Rating: Summary: Another brilliant one Review: Christie's variety can often astound those who first come across her. Whether it be a tense, well plotted detective story, a sharp psycholgical thriller with twists at every turn, an adventure, a spy story, a tale of international intrgue, she never fails to dissappoint. This time she turns her hand to an incredibly exciting adventure story, introducing two heroes who are even more enjoyable to read about than Poirot or Marple. (Perosnally, of all her detective, T&T are my favourites. I wish she'd done more books with them in.) The story begins incredibly well, aboard the sinking Lusitania. A secret document is passed to a young girl, who escapes the floundering ship. Years later, someone wants that document badly, and is even prepared to kill for it...as it contains secrets which could bring down Britain. Enter Tommy and Tuppence on the trail, and thus begins an incredibly entertaining tale of intrgue, adventure, and death. Lots of action, lots of suspense, murder and mystery added in for extra spice. I have to say, i did guess the identity of the culprit (mind you, it was almost the only Agatha Christie book in which i did.) But that is not a bad thing. When, in some cases, you guess the culprit correctly, it can bring the reader an intense sense of satisfaction, knowing that, just this once, Christie didn't manage to outwit you completely. (After all, these books are challenges to the reader to work out "whodunnit" before the detective.) Tommy and Tuppence are incredibly likeable, and i was immensely pleased to discover that she had written more (if few) books about them. This one is a refreshing must for all Christie fans. (Mind you, if you are a Christie fan, i need not tell you that. Doubtless you plan to read them all anyway. As you should.)
Rating: Summary: One of Agatha's best! Review: First I would like to say something, I LOVE Tommy and Tuppence. The young and lively Tommy and Tuppence (portrayed in Secret Adversary and Partners In Crime) not the middle aged couple the later novels made them to be. The mystery itself is pretty good (it is Agatha were talking about, after all) but what makes this book stand out from the rest are the two main characters. Their dialouge is witty, their romance (they are in love, aren't they??) is sweet. This is easily one of my favourite Agatha Christie books.
Rating: Summary: Young Adventurers vs. Militant Labor Unions Review: Great light beach reading in this little known series of Agatha Christie's Young Adventurers. In this first appearance, the soon to be husband and wife team of Tommy and Tuppence cast off their post-war boredom by hiring themselves out as adventurers.
They soon find themselves Britain's only hope against an unbelievable collection of thugs, unionists, and socialists bent on destroying the empire in ways that can only be spoken of in whispers. The chrismatic yet unknown Mr. Brown is behind all of this, and no one knows who he is. Join our heroes as they chase him down with several false leads and misidentifications. After almost a century this tale still holds up well. The sinking of the Lusitania and other events of the Great War play a prominent role as Victorian life provides our setting.
Rating: Summary: Fantastic mystery/spy/romance- Christie-style Review: I always go back to this book when I feel a yearning to slip into English life via an Agatha Christie book. The characters, Tommy and Tuppence, are witty and charming, and will captivate instantly. These two young people meet after the war (WWI) in somewhat desperate straits- neither has a job, and each is facing the none-too-desirable notion that they will soon have to live with their families again. But they would rather have adventures. The romantic tension is light, but visible, as these two hatch out a plan to become Adventurers, and they meet adventure sooner than they realize. A name slipped out quite unconciously hurls them into the middle of international espionage, kidnapping, gang violence and more. Before they can blink, they are befriended by a rich American and a top British Government Intelligence agent, but who can they trust? The plot twists and turns adroitly, as only Agatha can write, leaving the reader wondering about the loyalties of every character, before laying out the final solution in a pulse-quickening final scene. Agatha Christie is known for her mysteries that leave readers guessing until the last chapter, and also for her depiction of English life from the 20's to the 70's, and this book has both of these. But this book is also a page-turning spy thriller, which you won't be able to put down until the very end. Rating: Summary: Fun read, less mystery Review: I am a devoted fan of Agatha Christie and usually rate all her books "5-stars". In this case however, I would give it "4-stars" because while the characters of Tommy and Tuppence are really well drawn and it's great fun to read about them, the book is more shakily plotted than many of Dame Agatha's other books. I spotted the master criminal almost immediately and normally never do that. Also the basic plot line was thin at best and never really hung together in any coherent way. I got the feeling that Christie enjoyed creating and writing about Tommy and Tuppence so much that the mystery became almost secondary in this case. But the characters are so entertaining to read about that it's impossible to not enjoy the book! If ypu enjoy reading about post-WW1 England and the struggles of young people who find themselves suddenly at a loss to get by, all done in a most light-hearted, fun manner, then you need look no further!
