The Secret Adversary

Tommy and Tuppence are wonderful whimsical will be reading many more. Book came promptly and as described

"The Secret Adversary" is the very first adventure of Tommy and Tuppence, Agatha Christie's pair of amateur sleuths, and what an adventure they have. Tommy Beresford and Prudence 'Tuppence' Cowley manage to solve a threatening international crisis, by luck and intuition it would seem, rather than more ordinary methods of detection. As an introduction to the pair, who would have further adventures after their marriage, "The Secret Adversary" is fast-paced and intriguing. Having met each other once again by chance, Tommy and Tuppence, old childhood friends, decide to advertise themselves as "Young Adventurers" who will take any charge that's well paid, no matter the danger. But before they can even post their ad, they are drawn into a mysterious web of intrigue regarding a missing draft of a peace treaty and a young girl named Jane Finn. By what seems like sheer coincidence and luck, Tommy and Tuppence, together or apart, are able to come across clues as to where Jane Finn may be, and what knowledge she has about the missing treaty. As they uncover clues, they also uncover danger that threatens their lives and friends who may just turn out to be the very adversary they are searching for. As usual with an Agatha Christie mystery, just when you think you've figured out the final twist, she throws even more at you. "The Secret Adversary" is a smart, well-plotted thriller, a testament to Christie's brillance, as this was only her second published novel. While the book may seem dated in language and certain expressions, it is only at a surface level due to the very real nature of the modern intrigue that moves the plot.

Christie's variety can often astound those who first come across her. Whether it be a tense, well plotted detective story, a sharp psycholgical thriller with twists at every turn, an adventure, a spy story, a tale of international intrgue, she never fails to dissappoint. This time she turns her hand to an incredibly exciting adventure story, introducing two heroes who are even more enjoyable to read about than Poirot or Marple. (Perosnally, of all her detective, T & T are my favourites. I wish she'd done more books with them in.) The story begins incredibly well, aboard the sinking Lusitania. A secret document is passed to a young girl, who escapes the floundering ship. Years later, someone wants that document badly, and is even prepared to kill for it...as it contains secrets which could bring down Britain. Enter Tommy and Tuppence on the trail, and thus begins an incredibly entertaining tale of intrgue, adventure, and death. Lots of action, lots of suspense, murder and mystery added in for extra spice. I have to say, i did guess the identity of the culprit (mind you, it was almost the only Agatha Christie book in which i did.) But that is not a bad thing. When, in some cases, you guess the culprit correctly, it can bring the reader an intense sense of satisfaction, knowing that, just this once, Christie didn't manage to outwit you completely. (After all, these books are challenges to the reader to work out "whodunnit" before the detective.)Tommy and Tuppence are incredibly likeable, and i was immensely pleased to discover that she had written more (if few) books about them. This one is a refreshing must for all Christie fans. (Mind you, if you are a Christie fan, i need not tell you that. Doubtless you plan to read them all anyway. As you should.)

Wearily ensconced in a London hotel, a pre-married Tommy and Tuppence ponder their future after the war, most specifically how to earn an income with minimal skills and desire for heavy labor. A chance encounter with an eavesdropper promises a mysterious yet intriguing task, but quickly falls through when an uncomfortable Tuppence gives a false name to her would-be employer (Jane Finn, a name dropped by two passing gentlemen when Tommy himself was eavesdropping on conversations) and is accused of blackmail.Money no longer a concern, The Young Adventurers, LTD., as Tommy and Tuppence have christened themselves, decide to sleuth to satisfy their own curiosity about the nondescript Jane Finn and why the girl is suddenly so popular. Soon they are employed for real, charged by Jane's millionaire Americn cousin to find the girl, missing since her rescue from the sinking Lusitania, and implored by one Mr. Carter to retrieve documents believed to have been on Miss Finn's person at the time, documents that could threaten the entire security of Britian and threaten the validity of post-war treaties. When a potential witness is murdered before she can offer any helpful information with regards to Jane and "Mr. Brown," the ringleader of the organization behind the threats, The Young Adventurers find enough adventure for two lifetimes.In Secret Adversary, Christie offers perhaps one of her most complex mysteries -- a forerunner to the contemporary political thriller. The combination of Tommy's deductive intellect and Tuppence's wit and zeal are compelling to read, yet sadly addictive. Given the dearth of stories featuring these two, one may be left to wonder about the large gaps in between the Tommy and Tuppence novels and what adventures may have happened in the interim. For any mystery fan, however, Secret Adversary is a must read, a story that despite its setting will always be ageless.

Agatha Christie's THE SECRET ADVERSARY is her first full blown attempt at the 'thriller' novel, which was an extremely popular format in the year it was published (1922). In those days, writers like Sapper and Edgar Wallace were creating best-sellers for an ever-appreciating public. Therefore, it is not surprising that Christie would try her hand at the format as well. The results of this book are slightly mixed, but only if you take it too seriously. For after all, Christie was a brilliant woman and knew EXACTLY what she was doing. What THE SECRET ADVERSARY is is a parody of the thrillers that were currently so popular. Does this mean that we should not take it seriously? No. But it may help you enjoy the book more to realize that some of the elements of the book were added to tweak those other elements that were taken so very seriously in other thrillers.For example, how many coincidences can this book have? All Tommy and Tuppence (the extremely engaging heroes of the story) have to do is mention a name and they are immediately plunged in the enemy's lair. Even Tuppence cannot refrain from mentioning how 'amazing" it all is! Definitely this is Christie with tongue-in-cheek. Additionally, it is amazing that the villians (who are playing a very serious game indeed) do not dispatch with our heroes the moment they are detected. Again, this is done with a slight jab to other thrillers where the heroes are typcially caught by the bad guys once or twice and they NEVER, EVER kill the heroes off. They always give them multiple chances to escape. Christie knew how silly this all could be, but included anyway to play the game that she so obviously enjoyed.You might think, by all I have said, that this is not a book for you. You also might wonder why I am giving it five stars. First of all, it is Christie after all, and her style is breezy and extremely readable. Also, Tommy and Tuppence are delightful characters and their banter is worth the rest of the book. Plus, there are some very effective moments in the book, which only a master like Christie could manage. The discovery of the poisoned body is very well written and actually created a chill that shot down my spine. Yes, it is not Christie's greatest work by a long shot, and yes, there are some incredible implausibilities in the story. But I believe that they were there for a purpose. Besides, if all you are looking for is a diverting couple of hours, you could do a lot worse than this book. It's a lark, and that is exactly what Christie intended it to be from the first.

this agatha christie staple will surely delight the author's tommy and tuppence beresford fans.the ending is quite a shock, as in most agatha christie books, but the course of the story is engaging with the courtship or love story angle of tommy and tuppencethis is, if im not mistaken the second book written by agatha christie, thus already a classic and with its qualities, it is indeed a christie staple!