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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
The Secret Adversary is a very early Agatha Christie mystery, it was her second published novel. We don’t have Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot to help our sleuthing but two youngsters: Tommy and Tuppence. Tommy is “one of those young Englishmen not distinguished by any special intellectual ability, but who are emphatically at their best in what is known as a tight place.” Tuppence (the nickname of Miss Prudence Cowley) is a modern girl, determined to make her own way in a male dominated world . The pair have been demobbed after the first world war and are looking for adventures with financial reward to the extent of putting an advertisement in the newspaper…and an adventure they get and a few tight places to get out of, too. The book first published in 1922 feels a little dated but it is still a page turner as are her other novels. The young pair, who are adamantly not a couple (but it turns out they really do harbour romantic feelings for the other) face adversaries in the shape of Bolshevists and Irish Sinn Feiners intent on seeding a revolution in England. The novel has a reactionary tone “Every revolution has had its honest men. They are soon disposed of afterwards.” The events unfold shortly after the Easter Rising in Ireland and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. Unusually for an Agatha Christie novel, I correctly guessed which character was “the secret adversary” of the title, usually she has me plum foxed. Lumme.
mysterious
funny
mysterious
I love Agatha Christie normally, but this story just really wasn’t very good I’m sorry to say.
It’s clear it’s an earlier work, it’s all over the place, and the plot of the book (spy and espionage during and post WW1) contrasts massively with the tone and style of the book which is silly, frivolous and at times just utterly ridiculous (even for 1920’s Christie societal standards).
The ending / baddie was (again surprisingly for a Christie book) blatantly obvious from nearly the first time we met them.
I don’t think I will be continuing with the Tommy and Tuppance series, I’ll just stick with Miss Marple and Poirot!
It’s clear it’s an earlier work, it’s all over the place, and the plot of the book (spy and espionage during and post WW1) contrasts massively with the tone and style of the book which is silly, frivolous and at times just utterly ridiculous (even for 1920’s Christie societal standards).
The ending / baddie was (again surprisingly for a Christie book) blatantly obvious from nearly the first time we met them.
I don’t think I will be continuing with the Tommy and Tuppance series, I’ll just stick with Miss Marple and Poirot!
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
oh so you’re a socialist but you have fur coat?
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Great read
This is one if my favorite Agatha Christie books. I can't explain why. I just liked it. I hope you like it too.
This is one if my favorite Agatha Christie books. I can't explain why. I just liked it. I hope you like it too.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No