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Summary: NO SECRET HERE - A FINE VOICE PERFORMANCE
Review: Popular performer Samantha Bond uses her wonderful British voice to best advantage in reading this -not-too-heavy tale by the doyenne of mysteries, Agatha Christie.
Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley suffer from a common malady - they need money. So, being an imaginative pair they decide to hire themselves out as adventurers, if you will, able and ready to tackle anything for a sum.
Better be careful what you ask for - they're retained by the evil Mr. Whittington who is a threat not only to Great Britain but also to our impecunious pair.
As they say, two heads are better than one but Tommy and Tuppence must use all the brainpower each possesses to get out of this scrape.
The dialogue features frequent feasts of repartee - a thoroughly entertaining listen.
- Gail Cooke
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Summary: THE SECRET ADVERSARY (DODD, MEAD, & COMPANY/1922)
Review: "THE SECRET ADVERSARY" introduces two new reoccurring characters: Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. They are featured in five books which span five decades ("PARTNERS IN CRIME", "N OR M?", "BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS", and "POSTERN OF FATE" round out the list) and are usually (and quite unfairly) overlooked in the vast Christie canon. Here they meet as friends and get mixed up in espionage and murder while trying to retrieve some important documents thought to have gone down with the Lusitania, and by the end of the book tie the knot in a most touching and humorous proposal. This is a good thriller with lots of action and suspense as the two sleuths and the reader try to unmask the identity of the elusive Mr. Brown who is instigating a revolutionary uprising against the Allied forces In Britian. HARSH LANGUAGE: about 32 words, VIOLENCE: about 4 scenes, SEXUAL REFERENCES: none.
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Summary: Secret Adversary
Review: A mystery thriller and full of intrigue...Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley go through such adventures as being kidnapped, false messages, An anonymous fugitive, murder,international terrorism and all because of a long lost girl carrying a vital draft treaty to the United States after World War One. First, Tommy follows a strange man and ends up being kidnapped! Tuppence, thinking Tommy was dead was asked to work as a house maid for a suspicious woman. After struggles, Tommy escapes just in time to find Tuppences' boss dead! Murdered! They eventually find the girl (working as a house maid for Tuppence's boss too) and the papers only to find that the person that they had confided in the most was Mr. Brown! The Criminal Mastermind behing international affairs! The book never lets you down, you may never be able to put the book down! I gave it 4 stars. So I highly recommend this book.
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Summary: A fun ride through history's dark moments
Review: After all, this novel was about an important document that would turn history on its head. In the days of great ocean liners, a secret document was sent to America for safekeeping aboard the Lusitania. The ship sank, but not before the man who kept this document gave it away to someone. Fast forward to Tommy and Tuppence who were both almost jobless and had no rich boyfriend/girlfriend to turn to. Tuppence had the idea to turn themselves into an adventuring couple and sent an ad to the news. What follows is a rigmarole of mistaken identity, blatant lies and international intrigue.'The secret adversary' effectively introduces Tommy and Tuppence as the power couple of the detective world. The Queen's narrative is as lively as the characters itself, and you'll find yourself reading this to the wee hours of them morning.
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Summary: The most sensational book I have ever read
Review: Agatha Christie is at her best. Tommy and Tuppence are the most loveable characters I only wish that Miss Christie had written more books about the two. The story is fantastic with an unexpected ending. Brilliant, sensational, terrific.
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Summary: Thrills and Even a Chill
Review: Agatha Christie's THE SECRET ADVERSARY is her first full blown attempt at the 'thriller' novel, which was an extremely popular format in the year it was published (1922). In those days, writers like Sapper and Edgar Wallace were creating best-sellers for an ever-appreciating public. Therefore, it is not surprising that Christie would try her hand at the format as well. The results of this book are slightly mixed, but only if you take it too seriously. For after all, Christie was a brilliant woman and knew EXACTLY what she was doing. What THE SECRET ADVERSARY is is a parody of the thrillers that were currently so popular. Does this mean that we should not take it seriously? No. But it may help you enjoy the book more to realize that some of the elements of the book were added to tweak those other elements that were taken so very seriously in other thrillers. For example, how many coincidences can this book have? All Tommy and Tuppence (the extremely engaging heroes of the story) have to do is mention a name and they are immediately plunged in the enemy's lair. Even Tuppence cannot refrain from mentioning how 'amazing" it all is! Definitely this is Christie with tongue-in-cheek. Additionally, it is amazing that the villians (who are playing a very serious game indeed) do not dispatch with our heroes the moment they are detected. Again, this is done with a slight jab to other thrillers where the heroes are typcially caught by the bad guys once or twice and they NEVER, EVER kill the heroes off. They always give them multiple chances to escape. Christie knew how silly this all could be, but included anyway to play the game that she so obviously enjoyed. You might think, by all I have said, that this is not a book for you. You also might wonder why I am giving it five stars. First of all, it is Christie after all, and her style is breezy and extremely readable. Also, Tommy and Tuppence are delightful characters and their banter is worth the rest of the book. Plus, there are some very effective moments in the book, which only a master like Christie could manage. The discovery of the poisoned body is very well written and actually created a chill that shot down my spine. Yes, it is not Christie's greatest work by a long shot, and yes, there are some incredible implausibilities in the story. But I believe that they were there for a purpose. Besides, if all you are looking for is a diverting couple of hours, you could do a lot worse than this book. It's a lark, and that is exactly what Christie intended it to be from the first.
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Summary: Whimsical Adventure With Charming Characters
Review: Although best known for her tightly plotted murder mysteries, Agatha Christie occasionally turned her hand to the purely outrageous adventure--and in this area THE SECRET ADVERSARY, a tale of two amateurs pitted against a master criminal--is one of her most successful works. Much of the book's charm arises from its period feel. Written in the 1920s, it effectively captures the "anything goes" quality of the era through both its outlandish story and its leading characters: Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley, two "bright young things" who find themselves without jobs in the wake of World War I and who casually advertise their services as "young adventurers." The absurdity of the story, which concerns a kidnapped American survivor of the ill-fated Lusitania in possession of important dipolmatic papers, combines with the lighthearted personalities of Tommy and Tuppence in a very enjoyable way, and although some may dismiss it as too lightweight an effort to rank among Christie's finest, most will find it very amusing and extremely charming in an purely escapist way. On a purely personal note, THE SECRET ADVERSARY was the first Christie novel I ever read. As I recall, I was about twelve years old, I thought it was tremendous good fun, and even these many years later I still occasionally return to it for the innocent charm of its witty characters as they romp through 1920s London on their ridiculous, funny, and extremely entertaining spree. It is nonsense of course, but no less enjoyable for it. Lots of fun!
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Summary: Where is Jane Finn?
Review: As the famous Lusitania sinks during an afternoon in 1917, a young American girl is surreptitiously entrusted with an oilskin packet containing important government papers. She is to take them to the Ambassador at once as soon as she is on land. Her name is Jane Finn, and her ordeal is just beginning. It'll be five full years until her life is safe from danger - and the mystery is solved - by one of the most famous pair of sleuths of all time: Tommy Beresford and Prudence - Tuppence - Cowley. The pair run into each other while at their tethers' end and scrounge into one of London's tea-rooms. The war has made things tough, and none of them has a job. It all changes when Tommy hears the name 'Jane Finn' by chance up in the air, in reference to a girl who seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Just for the fun of it, they decide to place an ad in the local paper searching for information. Responses do not take long to arrive and, faster than one can say "conspiracy" The Young Adventurers, Ltd. is in business. The job is dangerous and the adventures many, but that would not deterred neither unimaginative Tommy, nor intuitive Tuppence. Under the hidden commission of the UK government - all expenses paid - they take up rooms at the Ritz and start on Jane Finn's toes. All the while, UK's most wanted master criminal, "Mr. Brown" is on their own toes. First is Tommy who gets kidnapped, then Tuppence, until finally, and after many misapprehensions, "...Mr. Brown is in this room..." and he's got both Tuppence and Jane! Or has he? This is more a story of espionage rather than a mystery an it has a superbly intricate plot. It is very interesting that Christie chose for her second novel a total departure from her first and most famous creation, the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot; and chose to create two totally different characters. The strong plotting and the eagerness of the story might almost suggest she would have taken upon writing many more Tommy and Tuppence novels than she actually wrote, with the very possible exception that when the Cold War was over, their destinies were sealed. This is a novel where all the pieces are scattered at the beginning and, coming to an end, they all get put together dutifully using that great Christie wrap-up style. It is also possibly one of her most candid books.
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Summary: A SWEET, WITTY, AND ALTOGETHER DEFT MYSTERY
Review: Being one who is far from fond of the characters of Tommy and Tuppence, I picked up this book wary of what I would find unfolded in the pages. However, my fears were unallayed. This book is in no comparison to 'Postern of Fate', the last book featuring this daring duo, and also one of few mysteries of Agatha that entirely lacks a plot. From the first pages, the story has a tightly woven plot that toils for more of a surprise effect than realism. Reminiscent of 'The Big Four', another fantastically interesting mystery, 'The Secret Adversary' is made for those seeking adventure in their lives, not a feasible plot. With Christie swinging her signature style of convincing you the murderer really IS the other person (when in reality it is the man on the right), nothing could be more of a thriller and relaxing story than 'Secret Adversary'. My suggestion: read this. After all, there's practically a money-back guarantee you'll like it.
Rating: 
Summary: Espionage and intrigue
Review: Christie was never at her best in novels of international espionage but this has to be her best effort in that genre.Tommy and Tuppence, the 'Young Adventurers', set out in search of Jane Finn and are embroiled a mystery concerning missing sensitive government papers.The young detectives are at their most engaging in this, their introductory novel,the plot is a thriller and the end when it came was a shocker. Inspite of this ,in comparison with Christie's finer works this pales.Her handling of spies is nowhere near as good as her tales of what Poirot would call 'the crime intime'.Average.
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