A review by bookishreadsandme
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The #ReadChristie2022 prompt for February is travel and romance. Their book of choice was Death on the Nile but since I had read that one quite recently I decided upon another of their suggestions, the first book her characters Tommy and Tuppence feature in; The Secret Adversary. 

This is Christie’s second mystery and was published in 1922 which was jam packed full of adventure and espionage! I must admit there were a hell of a lot of coincidences that occur which made it quite unrealistic at times. However, it makes up for it by being a fun romp of a story. With master criminals, stolen diplomatic documents and people dressed in disguise, it makes for an intriguing plot. 

There are a fair few twists and turns as you would expect in a Christie novel. Some came as a surprise whereas others I had managed to work out. 

This was my first Christie involving Tommy and Tuppence and I found them at times a bit naive and annoying but also quite amusing and entertaining. Tuppence is the more interesting and impulsive character whereas Tommy came across to me as being not as charismatic as Tuppence. But they seem to both balance the other out quite well which is always needed in a duo. 

From lost memories to people being kept as prisoner to secret meetings and of course murder. The Secret Adversary has a lot happening throughout the story and is quite fast paced ensuring that it will keep fans of mystery novels glued to the pages.