Secret Adversary is my first foray into Agatha Christie books. My only regret is that I didn’t discover Ms. Christie sooner. While it is nearly a century old, the book is (relatively) quickly paced, entertaining, and witty. Plotwise, it had me guessing until the very end! Since it was written in 1922, there is no copyright on the book and therefore you can legally download it for free. Although, for CBR purposes, consider buying a paperback version!
Adversary revolves around a witty couple of members of the fringes of London society, Tommy and Tuppence. Over a meal at a cafe, the duo decides that they are tired of being broke and want to land some sweet, sweet cash. (“Only a full underestimates his capabilities.”) They decide to become The Young Adventurers and take on any jobs they come across, even if they are a little bit morally gray. Someone overhears their conversation and stops the female adventurer, Tuppence, and offers her a job that seems too good to be true. All Tuppence has to do is live in a swanky area and pretend to be a certain female, Jane Finn.
Smelling something fishy, Tommy and Tuppence do some amatuer sluething about the mysterious “Jane Finn” and decide maybe they need to explore the woman and her whereabouts a bit more. This leads them on a whirlwind adventure involving an American tycoon, Scotland Yard, and members of high society in order to find Ms. Finn before it’s too late!
My Kindle said the book was a little under three hours long. If you are in the mood for a quick, fun, summer mystery, this book is worth a shot. As a free bonus: I pictured BJ Novak as Tommy and Mindy Kaling as Tuppence. Picturing those two as amatuer slueths is guaranteed to boost your rating at least half a star. The American tycoon character is great comic relief as well. For some reason, I pictured Daniel Craig.
