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HarperCollins Publishers Limited (2006)
Original publication date
1922-01-01
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Classic Literature. Fiction. Mystery. HTML: Just after World War I, Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley are desperately short of money. With a shortage of job opportunities, they form a partnership, hiring themselves out as "young adventurers, willing to do anything, go anywhere." In their first dangerous assignment, they must use all their ingenuity to save not only their own lives but also the life of a mysterious girl. The girl in the photograph has been missing for five years. Neither her body nor the secret documents she was carrying have ever been found. Now postwar England's economic recovery depends on finding her and getting the papers back. But the two young Brits working undercover for the ministry, Tommy and Tuppence, know only that her name was Jane Finn and the only photo of her is in the hands of her rich American cousin. They don't yet know about a mysterious and ruthless man called "Mr. Brown" or the beautiful but sinister older woman who knows all about Jane Finn�??and therefore must die.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member atimco
I've never liked the Tommy and Tuppence books as much as the Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries. I tend to prefer cozy mysteries; all the big, vague political conspiracies in mystery fiction fall a bit flat. I generally dislike Christie's political thrillers (Passenger to Frankfurt is a case in
World War I is over and Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley find themselves out of work and with no prospects. The two friends hit upon a scheme that is sure to pay off, advertising themselves as adventurers willing to undertake any task for appropriate pecuniary remuneration. And suddenly they land in an international intrigue involving a stolen treaty that could start a war, a missing woman, an American millionaire, and a bland, elusive criminal mastermind. It is, in short, rather more than they expected.
Christie is much wittier than I remembered, and shows off her knack for humor especially in Tuppence's dialogue. And though she uses stereotypes to quickly delineate her characters, somehow they aren't flat. Or at least, the story is engaging enough that any flatness is well disguised.
Okay, it's true that Tommy and Tuppence call themselves the "Young Adventurers" (a bit cutesy), and the plot hinges on several highly unlikely coincidences. As a mystery it really doesn't shine, but that needn't interfere with the sheer fun of the story. And there are certainly creative elements that Christie pulls together to draw the reader in. The mysterious "Mr Brown" is a master villain, and though I did eventually suspect the solution, there were enough red herrings along the way to throw me off the scent for quite awhile.
Though The Secret Adversary is no heavyweight in mystery fiction, sometimes a fluffy read is just the thing. Quick moving and fun.
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point; didn't even finish it)—so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed The Secret Adversary. It's the suspense, the fun characters, and (let's be honest) the exhilaration of giving oneself up to a less-than-highbrow novel that did it. World War I is over and Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley find themselves out of work and with no prospects. The two friends hit upon a scheme that is sure to pay off, advertising themselves as adventurers willing to undertake any task for appropriate pecuniary remuneration. And suddenly they land in an international intrigue involving a stolen treaty that could start a war, a missing woman, an American millionaire, and a bland, elusive criminal mastermind. It is, in short, rather more than they expected.
Christie is much wittier than I remembered, and shows off her knack for humor especially in Tuppence's dialogue. And though she uses stereotypes to quickly delineate her characters, somehow they aren't flat. Or at least, the story is engaging enough that any flatness is well disguised.
Okay, it's true that Tommy and Tuppence call themselves the "Young Adventurers" (a bit cutesy), and the plot hinges on several highly unlikely coincidences. As a mystery it really doesn't shine, but that needn't interfere with the sheer fun of the story. And there are certainly creative elements that Christie pulls together to draw the reader in. The mysterious "Mr Brown" is a master villain, and though I did eventually suspect the solution, there were enough red herrings along the way to throw me off the scent for quite awhile.
Though The Secret Adversary is no heavyweight in mystery fiction, sometimes a fluffy read is just the thing. Quick moving and fun.
