Thanks to tons of reading for school, I'm already behind on #ReadChristie2024. The Secret Adversary, the first of the Tommy & Tuppence novels, was February's entry and I just finished it a couple days ago. I'll have to act fast to get to the March entry, The Mystery of the Blue Train.
The story starts aboard The Lusitania on May 7, 1915, when the ship has just been torpedoed by a German sub. A nervous man approaches a young woman and requests that she take a precious packet for him, reasoning that due to women and children first, she has a better chance of surviving the ordeal than he. World War I is raging and the papers in the packet could have huge implications for the Allies, so the man has spent the journey concerned about being followed. In spite of the potential danger, the young woman accepts the request and escapes onto a lifeboat.
We then jump forward five years later. Post-WWI, old friends Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley run into each other and bemoan their shared lack of financial stability and bleak employment options. In search of money and excitement, they impulsively form The Young Adventurers. An advertisement for their services leads them into a dangerous search for Jane Finn, a missing survivor of the Lusitania sinking. The case soon factors in missing papers, international spies, and their mysterious, dominating leader known only as Mr. Brown. By the end of the story, having unraveled the mysteries of the case, Tommy and Tuppence also acknowledge that their feelings for each other are more than just friendship.
While I loved the pairing of Tommy and Tuppence, one thing that did bother me was that I did figure out early on the identity of the secret adversary, something that doesn't usually happen when I'm reading or watching Christie. She does throw in a twist near the end that nearly undid my theory, but then that was revealed to be false, and it turned out I was right in the first place. I kind of wonder why Christie didn't just go with that, although it would have prevented a happy ending for the long-lost Jane Finn, and it was nice to see everyone (except the secret adversary and his crew) completely triumph at the end.
The Secret Adversary is the February selection for
#ReadChristie2024.
Each quarter features Christie novels from a specific decade(s). First
quarter is the 1920's, second quarter is the 1930's, third quarter is
the 1940's-1950's, and fourth quarter is the 1960's-1970's. The complete
list is:
January: The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Poirot)
February: The Secret Adversary (Tommy & Tuppence)
March: The Mystery of the Blue Train (Poirot)
April: The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple)
May: The ABC Murders (Poirot)
June: And Then There Were None (stand alone)
July: Taken at the Flood (Poirot)
August: A Murder is Announced (Miss Marple)
September: Ordeal by Innocence (stand alone)
October: The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side (Miss Marple)
November: Third Girl (Poirot)
December: Elephants Can Remember (Poirot)
