commonality that's more frightening. Lock your door, fix a cup a tea, and curl up on the sofa … as someone comes up behind you, holding not an assault weapon but merely a pillow to slip behind your back. Perhaps.”

“. . . well-crafted gems by some of today's wittiest and most well-known mystery writers. -- Library Journal