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LibraryThing member lmichet
A short and entertaining read-- entertaining as much for its mystery as for the laughable sensationalism of its topic. It was very timely in 1922, stuffed to the brim with breathless observations about Bolsheviks and revolutions and Labour Party members and secret treaties and the Lusitania, and
The mystery, though constructed out of sensationalistic and dated elements, has an excellent form. We are told quite frankly in the first few chapters that we will meet and actually come to trust the plotting, conniving, almost legendary Bad Guy before we know that he IS the Bad Guy-- and then we spend the rest of the book trying to figure out which of these friendly and sympathetic characters he is. Also, as in all good Christie, everyone's got their fingers in the pot somehow-- it feels active and alive at every moment. Christie manages to keep each character's critical discoveries secret from us until the end, but even though we're lagging far behind most of the characters we don't quite feel stupid because we, as the readers, have our own theories that we don't necessarily want to be spoiled.
A very very short one. Read it in an afternoon for a good laugh.
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crowned with a hero and heroine full of jolly upper-class Britishness and levity, if not imagination, in tough spots. Very characteristic of an era. The mystery, though constructed out of sensationalistic and dated elements, has an excellent form. We are told quite frankly in the first few chapters that we will meet and actually come to trust the plotting, conniving, almost legendary Bad Guy before we know that he IS the Bad Guy-- and then we spend the rest of the book trying to figure out which of these friendly and sympathetic characters he is. Also, as in all good Christie, everyone's got their fingers in the pot somehow-- it feels active and alive at every moment. Christie manages to keep each character's critical discoveries secret from us until the end, but even though we're lagging far behind most of the characters we don't quite feel stupid because we, as the readers, have our own theories that we don't necessarily want to be spoiled.
A very very short one. Read it in an afternoon for a good laugh.
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LibraryThing member DeltaQueen50
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie is the first in her Tommy and Tuppence series that follows this young couple’s adventures. In this book, World War I is over and both Tommy, who has returned from the fighting, and Tuppence, who left her quiet home in a country vicarage and spent the war in
An altogether fun book to read, the two main characters are delightful, and make excellent foils for each other. If you are a fan of Agatha Christie, I think you would enjoy reading about this young couple as they battle Bolsheviks and revolutionists, and come to realize how important they are to each other.
Originally published in 1922, The Secret Adversary is a light, short read, a little dated to be sure, but I enjoyed the concept, timing and setting immensely. High in entertainment value, this is an enjoyable book to curl up with for a few hours and escape to a different time and place.
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various jobs, are finding peace time a little boring. They need to work but as members of the lost generation, they are also looking for something beyond the daily ho-hum life of the upper class. Craving excitement, they decide to set themselves up as paid adventurer’s, willing to take on just about anything, little knowing that their first case will involve international espionage, kidnapping and murder.An altogether fun book to read, the two main characters are delightful, and make excellent foils for each other. If you are a fan of Agatha Christie, I think you would enjoy reading about this young couple as they battle Bolsheviks and revolutionists, and come to realize how important they are to each other.
Originally published in 1922, The Secret Adversary is a light, short read, a little dated to be sure, but I enjoyed the concept, timing and setting immensely. High in entertainment value, this is an enjoyable book to curl up with for a few hours and escape to a different time and place.
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LibraryThing member riverwillow
This is the first Tommy and Tuppence novel, they are not my favourite Christie characters as I do find all the 'old thing' and 'old bean' stuff cliched, but on first release this book sold very well, so it may be that the book has not stood up to the passage of time. It certainly is very much a
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book of its time and the annoying over exuberance of the characters does reflect a certain post WWI attitude. One nice thing about this book is that Tommy and Tuppence are characterised as equal partners in their adventures, which for 1922 was very progressive. Show Less
LibraryThing member mrtall
I’ve long held an animus against Agatha Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence novels. Although I’m equally fond of Poirot and Miss Marple, and although I have enjoyed several of Christie’s stand-alone novels that lean more toward the spy or thriller genres than toward conventional murder mystery, I
And so I did. That is, I did manage to plow through Adversary, right to the very end. But did so doing change my mind about this series? No, I’m afraid there I must report failure.
