Agatha Christie

The Secret Adversary (Tommy & Tuppence Chronology)

The Secret Adversary

I struggled at points but persevered to find out who did it! 

Joanna Tweedale

I was confident with this one that I had figured out who the villain was, but alas, I was played by the Queen of Mystery once again. Agatha Christie just knows how it's done.

Plot wise, it wasn't my favorite, but I loved Tommy and Tuppence and how they balance each other's strengths and weaknesses, it really felt like a joint effort that took both of them to solve the mystery.

Emma Lechner

I was confident with this one that I had figured out who the villain was, but alas, I was played by the Queen of Mystery once again. Agatha Christie just knows how it's done.

Plot wise, it wasn't my favorite, but I loved Tommy and Tuppence and how they balance each other's strengths and weaknesses, it really felt like a joint effort that took both of them to solve the mystery.

Christine

why have i never rated this beauty beforreeee

tommy and tuppence my best friends🫶🏾🫶🏾

Neither international espionage, nor kidnapping, nor murder can stop the efforts of two sleuths determined to find a mysterious missing lady

Laura Mauler

This audiobook is a great way to make chores and long train rides fly by.

A charming combination of mystery and adventure

Agatha Christie’s second book. This is also the first in the Tommy and Tuppence series which is not a series I was familiar with.

 is about two young people in 1920’s London. Both unemployed and broke, they form Young Adventurers Ltd. And put out an ad that they are “Two young adventurers for hire. Willing to do anything, go anywhere. Pay must be good. No reasonable offer refused.” These days, that would end with them in an ice bath minus a few organs, but they manage to only get embroiled in a political conspiracy.

They were lovable characters, but there was not a lot of character development. That is typical of mystery novels though. Still, T&T were easy to root for. Though impetuous and a bit scatterbrained at times, they were also sassy and full of gumption. I could see the groundwork for 

 which I enjoyed. I won’t say anything to give away the plot, but it goes beyond just a whodunit with lots of twists and turns to keep readers guessing.

Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars

Colleen

A charming combination of mystery and adventure


Agatha Christie’s second book. This is also the first in the Tommy and Tuppence series which is not a series I was familiar with.

The Secret Adversary is about two young people in 1920’s London. Both unemployed and broke, they form Young Adventurers Ltd. And put out an ad that they are “Two young adventurers for hire. Willing to do anything, go anywhere. Pay must be good. No reasonable offer refused.” These days, that would end with them in an ice bath minus a few organs, but they manage to only get embroiled in a political conspiracy.



“Imagination is a good servant, and a bad master. The simplest explanation is always the most likely.”


They were lovable characters, but there was not a lot of character development. That is typical of mystery novels though. Still, T&T were easy to root for. Though impetuous and a bit scatterbrained at times, they were also sassy and full of gumption. I could see the groundwork for They Came to Baghdad which I enjoyed. I won’t say anything to give away the plot, but it goes beyond just a whodunit with lots of twists and turns to keep readers guessing.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 4 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 4 Stars

Kerry McHugh West

Lara Engle

What a fun little romp! Tommy and Tuppence are a delight. The mystery wasn't too hard to figure out, but that didn't matter. The banter and light romance was worth it.

Liz B

I like the characters of Tuppence and Tommy but the mystery itself is so-so. Still worth reading, but Poirot and Marple remain my faves.

Got half way through. Didn't really like the characters, or the clipped English they spoke. Just didn't find be it interesting and didn't care about the story.

Sarah Chauvidon

Barbara Williford

The Queen of Mystery is at it again with another great mystery. When a survivor of the Lithuania has a secret treaty, everyone is on the hunt for her (friends and foe). This action packed mystery with all its twist and turns will leave you in suspense of who the foes really are till the very end.

Francis Buggey

I give it 5 stars because it was phenomenal, even though the ending was a little slow.

Sarah Escorsa

A great read! It was fun to find out how Tommy & Tuppence first started detecting:)

Margaret Sh.

Thanks to my religious Detective Conan routine, I'm proud to say I guessed the real bad guy in this book by 50%!! Although it's a 50/50 chance of 1 in 2 choice question, Agatha Christie still managed to toy with my doubts until the last 3 chapters remaining. I'm so proud of myself.

This is more of a spy story rather than a detective story, and it reminds me of The 39 Steps by John Buchan. Two young and bright fellas, Tommy and Tupence, got themselves tangled in an international conspiracy by coincidence. They poked around the crime syndicate and learned about the Professor Moriaty-esque ringleader simply known as "Mr. Brown". With help from a Mr. Carter from the British government and financial support from an American millionaire they were able to get down to the bottom of the whole ordeal.

