Reviews - The Secret Adversary

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Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley are old friends who haven't seen one another since the war. Broke and out of work, the two form The Young Adventurers, Ltd., a business in which the two will advertise in the paper as "willing to do anything." Before they can even place an ad, a Mr. Whittington hires Tuppence, but when she gives her name as "Jane Finn," a name Tommy overheard in the cafe, Tuppence is swiftly ushered out. She and Tommy place an ad for Jane Finn after things seem a bit fishy, and they receive two responses, one from a "Mr. Carter" who works for the British government, and one from Julius Hersheimmer, an American who claims he is looking for his cousin. Who is his cousin? None other than the elusive Ms. Finn who hasn't been seen since a spy entrusted her with documents as she was evacuated from the Lusitania.

What follows is a madcap adventure, full of false identities, poison, double crossings, suspicions, a mysterious Mr. Brown, and all sorts of other tomfoolery. In many ways, I was reminded of M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series; however, there is much more meat to the mystery here, and Agatha Christie kept me guessing. I did, indeed, point my finger to the right crook, but it took me quite a while to get there.

This was the first Tommy and Tuppence novel, and I am eager to follow them into their next foray. I am pretty confident it will be high fun!