Agatha Christie Lovers discussion

Originally published in 1922. Tommy and Tuppence, two young people short of money and restless for excitement, embark on a daring business scheme – Young Adventurers Ltd.

Their advertisement says they are ‘willing to do anything, go anywhere’. But their first assignment, for the sinister Mr Whittington, plunges them into more danger than they ever imagined…

We previously read this book in October of 2010. Here is the link to that previous thread. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I've only read one T&T before (The Pricking of my thumbs) which wasn't great. However so far this is pretty good even if a little far fetched. More of a mystery story than a traditional whodunnit.

PS. Is this a spoiler or non-spoiler thread, I couldn't find the policy?

This reminds me of the old movies -- such as The Thin Man -- with the flippant dialogue, absurd coincidences, the extreme luck of the main characters. There is a mystery, although it really was a question of which of the two men was really Mr. Brown. So Christie showed the beginnings of her ability to plant clues and red herrings. Tommy and Tuppence aren't really good detectives, mainly because they don't have the experience of Poirot or Marple. Tommy reminds me of Hastings in his reaction to the young woman he meets. Both T & T instinctively trust people when they shouldn't.
Christie shows her sense of place and her cinematic view in this her second novel.

Finished reading it last night. Definitely different than what we are used to in Poirot and Marple, but it did keep me turning the pages.

it was a fun read if you didn't take it too seriously, although I'm glad she didn't write too many T&T novels.

Carlo wrote: "it was a fun read if you didn't take it too seriously, although I'm glad she didn't write too many T&T novels."

I completely agree! I was at one point seriously thrown off track regarding mr. Brown though... I still liked the book, fun and exciting.

I like Tommy and Tuppence, I enjoy their cheerful banter and their shared spirit of adventure.

This is, I believe, my third time through The Secret Adversary. The first time I read it, I went through it too fast and didn’t absorb the details. The second time I went through it, I took my time but ended up not being impressed at all. It seemed very out of alignment with her Poirot and Miss Marple stories. I guess I’ll give it another go. Maybe the third time’s the charm...

I just finished this one for the first time. I enjoyed the book but I agree that this was not her best work and I am not a big fan of Tommy and Tuppence yet, I will definitely keep reading to see if the other books are more enjoyable.

I read it but it wasn't one of my favourites. I didn't like Tommy or Tuppence, but specially him. I was glad about everything what happened to both of them in the story. I thought Tommy was an idiot, and Tuppence a romantic but more perceptive then her companion.

I just reread The Secret Adversary, but I wasn't part of this group back when it was read and discussed. The danger everyone gets into is way over the top, but it feels very much like the serialized adventure movie shorts that were being shown at cinemas at the time. Since I like the history as much as the mystery, it was an enjoyable blast-from-the-past. It also prompted me to do some research on Tuppence's bobbed hair: https://agathaannotated.com/Blog/in-t...