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Tommy & Tuppence #2.06
The Case of the Missing Lady
When a six-foot-tall tan giant of man comes into Albert Blunt’s International Detective agency, Tommy and Tuppence—married couple and detective aficionados—are in for a treat. Not only has Mr. Stavansson emerged after a two-year Arctic adventure, but he’s lost his fiancée Hermione too. What telegrams and scraps of information Tommy and Tuppence can gather are all the hope the adventurer has in finding her. But this information leads the duo into dangerous situations, investigating secluded country houses in the dead of night, and that’s only the start of it….
100 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 11, 2012
34 people are currently reading
635 people want to read
About the author
Agatha Christie
5,770 books75.6k followersAgatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
June 26, 2024
Ok, this one is kind of funny.
Tommy and Tuppence (as the title suggests) head off to investigate a missing lady. She's the fiance of some explorer dude who's a bit of an ass (doesn't like to talk to chubby chicks).
She isn't where she said she would be when he returned from abroad, and he's getting worried.
You know what I like about Tommy and Tuppence? I like that Tuppence is enough of a badass to shimmy up a drainpipe and sneak into a (suspicious) building. And I like that Tommy is enough of a badass to give her a hand up instead of insisting that she sit in the office where it's safe.
Anyway, they do find the lady -
- and everything turns out alright.
It's only about 30 minutes (ish) to listen to the audio version, so if you're looking for a shorty to kill some time, this would be a decent choice.
This short is also collected as part of Partners in Crime. Honestly, I think these read better in that collection.
Publisher: HarperAudio
Edition: Unabridged
Hugh Fraser - Narrator
Tommy and Tuppence (as the title suggests) head off to investigate a missing lady. She's the fiance of some explorer dude who's a bit of an ass (doesn't like to talk to chubby chicks).
She isn't where she said she would be when he returned from abroad, and he's getting worried.
You know what I like about Tommy and Tuppence? I like that Tuppence is enough of a badass to shimmy up a drainpipe and sneak into a (suspicious) building. And I like that Tommy is enough of a badass to give her a hand up instead of insisting that she sit in the office where it's safe.
Anyway, they do find the lady -
- and everything turns out alright.
It's only about 30 minutes (ish) to listen to the audio version, so if you're looking for a shorty to kill some time, this would be a decent choice.
This short is also collected as part of Partners in Crime. Honestly, I think these read better in that collection.
Publisher: HarperAudio
Edition: Unabridged
Hugh Fraser - Narrator
July 31, 2025
There are books you pick up because you planned to, and there are books that pick you. The Case of the Missing Lady, one of Agatha Christie’s breeziest and most mischievous short stories from the Tommy & Tuppence canon, arrived in my life not with the structured intent of a reading list but with the scattered rhythm of a monsoon.
It was 2015. The kind of year that starts with an uncertain mood and ends with a sigh. Kolkata that July was wrapped in a melancholia you could smell—wet earth, diesel fumes, and the ghost of sunless days. A depression had gripped the Bay of Bengal, and for three days straight, it rained like the sky had misplaced something it couldn't get back.
Our home had turned into a damp cocoon. The lights were dim even at noon. The air smelt of old paperbacks and ginger tea. My phone had died a noble death the previous evening. There was no television. And there, buried somewhere under a stack of half-read books and school registers, I found a slim, tired-looking volume with Agatha Christie’s name printed in fading serif. It was a short story collection, and nestled within it—unassuming, barely 10 pages long—was The Case of the Missing Lady.
Now, let’s talk about this curious case.
Unlike Christie’s more famous creations like Poirot or Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are not classic detectives. They’re partners in crime—in both investigation and marriage. They’re light-hearted, flirtatious, often impulsive, and operate on intuition as much as deduction. In many ways, they are Christie’s most “modern” duo. Less pipe-smoking analysis, more cheeky banter and cloak-and-dagger.
In The Case of the Missing Lady, the story opens with Tommy returning from a polar expedition—yes, quite literally from an expedition to the ends of the earth—only to be met with unexpected news: his fiancée, the beautiful and elusive Gabrielle, has vanished. Tommy is desperate, and with Tuppence by his side, they embark on a search that leads them from drawing rooms to dodgy nursing homes, from haughty aristocrats to deceptive caretakers.