Rating: Summary: I love this series Review: I love Tommy and Tuppence mysteries. I always feel good after reading one. They are vintage Agatha Christie. If you like sparkling couples Mysters, I suggest you try out The Thin Man, by Dashiell Hammett (Nick and Nora Charles); The Julia and Nick Lambros Series by Takis and Judy Iakovou; and the North series, by Frances and Richard Lockridge .
Rating: Summary: Tommy and Tuppence---Young Adventurers in Their First Novel Review: In her second novel, Agatha Christie introduced Prudence "Tuppence" Cowley and Tommy Beresford, old friends who are both newly discharged from the service at the end of World War I. By chance, they meet in London one day and to fight their boredom launch a detective firm together. Their first case involves tracing a young girl, Jane Finn, who disappeared during the war with a folder of important government papers. This is also Mrs. Christie's first of many novels to use the "master criminal" plot, a device she will use many more times in her writing career. The suspense is thrilling as is the enthusiasm of Tommy and Tuppence, two characters who will return in "Partners in Crime," "N or M?" "By The Pricking of My Thumbs," and "Postern of Fate." But it is in this first novel that the two are most endearing, especially when Tommy asks Tuppence to become his wife.
Adding to the mystery are Mr. Whittington, who by attempting to hire Tuppence to impersonate Jane sets the couple off on their adventure; Mr. Carter, a mysterious government official; Julius Hersheimmer, Jane's American cousin; and Albert, a young boy who will remain with Tommy and Tuppence and become their life-long friend. In the end, the British government is saved, Tommy and Tuppence realize they are in love, and Young Adventurers, Ltd. is a thriving business. A most satifying read.
Rating: Summary: A real let-down. Review: Let me start by saying I do like Agatha Christie, but this effort was quite weak. Problem? The Advesary isn't a secret! Halfway through the novel it becomes clear that the mystery person can only be one of two people. Typically A.C. makes things much more uncertain. I was dissappointed.
Rating: Summary: An early Christie caper. Review: Moving into a writing career that was to make her the world's most published author, Agatha Christie sent his book to her publisher in the early 1920s. Already her strengths are evident: her gift for story telling, her ability to engage a likely readership aged from 8 to 80, her ability to pull a fast one on her readers, and her ability to reproduce actual ordinary conversation. In the 1920s it was normal to hear young adults calling each other "Old Bean" and "Old Thing", and they do so here. A weakness still is her inability to devise a means of dispensing with the requirement for long explanations, at the end of a mystery novel "The Secret Adversary" is not a pure mystery novel, however. It is part romance, part adventure, part ripping yarn, and part whodunit. Agatha Christie takes up some of the props found in each of these types of fiction. There are the lively young adults, Tommy and Tuppence, eager to make ends meet by undertaking a little detective work. There is the hunt for a secret document that will determine the fate of the great nations of the world. There are the apparent adversaries ("The German" is one of them), and the incredible eavesdropping and kidnapping situations. Avid Christie readers will want to sample this early work, but general readers should choose from her productions of the 1930s.
Rating: Summary: An early Christie caper. Review: Moving into a writing career that was to make her the world's most published author, Agatha Christie sent this book to her publisher in the early 1920s. Already her strengths are evident: her gift for story telling, her ability to engage a likely readership aged from 8 to 80, her ability to pull a fast one on her readers, and her ability to reproduce actual ordinary conversation. In the 1920s it was normal to hear young adults calling each other "Old Bean" and "Old Thing", and they do so here. A weakness still is her inability to devise a means of dispensing with the requirement for long explanations, at the end of a mystery novel "The Secret Adversary" is not a pure mystery novel, however. It is part romance, part adventure, part ripping yarn, part thriller, and part whodunit. Agatha Christie takes up some of the props found in each of these types of fiction. There are the lively young adults, Tommy and Tuppence, eager to make ends meet by undertaking a little detective work. There is the hunt for a secret document that will determine the fate of the great nations of the world. There are the apparent adversaries ("The German" is one of them), and the incredible eavesdropping and kidnapping situations. Avid Christie readers will want to sample this early work, but general readers should choose from her productions of the 1930s.
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