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Loading... The Secret Adversary (1922)by Agatha Christie
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Very good. Tommy and Tuppance Mystery a classic Agatha Christie book with good plot twists and characters ( ) This was my first dive into the world of Agatha Christie. Knowing she's hailed as one of the greatest writers ever, I dove into this classic mystery with an open mind. Overall, I found it pretty enjoyable. While it didn't exactly blow me away, I understand why Agatha Christie is revered after 100 years of this book's publication. (Albeit this was her 2nd published book in 1922.) I managed to suss out the culprit halfway through, but the story still held my attention with its twists and turns. There were moments when the prose felt slightly exaggerated, almost cartoonish, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the characters' strokes of luck. Nevertheless, these quirks added to the charm of the tale, making it a delightful and brisk read. Btw, Tommy and Tuppence are the cutest (non-couple) couple! This is Agatha Christie's second book, the first of her Tommy and Tuppence series. The two lead characters are old childhood friends who briefly saw each other during the Great War. As they reunite in London, they are in their 20s, unemployed, and desperate. They decide to start a Young Adventurers Limited company to take on gallant jobs, and quickly find themselves embroiled in a spy caper involving a missing American woman who survived the sinking of the Lusitania and may have been carrying valuable international documents. The plot is twisty-turny and thoroughly engaging. Tuppence, in particular, is a fascinating character, very much a flapper though that term is never used--she's described as "plucky" more than once and survives by her wits and impulses. Of course, it's still a book of its time, and Christie relies on caricatures to fill in her cast. There are so many named characters that I became lost at times. I thought I'd guessed the big bad guy, then was made to doubt that, and then aha! I was right after all. I do appreciate that kind of plotting. I really love the Poirot mysteries, so I had high hopes for this one. Tommy and Tuppence are fun characters, and I loved their relationship with one another. Nadia May's narration was excellent as usual. But the dullness of the mystery and the glacial pace of the plot was too much of a slog. I got about a third of the way through it, set it aside, and haven't been able to make myself pick it up again. DNF at 39% Audiobook, free from the Audio Plus catalog no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesBelongs to Publisher SeriesIs contained inAgatha Christie Collection: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie Five Classic Murder Mysteries: The Secret Adversary, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Boomerang Clue, The Moving Finger, Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie 1920's Agatha Christie, Vol. 1: The Mysterious Affair at Styles / The Secret Adversary / Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie Agatha Christie Crime Collection: The Pale Horse / The Big Four / The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie 1920s Omnibus: The Secret Adversary, The Man in the Brown Suit, The Secret of Chimneys, The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie British Mystery Megapack Volume 4: The Secret Adversary, Tales of Chinatown, At The Villa Rose, Egyptian Cigarette, A Study In Scarlet by A. A. Milne Has the adaptationIs abridged inNotable Lists
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 Finnâ??and therefore must die. No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.912Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1901-1945LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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