But—and this is where Christie winks at us—the missing lady isn’t quite who we think she is. Without dropping spoilers, let’s just say that identity is fluid in this story, and appearances, as always in Christie’s world, are masks. The twist is not just clever but impishly ironic, the kind of reveal that makes you snort rather than gasp.
What stayed with me most, though, wasn’t the resolution—it was the mood. There’s something remarkably theatrical about the entire piece. The story is draped in a faint absurdity, and Tuppence, ever the quick-witted firebrand, moves through it with a confidence that makes her the engine of the narrative. Tommy plays the straight man here, the lovesick gentleman slightly out of depth, while Tuppence remains unbothered, curious, and ever so slightly amused.
Reading it during those three relentless days of rain gave the story an extra texture. Our walls sweated with humidity. The cat stared out at the courtyard like it was waiting for Noah’s Ark. And here I was, traveling through foggy London streets and sanitarium corridors with two Edwardian detectives looking for a woman who may not even exist.
I remember the moment I reached the final line. I chuckled—not a loud laugh, but that internal grin that says, “Well played, Dame Agatha.” It wasn’t a tale of murder or a grand conspiracy; it was sleight-of-hand with lipstick and lace. A featherweight story, yes, but delightful in its structure and timing.
I’ve often been asked what makes Agatha Christie endure, especially in an age where mystery is now drenched in gore and psychological trauma. My answer, especially after re-reading stories like this one, is simple: she respected the reader. She wrote mysteries that flirted with the reader’s assumptions. And she knew how to fold a plot into itself like a skilled origamist. The Case of the Missing Lady isn’t her most famous trick, but it’s certainly one of her cleverer card shuffles.
Now, on a more personal note, that 2015 monsoon was a peculiar one for me. I was in between chapters of my own life—career uncertainties, familial duties piling up like unopened envelopes, and a strange sense of stillness that hung in the air. The rain was both metaphor and mirror. It kept me in place. It reminded me of things unfinished.
And maybe that’s why this short story mattered. Because Tommy and Tuppence didn’t stay still. They ran headlong into the fog. They laughed. They improvised. They questioned. They reminded me that sometimes, the best way to survive confusion is not to over-analyze, but to act—to move, to engage, to trust your gut and go looking for your missing lady, even if she turns out to be an illusion.
After finishing the story, I did something very uncharacteristic. I read it again. Not because I hadn’t understood it the first time, but because it had left behind a light, teasing aftertaste. Like a tune stuck in your head. Or a scent you can’t quite place.
In that second reading, I noticed things I’d missed—subtle phrasing, cheeky foreshadowing, how Christie manipulated tone with just a change in sentence length. The writing was tighter than it first seemed. Each paragraph was doing three things at once: moving the plot, deepening the mystery, and building character. That’s craftsmanship you don’t often see in today’s content-saturated storytelling.
And let’s not forget Tuppence. She remains, to this day, one of my favorite female characters in Christie’s universe. She’s witty, observant, unfazed by pomp or power, and gloriously unconventional. If I were to teach this story in a classroom, I’d pitch it as an early example of a female character refusing to be boxed into a sidekick or femme fatale. Tuppence walks the line between logic and intuition. She's a feminist without the poster—sharp, self-aware, and joyfully in charge.
In comparison to the rest of the Christie-verse, The Case of the Missing Lady is a soufflé—light, airy, and not meant to be overburdened with moral gravity. It’s a palate cleanser between darker novels. But sometimes, soufflé is exactly what the soul needs—especially when the outside world is all water and gray.
That old volume has long since yellowed further. The pages curl a little now. But it sits proudly on my shelf—a reminder that even the shortest tales, read during the most unassuming moments, can linger. That year, the rains did eventually stop. The depression cleared. And I, too, moved on to other stories, other seasons.
But every time July rolls around and the thunder growls across the Hooghly, I find myself reaching for that little story again. And just like that, I'm back in 2015. Back in that room. Watching the rain. And solving one last case with Tommy and Tuppence.