This story of wartime espionage carried out by plucky and amusing amateurs has its moments, but there’s something that’s just off kilter in its combination of portentous plot with lighthearted badinage and flirtation. Tommy and Tuppence’s mission to thwart geopolitical catastrophe feels too often like Hello Kitty and Garfield being thrown into the Labyrinth to take on the Minotaur.
We should all be very glad indeed Christie didn’t waste too much time working this vein. Not recommended.
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had never been able to finish a T &T book. The combination of a holiday with several long plane journeys and a free copy of The Secret Adversary coming out from copyright and on to Project Gutenberg motivated me to address this deficiency once and for all.And so I did. That is, I did manage to plow through Adversary, right to the very end. But did so doing change my mind about this series? No, I’m afraid there I must report failure.
This story of wartime espionage carried out by plucky and amusing amateurs has its moments, but there’s something that’s just off kilter in its combination of portentous plot with lighthearted badinage and flirtation. Tommy and Tuppence’s mission to thwart geopolitical catastrophe feels too often like Hello Kitty and Garfield being thrown into the Labyrinth to take on the Minotaur.
We should all be very glad indeed Christie didn’t waste too much time working this vein. Not recommended.
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LibraryThing member davidabrams
Recently, I decided to take a break from Monsieur Poirot and Miss Marple and get acquainted with Agatha Christie’s other beloved creations: Tommy and Tuppence. The Secret Adversary, her first T & T adventure written in 1922, seemed as good a place to start as any.
This was my first encounter with
This was only Christie’s second published book, written almost as a whim after the surprising success of The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920). It’s far from a polished plot—coincidences strain the reader’s incredulity almost to the snapping point—but it certainly zips along with trademark Christie efficiency.
The Secret Adversary opens aboard the sinking Lusitania in 1915. On the deck, a man approaches a young girl of about eighteen, and asks her to take a packet of papers since, per “women and children first,” she stands a better chance of surviving the shipwreck than he does. The girl takes the papers and climbs into the lifeboat.
Next, we jump to a scene on a busy London street where two old acquaintances, Tommy and Tuppence, run into each other. They haven’t seen each other in several years and each is feeling a bit desperate and penniless in the postwar depression. Agatha’s description of the pair is priceless:
(Tommy’s) face was pleasantly ugly—nondescript, yet unmistakably the face of a gentleman and a sportsman. His brown suit was well cut, but perilously near the end of its tether. They were an essentially modern-looking couple as they sat there. Tuppence had no claim to beauty, but there was character and charm in the elfin lines of her little face, with its determined chin and large, wide-apart eyes that looked mistily out from under straight, black brows. She wore a small bright green toque over her black bobbed hair, and her extremely short and rather shabby skirt revealed a pair of uncommonly dainty ankles. Her appearance presented a valiant attempt at smartness.
They decide to pool their resources for a bite to eat and over lunch they devise a harebrained money-making scheme: The Young Adventurers, Ltd. They plan to put an ad in the newspaper—“Two young adventurers for hire. Willing to do anything, go anywhere. Pay must be good. No unreasonable offer refused.”
Before they can get too far, however, adventures come their way. Tommy and Tuppence attract escapades like a light draws a moth. The plot tangles are too complex for me to explain here—and, besides, I wouldn’t want to rob you of the delicious delights of discovering them for yourself—but in a nutshell, they involve Tommy and Tuppence trying to track down a missing girl by the name of Jane Finn who, the British government believes, is carrying the packet of papers from the Lusitania. The papers contain embarrassing contents for the government and could be used by revolutionaries to stir unrest in the country. Joining T & T in their quest are an American millionaire, Julius P. Hersheimmer, and a distinguished British chap, Sir James Peel Edgerton. Vying against them is the mysterious, but ultra-nefarious “Mr. Brown,” the puppet master of a villainous criminal gang.
Tommy and Tuppence get into and out of scrapes with head-spinning frequency. Nearly every chapter sees them either falling into the clutches of Mr. Brown’s men or being rescued by the “good guys.” Agatha keeps the pace spinning even faster as she splits up Tommy and Tuppence early in the book, thus broadening the series of adventures in which they find themselves.
Agatha obviously had a lot of fun creating these non-Poirot, non-Marple characters, and the reader definitely reaps the benefits of her enjoyment. Though they’re still in the developmental stages in The Secret Adversary, Tommy and Tuppence show distinct signs of becoming the classic husband-and-wife spy team (yes, I’m giving away the fact that they get married in a later book). One British government official describes them thusly:
Outwardly, he’s an ordinary, clean-limbed, rather block-headed young Englishman. Slow in his mental processes. On the other hand, it’s quite impossible to lead him astray through his imagination. He hasn’t got any—so he’s difficult to deceive. He worries things out slowly, and once he’s got hold of anything he doesn’t let go. The little lady’s quite different. More intuition and less common sense. They make a pretty pair working together. Pace and stamina.
“Pace and stamina” is an accurate description of the novel’s qualities, too. Yes, the book has some pretty big leaps of logic and jaded readers will find their eyes soon becoming sore from all their rolling at all the heaps and heaps of coincidences; but setting those beginning-writer errors aside, The Secret Adversary can be an enjoyable read. It moves along from page to page with a light touch and nearly every chapter ends with a cliffhanger, which demands that you read “just one more chapter” before turning in for bed. Those who can’t resist will find themselves staying up way past their bedtime.
This was my first encounter with
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the pair, though not with their type. Anyone raised on a diet of “McMillan and Wife,” “Hart to Hart,” “Moonlighting” and the “Thin Man” movies (like I was) will recognize Tommy and Tuppence almost as soon as the first words of repartee have fallen from their lips. I’m not sure how the other T & T novels (which include Partners in Crime, By the Pricking of My Thumbs, and Postern of Fate) stack up, but The Secret Adversary is a breezy romp with spies, double-crossings and perilous derring-do—not to mention cloaks and daggers. It bears small resemblance to Dame Agatha’s classic mystery novels, and leans more toward a screwball movie with snappy dialogue—one that might have starred Cary Grant and Ginger Rogers back in the day.This was only Christie’s second published book, written almost as a whim after the surprising success of The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920). It’s far from a polished plot—coincidences strain the reader’s incredulity almost to the snapping point—but it certainly zips along with trademark Christie efficiency.
The Secret Adversary opens aboard the sinking Lusitania in 1915. On the deck, a man approaches a young girl of about eighteen, and asks her to take a packet of papers since, per “women and children first,” she stands a better chance of surviving the shipwreck than he does. The girl takes the papers and climbs into the lifeboat.
Next, we jump to a scene on a busy London street where two old acquaintances, Tommy and Tuppence, run into each other. They haven’t seen each other in several years and each is feeling a bit desperate and penniless in the postwar depression. Agatha’s description of the pair is priceless:
(Tommy’s) face was pleasantly ugly—nondescript, yet unmistakably the face of a gentleman and a sportsman. His brown suit was well cut, but perilously near the end of its tether. They were an essentially modern-looking couple as they sat there. Tuppence had no claim to beauty, but there was character and charm in the elfin lines of her little face, with its determined chin and large, wide-apart eyes that looked mistily out from under straight, black brows. She wore a small bright green toque over her black bobbed hair, and her extremely short and rather shabby skirt revealed a pair of uncommonly dainty ankles. Her appearance presented a valiant attempt at smartness.
They decide to pool their resources for a bite to eat and over lunch they devise a harebrained money-making scheme: The Young Adventurers, Ltd. They plan to put an ad in the newspaper—“Two young adventurers for hire. Willing to do anything, go anywhere. Pay must be good. No unreasonable offer refused.”
Before they can get too far, however, adventures come their way. Tommy and Tuppence attract escapades like a light draws a moth. The plot tangles are too complex for me to explain here—and, besides, I wouldn’t want to rob you of the delicious delights of discovering them for yourself—but in a nutshell, they involve Tommy and Tuppence trying to track down a missing girl by the name of Jane Finn who, the British government believes, is carrying the packet of papers from the Lusitania. The papers contain embarrassing contents for the government and could be used by revolutionaries to stir unrest in the country. Joining T & T in their quest are an American millionaire, Julius P. Hersheimmer, and a distinguished British chap, Sir James Peel Edgerton. Vying against them is the mysterious, but ultra-nefarious “Mr. Brown,” the puppet master of a villainous criminal gang.
Tommy and Tuppence get into and out of scrapes with head-spinning frequency. Nearly every chapter sees them either falling into the clutches of Mr. Brown’s men or being rescued by the “good guys.” Agatha keeps the pace spinning even faster as she splits up Tommy and Tuppence early in the book, thus broadening the series of adventures in which they find themselves.
Agatha obviously had a lot of fun creating these non-Poirot, non-Marple characters, and the reader definitely reaps the benefits of her enjoyment. Though they’re still in the developmental stages in The Secret Adversary, Tommy and Tuppence show distinct signs of becoming the classic husband-and-wife spy team (yes, I’m giving away the fact that they get married in a later book). One British government official describes them thusly:
Outwardly, he’s an ordinary, clean-limbed, rather block-headed young Englishman. Slow in his mental processes. On the other hand, it’s quite impossible to lead him astray through his imagination. He hasn’t got any—so he’s difficult to deceive. He worries things out slowly, and once he’s got hold of anything he doesn’t let go. The little lady’s quite different. More intuition and less common sense. They make a pretty pair working together. Pace and stamina.
“Pace and stamina” is an accurate description of the novel’s qualities, too. Yes, the book has some pretty big leaps of logic and jaded readers will find their eyes soon becoming sore from all their rolling at all the heaps and heaps of coincidences; but setting those beginning-writer errors aside, The Secret Adversary can be an enjoyable read. It moves along from page to page with a light touch and nearly every chapter ends with a cliffhanger, which demands that you read “just one more chapter” before turning in for bed. Those who can’t resist will find themselves staying up way past their bedtime.
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LibraryThing member mmyoung
I imagine that this book would have disappeared from memory had it not been the second Agatha Christie. It would probably have been categorized as a romp, or the equivalent term in the early 1920s, when first published. The story is completely unbelievable and yet it finely captures a moment in
A good read for anyone who wants to understand how much times have changed in the last century but not for some who wants a well-plotted mystery. Indeed the greatest mystery to this reader was the question as to whether Christie thought that any of her readers would be surprised by the various twists and turns of story.
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time. The men and women who went off to the First World War have returned home, changed, to an England that has also changed. The book captures the dislocation of life at the time and the nervous feeling that England was on the edge of monumental change. There is an overarching sense that the existing class system was under siege and that threats that once lay in foreign countries have now come to the homeland itself. A good read for anyone who wants to understand how much times have changed in the last century but not for some who wants a well-plotted mystery. Indeed the greatest mystery to this reader was the question as to whether Christie thought that any of her readers would be surprised by the various twists and turns of story.
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LibraryThing member ritaer
The Golden Era supposedly never mentioned the hard realities, yet this work deals with secret diplomatic deals and potential revolution.
LibraryThing member LARA335
Unusual Agatha Christie: a spy/chase novel. In her defence it was only her second story, and the amateur spies, Tuppence and Tommy are light-hearted and spiffing. But the sketchy political conspiracy and mad coincidences and instant rapport and trust with total strangers, raised my eyebrows. Silly,
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aren't -we- charming- English- toffs romp in the mould of The Thirty-Nine Steps. Show Less
LibraryThing member LisaMaria_C
I am an Agatha Christie fan--honest I am. I can number as favorites And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Death Comes at the End all of which I'd rate at five stars. Even books I don't count as favorites I usually consider a fun read worth the time,
This is the first "Tommy and Tuppence" adventure. Christie didn't write as many mysteries with them as Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, but she did write several, and unlike those detectives they aged--from young twenty-something flappers to aged married partners in a book 50 years later. They're likable together and separately and there's an exuberant young spirit to the book--this is only the second novel she wrote, published in 1922.
This is a tale of espionage and secret treaties and far fetched coincidences. And four chapters in, the couple walks into an interview with someone Tommy recognizes as in British intelligence--and without any security clearance or background check at all, without their having any intelligence training or experience as detectives, because they fell into some information regarding a sensitive case they're given classified information and hired. Oh, and it involves a supervillain who is inciting a "Bolshevik Revolution"--in England. Maybe that was a credible plot line in 1922, but in 2011 that flunks the laugh test.
I guess this should be taken as just a light-hearted romp, but this story strained my credibility much too far too fast.
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but I just couldn't find the plot of this one credible enough to stick it out. This is the first "Tommy and Tuppence" adventure. Christie didn't write as many mysteries with them as Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, but she did write several, and unlike those detectives they aged--from young twenty-something flappers to aged married partners in a book 50 years later. They're likable together and separately and there's an exuberant young spirit to the book--this is only the second novel she wrote, published in 1922.
This is a tale of espionage and secret treaties and far fetched coincidences. And four chapters in, the couple walks into an interview with someone Tommy recognizes as in British intelligence--and without any security clearance or background check at all, without their having any intelligence training or experience as detectives, because they fell into some information regarding a sensitive case they're given classified information and hired. Oh, and it involves a supervillain who is inciting a "Bolshevik Revolution"--in England. Maybe that was a credible plot line in 1922, but in 2011 that flunks the laugh test.
I guess this should be taken as just a light-hearted romp, but this story strained my credibility much too far too fast.
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LibraryThing member kaulsu
2nd Agatha Christy novel. First one featuring Tuppence & Tommy. Much better than _The Mysterious Ffair at Styles_
LibraryThing member fredvandoren
An early Agatha Christie well worth the read. The sleuths are a young couple – Tuppence, a plucky, intuitive girl, and Tommy, a blunt, no-nonsense kid who thinks slow, but misses nothing. The stakes in this race are high: no less than the fate of Merry Old England and the Entire Civilized World.
Americans seem to fascinate and baffle the narrator. When one Yankee character, a multi-millionaire, suggests to an English psychiatrist that they recreate the sinking of the Lusitania to jolt the memory of an amnesiac, the doctor remarks that the same suggestion coming from an Englishman would cause him to question the latter’s sanity, but that coming from an American, it almost makes sense.
Some of the dialogue is highly melodramatic and even awkward, but the plotting and the prose show the emerging power of the world-famous author Christie would later become.
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The book opens with the sinking of the Lusitania and the passing of a Very Important Document. The cast of villains include Sein Feiners, evil Germans and bearded Bolsheviks. Secrets are learned mostly by eavesdropping at an open window or hiding behind a curtain, although there is also a hidden Dictaphone. Americans seem to fascinate and baffle the narrator. When one Yankee character, a multi-millionaire, suggests to an English psychiatrist that they recreate the sinking of the Lusitania to jolt the memory of an amnesiac, the doctor remarks that the same suggestion coming from an Englishman would cause him to question the latter’s sanity, but that coming from an American, it almost makes sense.
Some of the dialogue is highly melodramatic and even awkward, but the plotting and the prose show the emerging power of the world-famous author Christie would later become.
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LibraryThing member JohnMunsch
The ending was just a little bit weaker than the rest of the book but overall it was a good novel with a suspense focus rather than a mystery focus. In fact, it's not hard to read it and imagine a young Alfred Hitchcock doing his movie take on the book (and I think it would have been a great one).
LibraryThing member AngieBrooke
This is the second Agatha Christie book I've ever read. And for being first written in 1922 it felt like a book that could have been written today. This is the first book in her Tommy & Tupence series. Tommy & Tupence are two poor english people that want to make money and fast. So they advertise
It's a fun mystery that has some great characters and good twists to the story. It'll have you wondering whodunit yourself.
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in a local paper stating they're adventurers for hire. Someone overhears there plan and hires them to find a missing girl, who by the way is in care of some very important documents that could really do some damage if they end up in the wrong hands. It's a fun mystery that has some great characters and good twists to the story. It'll have you wondering whodunit yourself.
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LibraryThing member mauveberry
It was a great read. I had narrowed down the identity of the villain to two people but could not determine who it was until the identity was revealed in the end. All the characters were likable as well.
LibraryThing member angharad_reads
The first Tommy and Tuppence book. Fun and whimsical.
LibraryThing member breakerfallen
A good between-wars mystery novel where Tommy and Tuppence meet and start the Young Adventurers, Ltd. Since I am more familiar with the post-WWII novels, I was surprised at how strong a political position Christie takes in this 1930s effort. The Labour unrest and British political situation at the
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time drives the plot, so while the book stands on its own as a good mystery, I appreciated having knowledge of the era and of Christie's background. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kathy89
Interesting premise. On a sinking Lusitania a women is passed government documents for the Allies as women and children were boarding lifeboats first. She disappears in London and Tommy and Tuppence's assignment is to find her and the papers. Tommy and Tuppence's naive reaction to the danger was
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unrealistic to me. Show Less
LibraryThing member smik
In early May 1915 the British luxury liner Lusitania was struck by two German torpedoes and quickly sank 15km off the western coast of Ireland. The prologue of THE SECRET ADVERSARY begins with an American on the Lusitania who is carrying important papers for the American ambassador in London
The story then jumps to a chance meeting near Picadilly in London early in 1919 between Miss Prudence Cowley (Tuppence) and Major Thomas Beresford (Tommy). Both have been involved in the war effort, but the war ended in late 1918 and so did gainful employment.
Tuppence and Tommy were childhood friends and met up briefly in 1916 when Tommy was hospitalised and Tuppence was working as a nurse. Over afternoon tea they decide to form a business partnership trading under the name of the Young Adventurers.
They decide to place an advertisement in the daily papers saying they are willing to do anything, go anywhere. After they go their separate ways, Tuppence is walking across St. James' Park when a man, who had overheard their conversation in the tea shop, approaches her with the offer of a job.
The next morning Tuppence follows up the job offer even though she doesn't particularly like the man making the offer. Unwilling to give her proper name, she gives the name Jane Finn, a name she had heard Tommy refer to on the previous afternoon, simply as a strange name he'd overheard some people discussing. At that the tone of the interview changes and the interviewer, Mr. Whittington, quickly gives Tuppence a large amount of money and arranges to meet her the next day. When Tommy and Tuppence go to keep the appointment the next day, Mr. Whittington has scarpered. Tommy and Tuppence decide to advertise for information about Jane Finn and so the plot gathers pace.
This is Agatha Christie's second novel, and the first featuring Tommy and Tuppence, who feature in four other Christie books and one collection of short stories written throughout her writing career.
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handing these over to a young American girl to complete his mission. Her name is Jane Finn.The story then jumps to a chance meeting near Picadilly in London early in 1919 between Miss Prudence Cowley (Tuppence) and Major Thomas Beresford (Tommy). Both have been involved in the war effort, but the war ended in late 1918 and so did gainful employment.
Tuppence and Tommy were childhood friends and met up briefly in 1916 when Tommy was hospitalised and Tuppence was working as a nurse. Over afternoon tea they decide to form a business partnership trading under the name of the Young Adventurers.
They decide to place an advertisement in the daily papers saying they are willing to do anything, go anywhere. After they go their separate ways, Tuppence is walking across St. James' Park when a man, who had overheard their conversation in the tea shop, approaches her with the offer of a job.
The next morning Tuppence follows up the job offer even though she doesn't particularly like the man making the offer. Unwilling to give her proper name, she gives the name Jane Finn, a name she had heard Tommy refer to on the previous afternoon, simply as a strange name he'd overheard some people discussing. At that the tone of the interview changes and the interviewer, Mr. Whittington, quickly gives Tuppence a large amount of money and arranges to meet her the next day. When Tommy and Tuppence go to keep the appointment the next day, Mr. Whittington has scarpered. Tommy and Tuppence decide to advertise for information about Jane Finn and so the plot gathers pace.
This is Agatha Christie's second novel, and the first featuring Tommy and Tuppence, who feature in four other Christie books and one collection of short stories written throughout her writing career.
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LibraryThing member Wiszard
What a great mystery by a great mystery writer. And this is only her second book. I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who the guilty party was. If you like Kinsey Milhone, you'll love Tupence (pronounced Twopence).
LibraryThing member EmmaBleu
Though Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple were Agatha Christie’s best-known detectives, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford were perhaps her most dynamic. The only pair of Christie’s detectives to hold equal standing, the two were well matched: While not the cleverest, Tommy kept a tenacious hold on the
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facts, and was complemented by the more intellectually nimble Tuppence. They are also the only of Christie’s characters to age and change over time--from fresh-faced and full of excitement in The Secret Adversary (1922) to elderly and doddering in Postern of Fate (1973). We’re offering all four novels and the collection of stories (Partners in Crime) that feature the charismatic couple. Show Less
LibraryThing member idiotgirl
Listened to as an audiobook. The beginning of the Tommy and Tuppence series. Fun. Good tricks to keep you guessing. I loved the airy mode. I'll listen to the next. (I wanted to "read" these books because of watching on Mystery PBS series.)
LibraryThing member LibraryCin
This is the first “Tommy and Tuppence” book written by Christie. My mind wandered too much to really get the gist of the plot. I do know that multiple people went missing at various points throughout the book.
Christie's books really vary for me, and it seems audio may not be the way to go (I
Christie's books really vary for me, and it seems audio may not be the way to go (I
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listened to this one). I know some people love Tommy and Tuppence, but I'm thinking I won't try anymore with these characters. I will likely only read one or two more books by Christie (any that are already on my tbr), but then leave it at that. There have only been a couple by her that really stood out for me. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jiraiya
*SPOILERS* Let me get this out of the way - I think Mr Brown should have been Julius and not Sir James. The writer, bless her, should not have tried for a last twist in the tale and should have stuck to Julius as the villain. I don't like it much when the super villain as in here, is revealed to be
However I gave this book four stars because despite its faults it delivers a quality pacing rhythm. It's a shame Agatha Christie neglected her less popular characters, instead being bent on milking Poirot dry. These adventuresome spy novels of hers are a delight to read. I had no problem with Tommy and Tuppence, they were fine too. I remember quite a few Christie novels to which I gave 5 stars and they weren't perfect, so I'm sticking to my guns.
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an unimportant character on whom the spotlight is never shined for an adequate time. However I gave this book four stars because despite its faults it delivers a quality pacing rhythm. It's a shame Agatha Christie neglected her less popular characters, instead being bent on milking Poirot dry. These adventuresome spy novels of hers are a delight to read. I had no problem with Tommy and Tuppence, they were fine too. I remember quite a few Christie novels to which I gave 5 stars and they weren't perfect, so I'm sticking to my guns.
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LibraryThing member Balthazar-Lawson
What do you do when you are in need of money? You set yourself up as an investigator who will do anything. Then you land yourself in a situation that offers you plenty of reward for you effort, even though you don't know what you are doing. That's the story of two people in need of money following
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the first world war. An adventurous book with lots happening and very little time spent on describing how wonderful the clouds look. An enjoyable read that gets you in and drags you along. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Other editions
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie (CD audiobook)
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie (CD audiobook)
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie (Paperback)