It was an enjoyable read but logic-wise it was a bit flawed. You can see how Agatha Christie tried to tie up all the loose ends and put closure on as many as possible questions that the readers may have, it was still not a satisfactory attempt in my books. Everything is too...ideal, to be true, but I have to admit the loving ending is more heartwarming than a murder that ends in a group of people that could never go back to the way they were before.

Rose Stanley

Now THAT's more like it, the questionable commentary on Communism and Socialism aside (this is why I will always prefer Christie's murder mysteries to her political thrillers).

Besides the genuinely tense and clever plot (again, nonsensical ideas about how only a dastardly Bolshevik plot would convince the good men and women of the United Kingdom to rise up and overthrow the Tories aside), I absolutely LOVED the chemistry and banter between Tommy and Tuppence in this. Can't wait to read more of their adventures.

PS: We also get to meet Albert for the first time (here he's essentially Baby Albert(TM)) and there's a brief mention of Inspector Japp. 
PPS: I wouldn't mind seeing more of Julius Hersheimer (he was a lot of fun) but I suspect he doesn't appear in future novels. Booooo.

Giulia Pianta

This is another reread for me, and I have to say I probably liked it more this time around.

We are introduced to Tommy and Tuppence for the first time, and it was a good introduction indeed. They are "good sports", their dialogues are full of banter and are really arrogant sometimes, but in an endearing way. I liked how they managed to face adversities with smugness and confidence, and somehow manage to escape and get things right. I still prefer Poirot though.

Also, I still prefer a countryside setting, but I enjoyed the running around from place to place, and how the characters split up to go on their own adventures at one point.
The plot was intricate and well-done, and the ending was crazy! I knew how it was since I remembered from the first read, but I can tell the first time I was soooo blown away, it was such a surprise. The fact is that Agatha sprinkles some clues here and there to make you believe it is another one, and you feel so smart thinking you managed to catch that, only to find out that she played you all along and the important clues are others, or they had to be seen the other way round.

All in all, it is a fluffy book with a lot of banter, which make it enjoyable. I may like books just a little less light, but still a great read.

Jayarna La Bozzetta

My new favourite duo. I was so wonderfully delighted by this book.

Hiring themselves out as "young adventurers" proves to be a smart move for Tommy and Tuppence. All Tuppence has to do in their first job is take an all-expense paid trip to Paris and pose as an American named Jane Finn. But with the assignment comes a bribe to keep quiet, a threat to her life, and the disappearance of her new employer. Now Tuppence's newest job is playing detective.

The secret adversary

Makayla Reed

Tommy and Tuppence are definitely some of my favorite characters that Agatha Christie created. They are so funny and bring so much adventure to the story. They really seem like real people compared to some other characters that Christie has written.

This mystery was crazy and had me guessing until the end and I still ended up being wrong. Each character in this book was so different and so interesting that I couldn't stop reading. I would say that this is one of my favorite books that I have read from Agatha Christie.

Agatha Christieâe(tm)s first Tommy & Tuppence book is a thrill-packed novel of international intrigue, murder and suspense. Tommy and Tuppence, two young people short of money and restless for excitement, embark on a daring business scheme âe" Young Adventurers Ltd. Their advertisement says they are âe~willing to do anything, go anywhereâe(tm). But their first assignment, for the sinister Mr Whittington, plunges them into more danger than they ever imaginedâe¦

A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery

Lucy

Lovely little gem from Agathe Christie. Read it in one sitting. Would have loved more romance between Tommy and Tuppence. The cases were engaging and was tied up very nicely.

Laura Springall

Anyone who knows me really well must have been extremely confused when they saw I was willingly reading an Agatha Christie novel. After being forced to read The Mysterious Affairs at Styles a few years ago for school and despising it, I vowed to never pick up another Christie book. And yet here we are 🙄😂

My decision to pick this up was based on wanting to read a mystery or thriller for the Halloween season, and also being in a really really bad reading slump. Much like the first book of hers I read, I can’t really say I liked it (although I will admit to liking a great deal more than Styles). I found it to be extremely predictable and the characters annoyingly simple. There wasn’t much depth to any aspect of The Secret Adversary. And yet for some reason I didn’t fully hate it and will maybe, just maybe, consider reading other novels by her. We’ll see 

With that being said, if any big Christie fans are reading this feel free to leave a comment telling me your favourite book by her!

The Secret Adversary (Tommy & Tuppence Chronology)

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