It was 2015. The kind of year that starts with an uncertain mood and ends with a sigh. Kolkata that July was wrapped in a melancholia you could smell—wet earth, diesel fumes, and the ghost of sunless days. A depression had gripped the Bay of Bengal, and for three days straight, it rained like the sky had misplaced something it couldn't get back.
Our home had turned into a damp cocoon. The lights were dim even at noon. The air smelt of old paperbacks and ginger tea. My phone had died a noble death the previous evening. There was no television. And there, buried somewhere under a stack of half-read books and school registers, I found a slim, tired-looking volume with Agatha Christie’s name printed in fading serif. It was a short story collection, and nestled within it—unassuming, barely 10 pages long—was The Case of the Missing Lady.
Now, let’s talk about this curious case.
Unlike Christie’s more famous creations like Poirot or Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are not classic detectives. They’re partners in crime—in both investigation and marriage. They’re light-hearted, flirtatious, often impulsive, and operate on intuition as much as deduction. In many ways, they are Christie’s most “modern” duo. Less pipe-smoking analysis, more cheeky banter and cloak-and-dagger.
In The Case of the Missing Lady, the story opens with Tommy returning from a polar expedition—yes, quite literally from an expedition to the ends of the earth—only to be met with unexpected news: his fiancée, the beautiful and elusive Gabrielle, has vanished. Tommy is desperate, and with Tuppence by his side, they embark on a search that leads them from drawing rooms to dodgy nursing homes, from haughty aristocrats to deceptive caretakers.
But—and this is where Christie winks at us—the missing lady isn’t quite who we think she is. Without dropping spoilers, let’s just say that identity is fluid in this story, and appearances, as always in Christie’s world, are masks. The twist is not just clever but impishly ironic, the kind of reveal that makes you snort rather than gasp.
What stayed with me most, though, wasn’t the resolution—it was the mood. There’s something remarkably theatrical about the entire piece. The story is draped in a faint absurdity, and Tuppence, ever the quick-witted firebrand, moves through it with a confidence that makes her the engine of the narrative. Tommy plays the straight man here, the lovesick gentleman slightly out of depth, while Tuppence remains unbothered, curious, and ever so slightly amused.
Reading it during those three relentless days of rain gave the story an extra texture. Our walls sweated with humidity. The cat stared out at the courtyard like it was waiting for Noah’s Ark. And here I was, traveling through foggy London streets and sanitarium corridors with two Edwardian detectives looking for a woman who may not even exist.
I remember the moment I reached the final line. I chuckled—not a loud laugh, but that internal grin that says, “Well played, Dame Agatha.” It wasn’t a tale of murder or a grand conspiracy; it was sleight-of-hand with lipstick and lace. A featherweight story, yes, but delightful in its structure and timing.
I’ve often been asked what makes Agatha Christie endure, especially in an age where mystery is now drenched in gore and psychological trauma. My answer, especially after re-reading stories like this one, is simple: she respected the reader. She wrote mysteries that flirted with the reader’s assumptions. And she knew how to fold a plot into itself like a skilled origamist. The Case of the Missing Lady isn’t her most famous trick, but it’s certainly one of her cleverer card shuffles.
Now, on a more personal note, that 2015 monsoon was a peculiar one for me. I was in between chapters of my own life—career uncertainties, familial duties piling up like unopened envelopes, and a strange sense of stillness that hung in the air. The rain was both metaphor and mirror. It kept me in place. It reminded me of things unfinished.
And maybe that’s why this short story mattered. Because Tommy and Tuppence didn’t stay still. They ran headlong into the fog. They laughed. They improvised. They questioned. They reminded me that sometimes, the best way to survive confusion is not to over-analyze, but to act—to move, to engage, to trust your gut and go looking for your missing lady, even if she turns out to be an illusion.
After finishing the story, I did something very uncharacteristic. I read it again. Not because I hadn’t understood it the first time, but because it had left behind a light, teasing aftertaste. Like a tune stuck in your head. Or a scent you can’t quite place.
