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.
Rating:
Summary: Keeps you guessing till the end.
Review: The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie is our introduction to Tommy and Tuppence. After not seeing each other for several years, they run into each other and since both are almost broke, they decide to form a company called The Young Adventurers, Ltd. Quite by accident, they stumble upon a situation involving the government. Hired to work the case, they are joined by a rich American, looking for his cousin who is involved in the case Tommy and Tuppence are working on. Their goal, to save the government from ruin and track down the elusive Mr. Brown. Christie keeps you guessing to the very end as to who the mysterious Mr. Brown is, and I will admit, I pegged the wrong character.
Rating: 
Summary: Agatha Christie fools us again!
Review: The Secret Adversary introduces Tommy and Tuppence Beresford to the world. Young and rather foolish, Tommy and Tuppence offer themselves as paid adventurers to the general public. "No unreasonable offer refused," their ad claims. When someone actually takes Tuppence up on the advertisement, the duo find themselves in the midst of a mystery. A man known only as Mr. Brown is seeking a top-secret document that could destroy Great Britain, a document last held by a young girl who survived the sinking of the Lusitania. It is up to Tommy and Tuppence to recover the document and discover the identity of Mr. Brown. The Secret Adversary will keep you guessing to the end, and after you think you've solved the mystery, Agatha Christie plays her trump card and you will find your theories incorrect. If you like books by P.G. Wodehouse or the Lord Peter Whimsey series, you will enjoy Tommy and Tuppence's dialogue. If you love spy stories, you will enjoy the plot of this book. I highly recommend The Secret Adversary to anyone who loves Agatha Christie and to anyone who loves adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Agatha Christie fools us again!
Review: The Secret Adversary introduces Tommy and Tuppence Beresford to the world. Young and rather foolish, Tommy and Tuppence offer themselves as paid adventurers to the general public. "No unreasonable offer refused," their ad claims. When someone actually takes Tuppence up on the advertisement, the duo find themselves in the midst of a mystery. A man known only as Mr. Brown is seeking a top-secret document that could destroy Great Britain, a document last held by a young girl who survived the sinking of the Lusitania. It is up to Tommy and Tuppence to recover the document and discover the identity of Mr. Brown. The Secret Adversary will keep you guessing to the end, and after you think you've solved the mystery, Agatha Christie plays her trump card and you will find your theories incorrect. If you like books by P.G. Wodehouse or the Lord Peter Whimsey series, you will enjoy Tommy and Tuppence's dialogue. If you love spy stories, you will enjoy the plot of this book. I highly recommend The Secret Adversary to anyone who loves Agatha Christie and to anyone who loves adventure.
Rating:
Summary: Even at such an early date, Christie complexity come through
Review: The Secret Adversary is a very entertaining read seventy-nine years after it's first publication. Sure there are some things that are dated but I like to think of that as adding to the authenticity. And yes, by the time everything is sorted out at the end, it's pretty easy for the reader to say that the clues were all out there in plain sight. But as you read, Dame Agatha does a nice job of keeping you guessing. (This is due in part to her spliting up Tommy and Tuppence for the better part of the novel. The reader learns what each of them learn but they don't always have the chance to communicate with each other.) I enjoyed the political espionage aspects of the book as well as being able to see the evolving romance. The Russian Revolution is a very real thing for these characters as is the post-war readjustment. I haven't read any other books in the Beresford series but I really like the mix of spunk and pragmatism in these two. They have a youth and spirit and are a nice contrast to Marple and Poirot. I'll keep reading all three series but the Beresfords may get a bit of priority.
Rating:
Summary: Lighthearted FUN
Review: This 1922 adventure is Christie's second novel. It does not feature Hercule Poirot but instead introduces Tommy and Tuppence. The pair are childhood friends who went their separate ways during WWI and chance into each other in postwar London. Both are trying to find jobs and are, like most of the other returning veterans, not having much success. They hit on a plan to become 'adventurers' and soon find themselves caught up in a chain of events that had begun years before with the sinking of the Luisitania. The plot is wildly fantastic involving international conspiracies, secret agents seeking secret documents, American millionaires and romance. This is one of Christie's 'master criminal' stories, very much in the same vein as THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT and THE SEVEN DIALS MYSTERY among others. If you enjoyed these or are a P. G. Wodehouse fan you'll love this one but if you are looking for a challenging or more realistic mystery look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Lighthearted FUN
Review: This 1922 adventure is Christie's second novel. It does not feature Hercule Poirot but instead introduces Tommy and Tuppence. The pair are childhood friends who went their separate ways during WWI and chance into each other in postwar London. Both are trying to find jobs and are, like most of the other returning veterans, not having much success. They hit on a plan to become 'adventurers' and soon find themselves caught up in a chain of events that had begun years before with the sinking of the Luisitania. The plot is wildly fantastic involving international conspiracies, secret agents seeking secret documents, American millionaires and romance. This is one of Christie's 'master criminal' stories, very much in the same vein as THE MAN IN THE BROWN SUIT and THE SEVEN DIALS MYSTERY among others. If you enjoyed these or are a P. G. Wodehouse fan you'll love this one but if you are looking for a challenging or more realistic mystery look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: This is quite possibly one of the best of Agatha Christie's works. I have just finished reading it and was amazed by the excellent ending. Thankyou Agatha!
Rating:
Summary: Adventure and romance
Review: This is the first of the Tommy and Tuppence series, which begins with the two becoming reacquainted and, being both bored with life, deciding to become adventurers. The two soon become involved in solving a complex plot to destroy the English government, and the key to solving it is finding the mysterious Jane Finn, for whom everyone else seems to be searching. The criminal mastermind behind the revolutionary plot turns out to be someone both Tuppence and Tommy considered an ally. It's a fast-paced thriller that's a delight to read and attempt to figure out before all is revealed. I had some suspicions, and I deduced the culprit just as the duo did! Agatha Christie's books are a stimulating, joyous read.
Rating:
Summary: Another great book by Ms. Christie!!
Review: Though not exactly a mystery, Agatha Christie's The Secret Adversary is yet another wonderful and exciting adventure starring Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, probably the most lovable of Christie's detectives. The answer to this mystery/adventure may not be too difficult to guess at, but it's the fun-loving, humourous characters one falls in love with. If only Agatha Christie had written more books staring the Beresfords.
| 
