“Willing to do anything, go anywhere” read the advertisement. Tommy and Tuppence are in need of money, but jobs are hard to come by after the war. They decide to advertise for a job expecting short adventures that would help them see the world while making enough to get by. What they weren’t expecting was getting involved in an international political affair, a missing persons case, and danger that nearly killed them both.
Agatha Christie has long been one of my favorite mystery writers. As a child, I received a boxed set of “classics” that included And Then There Were None – it was an instant favorite. The Secret Adversary is her second work and begins the Tommy and Tuppence series that would later include four novels written over 50 years. Published in 1922, this inaugural book includes references to world events and political figures of the time.
I give The Secret Adversary 3 out of 5 stars. Given this is one of Christie’s earliest novels, it is missing her more polished narratives and, therefore, is less pleasurable reading. The twists in the mystery seemed predictable and the story seemed tired, but that could be because this book is a century old and started many of these tropes. I did enjoy the political references – they gave me a way to connect my mindset to the time period this book was originally released.
I recommend this book for all readers. Christie’s works are timeless and easy to read for all ages. Historical fiction readers will enjoy this given the references to world events and political parties. I would recommend this to students studying British and world history looking for more of an emersion into the time period.
I chose The Secret Adversary to fulfill the Friends and Fiction Book Club March prompt “a cozy mystery”. Honestly, this is the second time I’ve had a prompt like that come up and I have no idea what a cozy mystery really is…so I went with just a mystery book instead! If you’re a member of the book club, what is your cozy mystery this month?
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What I’m Reading
- Current print book: Independence, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- Current audio book: The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd
- Book I’m most looking forward to: Lonesome Dove, Larry McMurtry
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