In that second reading, I noticed things I’d missed—subtle phrasing, cheeky foreshadowing, how Christie manipulated tone with just a change in sentence length. The writing was tighter than it first seemed. Each paragraph was doing three things at once: moving the plot, deepening the mystery, and building character. That’s craftsmanship you don’t often see in today’s content-saturated storytelling.
And let’s not forget Tuppence. She remains, to this day, one of my favorite female characters in Christie’s universe. She’s witty, observant, unfazed by pomp or power, and gloriously unconventional. If I were to teach this story in a classroom, I’d pitch it as an early example of a female character refusing to be boxed into a sidekick or femme fatale. Tuppence walks the line between logic and intuition. She's a feminist without the poster—sharp, self-aware, and joyfully in charge.
In comparison to the rest of the Christie-verse, The Case of the Missing Lady is a soufflé—light, airy, and not meant to be overburdened with moral gravity. It’s a palate cleanser between darker novels. But sometimes, soufflé is exactly what the soul needs—especially when the outside world is all water and gray.
That old volume has long since yellowed further. The pages curl a little now. But it sits proudly on my shelf—a reminder that even the shortest tales, read during the most unassuming moments, can linger. That year, the rains did eventually stop. The depression cleared. And I, too, moved on to other stories, other seasons.
But every time July rolls around and the thunder growls across the Hooghly, I find myself reaching for that little story again. And just like that, I'm back in 2015. Back in that room. Watching the rain. And solving one last case with Tommy and Tuppence.
November 13, 2023
First Tommy &Tuppence book. Will definitely read some of the others.
October 14, 2018
Delightful tale
My biggest disappointment is that there are too few of the adventures with Tommy and Tuppence. I love the lighthearted mysteries involving this cute post-WWII couple in England. This period mystery gives great insight to the post war country and the economic and social struggles in the late 1940s.
My biggest disappointment is that there are too few of the adventures with Tommy and Tuppence. I love the lighthearted mysteries involving this cute post-WWII couple in England. This period mystery gives great insight to the post war country and the economic and social struggles in the late 1940s.
April 12, 2021
Super short Tommy & Tuppence story but worth the ending!
August 13, 2024
LOL!!!! Great surprise ending!
January 14, 2025
I'd not heard of this series, a husband and wife who seek to emulate Sherlock Holmes. They are visited by an Arctic explorer back after two years who cannot locate his fiancée. It seems her family is not being straight with him. Something is very wrong. Tommy and Tuppence quickly locate the woman and conduct a stakeout that has them concerned over the fiancée's safety. Has she had a nervous breakdown? She's being treated by a discredited medical quack. Much ado about nothing it turns out.
May 16, 2016
This was a short and okay AC mystery. My problem with short stories by AC are, they really lack the character development, red-herrings, deduction, and careful piecing together of clues that make full length AC novels outstanding. I didn't really care where this lady went and Luckily it was short.
November 6, 2016
I just love these two so much! And the jokes about Sherlock Holmes were great too. The ending wasn't the scandalous mess I had guessed it to be, but just as shocking...and a bit hilarious. The things we do for love, eh?
January 23, 2021
Tommy and Tuppence continue posing as Theodore Blunt and his assistant of the International Detective Agency. A famous explorer returns to England and finds his fiancé missing. Her friend says that she is traveling but cannot say where and the explorer is suspicious. Tommy and Tuppence track her to a mansion in a remote village where they think that she is being held against her will. However, she is there quite willingly as she is undergoing treatments to lose weight since she had gained some pounds while her fiancé was away and he hates fat women!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 13, 2024
“If you must be Sherlock Holmes, I’ll get you a nice little syringe and a bottle labeled cocaine, but for God’s sake leave that violin alone.”
March 18, 2025
Agatha Christie Book Reading Challenge
1.25 stars✨
BOOK 72 :- November 2024
1.25 stars✨
BOOK 72 :- November 2024
May 30, 2023
Helaas wat simpel geschreven. De TT serie is toxh wat minder.
September 17, 2022
This was a great book. It was a nice short story. Like most Tommy and Tuppence books, I listened to it while doing some work. It was very easy to follow, well written and it kept you entertained until the end. The ending was actually quite comical and it was a fun end to what seemed like a dangerous situation.
