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cocoonofbooks 's review for:
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by Agatha Christie
Listening to Hugh Fraser narrate Agatha Christie books is my comfort reading, and Tommy and Tuppence are my favorite of her detectives, so I was always going to enjoy this. This is the only Tummy and Tuppence book I know I had read before, and I'm not sure if I was actually able to figure out the solution or just remembered it (probably the latter). Nonetheless, I found it quite a delightful read with a clever solution — nothing spectacular, but still good. I was left with a few questions (like how did Tuppence know the book was in Mr. Cayley's bed?) but not as many as in some of Christie's other books!
I mentioned in my review of The Secret Adversary that I did not remember Tommy and Tuppence being so young. It turns out that was for a reason — they were in their 20s in the first book, and now they're in their mid-40s! I hadn't realized (since I'd only read the one book) that they were Christie's "spy" characters, and so it makes sense that she wouldn't pull them off the shelf again until England found itself in another war.
Other assorted spoiler-ish thoughts:
-I particularly love the twist when you think the detective was taken in by the bad guy (because you yourself were) and then it turns out they were two steps ahead the whole time!
-I was originally annoyed that Betty was supposed to be more than 2 and still couldn't say any words — because it frustrates me when authors don't know what children are like developmentally at various ages — but it actually ended up being a clue because of course she had only just started learning English since she was Polish. On top of that, I particularly liked Tuppence telling off the man who thought that Betty should be able to play silently at all times and that no one questioned the fact that Betty's mother let her wander around the yard on her own without constantly watching her.
-Albert saving the day is always delightful, even if he is quite a stereotypical dummy.
-I was disappointed that Carl van Deinim turned out not to be German, after all. But I suppose that Christie, publishing this in the middle of the war, could not have indulged too far in the "some Germans are likeable" subplot.
The relationship between Tommy and Tuppence is probably my favorite part of these books. This may not be my very favorite of Christie's works, but it's still thoroughly enjoyable.
I mentioned in my review of The Secret Adversary that I did not remember Tommy and Tuppence being so young. It turns out that was for a reason — they were in their 20s in the first book, and now they're in their mid-40s! I hadn't realized (since I'd only read the one book) that they were Christie's "spy" characters, and so it makes sense that she wouldn't pull them off the shelf again until England found itself in another war.
-I particularly love the twist when you think the detective was taken in by the bad guy (because you yourself were) and then it turns out they were two steps ahead the whole time!
-I was originally annoyed that Betty was supposed to be more than 2 and still couldn't say any words — because it frustrates me when authors don't know what children are like developmentally at various ages — but it actually ended up being a clue because of course she had only just started learning English since she was Polish. On top of that, I particularly liked Tuppence telling off the man who thought that Betty should be able to play silently at all times and that no one questioned the fact that Betty's mother let her wander around the yard on her own without constantly watching her.
-Albert saving the day is always delightful, even if he is quite a stereotypical dummy.
-I was disappointed that Carl van Deinim turned out not to be German, after all. But I suppose that Christie, publishing this in the middle of the war, could not have indulged too far in the "some Germans are likeable" subplot.
The relationship between Tommy and Tuppence is probably my favorite part of these books. This may not be my very favorite of Christie's works, but it's still thoroughly enjoyable.