November 6, 2025
I don’t even know what to say about this. I wanted a Segway into Christie so I chose one of these short stories just to see if I’d like the style. I definitely do! However, this has to be the dumbest ending. Not necessarily in writing but good grief I forget the times in which they lived! 😂
Favorite Quote:
“I loathe fat women. Fat women and fat dogs are an abomination to the Lord.”
😂 💀
Favorite Quote:
“I loathe fat women. Fat women and fat dogs are an abomination to the Lord.”
😂 💀
Read
December 28, 2025"I loathe fat women. Fat women and fat dogs are an abomination unto the Lord."
"If you must be Sherlock Holmes, I'll get you a nice little syringe and a bottle labeled cocaine, but for God's sake, leave that violin alone."
And
This book was absolutely wild for being a 25 minute audiobook.
"If you must be Sherlock Holmes, I'll get you a nice little syringe and a bottle labeled cocaine, but for God's sake, leave that violin alone."
And
This book was absolutely wild for being a 25 minute audiobook.
June 11, 2017
Tommy and Tuppence are on the case again.
A man has returned after a long journey to find his fiance gone. No one knows where she is or at least they are not telling him. Is she still alive? Has she changed her mind? Or has someone made her disappear?
I found the ending funny. This story is cute and a quick read.
A man has returned after a long journey to find his fiance gone. No one knows where she is or at least they are not telling him. Is she still alive? Has she changed her mind? Or has someone made her disappear?
I found the ending funny. This story is cute and a quick read.
August 19, 2017
I don't know what to expect when I got the audio version of this from my library. But it is a short story, cute and simple, hardly 30 minutes long. Still fun, almost as if Agatha Christie was poking fun at herself.
October 16, 2017
Tommy & Tuppence 02 Partners in Crime
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
My Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again.
January 21, 2019
A man comes back early from the Arctic, hoping to see his fiancee. However, she has left her house, and he can't seem to track her down. He engages Tommy and Tuppence to find her. With little to go on, can they find her?
July 19, 2019
A quick little audiobook I listened to at work! I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read it instead of listening to it - I don't think I got much of the mystery or guess-who from it. BUT it definitely got me interested in more of her stories!
June 24, 2020
Who else had that flabbergasted look on their faces when they read the last page?
This book reads like a traditional horror short story in the sense it built up the anticipation but the revelation at the end was totally not what one was hoping for.
This book reads like a traditional horror short story in the sense it built up the anticipation but the revelation at the end was totally not what one was hoping for.
March 1, 2021
Bottomline: Ok mystery but anti-climatic.
This was the first I had read from the Tommy & Tupppence books. It was ok. I didn't find the detectives as interesting as Poirot but the premise is fun. The story itself was interesting at first but I found the ending unsatisfying.
This was the first I had read from the Tommy & Tupppence books. It was ok. I didn't find the detectives as interesting as Poirot but the premise is fun. The story itself was interesting at first but I found the ending unsatisfying.
April 21, 2023
I loved this short story. The suspense built to a crescendo and poof! A perfect ending to a Tommy & Tuppence adventure. The plot is easily followed, and the characters are full of fun. I definitely recommend this short story.
March 13, 2025
This short story feels more like Christie’s adventure novels, as it is oriented around a missing spouse of a famous explorer. Some of the explicit fatphobia in this one has particularly not aged well.
April 14, 2025
Read this as part of the Sinister Spring short story collection. My first Tommy & Tuppence and I love their characters! It was hilarious, felt more like a action thriller than a mystrey but maybe I am not used to mysteries without a body. They were literally searching towns for her based on clues
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 16, 2025
Suprising to not really enjoy it...
Did not pull me in & was surprised.
Might have to give it another read, as a big storm that came through & was possibly not giving my it my full.
Did not pull me in & was surprised.
Might have to give it another read, as a big storm that came through & was possibly not giving my it my full.
September 6, 2017
Great story, but shockingly short...
September 6, 2018
Christie doesn't usually do humor but this story shows that she had that ability. As always this is a twist I didn't see coming.
April 18, 2019
Short story, but hilarious!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews