The Secret Adversary

This was the first book i read by Agatha Christie (yes i gave it a full rating partially because of this)
Other than that i liked this book and it introduced me to the twisted yet great mind of Agatha Christie.
Now coming back to the book the lead characters Tommy and Tuppence both are loveable and absorbing and the story is very interesting
Overall i remember i could just not put this book down because it was just so good.

More of a 2.5 rounded down.

Look, to be fair, I can see why I loved this book when I was younger. (The copy I own was first printed when I was 13 years old, so I would have been about 13-15 when I read it.) Basically, Tommy and Tuppence were who I wanted to be; they were young and savvy and had exciting adventures and saved the country.

Now that I'm somewhat older...

I find this book high in melodrama, featuring another unneeded marriage proposal (three Christie rereads, three unneeded marriage proposals) and with just a touch of internalized misogyny. And, I think what's even worse than that, is that I'm either not smart enough to pick up the actual clues from the red-herrings - or two of my three rereads haven't had actual clues and are just loaded up with red-herrings. (...Actually, that might be all three.)

The only clue that I think actually pointed to the right person (literally, the only clue,) you won't understand unless you know British slang terms from before 1970. (So, that's another aspect of these books that hasn't aged well.)

Finally, I want to say that I read some but also listened to this audio version: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45994519-the-secret-adversary
Not only was the audio painful to listen to at times - hello melodrama! - but, at one point I was listening and reading along and they changed wordings. In the handful of pages I did this with, they changed a ‘five' on the clock to a ‘six' and they changed ‘unofficial' to ‘official'. I don't know why and that last one is especially egregious as it changes the whole theme about that subject.

I personally loved the characters and thought the kidnapping plot was refreshing. It read almost like a spy novel.

Christie doesn't seem to have the same innate talent for thrillers as she had for detective stories at this point. It plays all its cards face-up, which actually works to forefront the real appeal of the story: the relationship between Tommy and Tuppence.

... Unfortunately they spend much of it separated. Oh well. Still, it's a fine little mystery, and I'm interested in the sequels if only for the knowledge that they are written so far apart that T&T age over them.

Took a while to really kick off, but was quite an enjoyable read! I figured out who the culprit was early on, though.

The books of Agatha Christie have always been a guilty pleasure for me. Throughout the year, I read quite a few hefty tomes, ranging from serious literature to fantasy and SF. It is always a pleasure to return to Mrs. Agatha Christie's books. I enjoy the typical British settings and the engaging murder mysteries, even though they may not always be very realistic. After reading the books featuring Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, I am now delving into the few books with the charming couple, Tommy and Tuppence.

Tommy and Tuppence are old friends who reunite in London after World War I. Both of them are broke and searching for a job or a way to earn money. Tuppence, in particular, possesses what we would now call a “YOLO” attitude. It's amusing, though not very realistic. Somehow, they become entangled in a conspiracy involving a revolutionary group that plans to overthrow the government. This entire situation is orchestrated by the mysterious “Mr. Brown,” the secret adversary from the title.

This first book in the series, which happens to be Christie's second, deviates from the typical murder mystery and leans more towards the espionage/adventure genre. It's a bit all over the place, bordering on slapstick at times. While not her best book, it's still a fun read.

3.5 stars. It was a very enjoyable book; however, parts of it felt like a we were along on a wild goose chase with the main characters. And someone marries their first cousin by the end which is a little gross, but it was written in the 1920s so I'm not totally surprised.

I read this first time back in Finland when I was a kid, probably somewhere in the 80s.
I had forgotten most of it :-D

It's more of a spy novel than murder mystery, even though there is a murder in it as well.

Tommy and Tuppence are fabulous! The twists and turns were very much like other Agatha Christie books. But there was more spy thriller type action in the book.

I haven't read any Tommy and Tuppence before (that I recall anyhow), so didn't know what to expect. I know they age over their books, but didn't realize they were so young at the beginning!

This wasn't my favorite Christie, but in the end I liked it. I'm not really a fan of spy/espionage stuff, so I think that was part of my dislike. I did like all the various identity stuff and the relationship between Tommy and Tuppence.

I still love it after 25+ years. Story is great and Tuppence and Tommy just lovely

While I'm familiar with stories written by or based on work by Agatha Christie made for television, I've never actually read any of her work before. So, faced with an opportunity to listen a book on loan, I decided it was a good time to remedy that ailment.

When I think of Christie's work, I think of popular characters. While I had not heard of Tommy and Tuppence before, I found them to be characters I enjoyed going on an adventure with. Listening to a reader colors the characters, and I thought the reader did a fantastic job, making it easy to follow the different players.

Lastly, I enjoyed this story. Sometimes I enjoy trying to figure out the mystery, but this is one where I found myself wanting to simply enjoy the ride. Having 96 years of mysteries to study since the writing of this book, a reader could see this mystery as being a bit simple. In a way, I like that there aren't twists piled up on top of each other. That being said, I thought the end was well timed and well presented, keeping my curiosity piqued.

I am sure to pick up another Christie book for another fun adventure.

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

For such a short book this seemed to go on forever. There were some interesting parts, Tommy and Tuppence were funny, but otherwise it was all just kind of silly. shrug

Это первый роман, написанный Агатой Кристи про Томми и Таппенс, и первый роман, который я читала у нее не про Пуаро.
Вопреки ожиданиям, мне понравилось. Это не горячо любимый мной герметичный детектив, но все же очень интригующая история, рассказывающая о молодых английских авантюристах, решивших найти приключений. По приятному стечению обстоятельств, приключения ждут их буквально за углом - Британская империя может быть разрушена без их живейшего участия.
Мне понравилось, почитаем об их приключениях еще)

Fun and captivating.

Agatha Christie is back at it again with keeping readers on their toes. A fun red with a twist ending!

This one read so easily, it was great. Loved the wit and humor!

Due ragazzi, Tommy e Tuppence, decidono di improvvisarsi detective per racimolare qualche soldo pubblicando un annuncio sul giornale del tipo “esperti detective cercano lavoro ben pagato”. Si ritrovano così invischiati in un intrigo internazionale, alle prese con un misterioso personaggio, Mr. Brown, intenzionato a conquistare il potere assoluto sull'Europa. La storia procede dunque tentando di sventare i piani di quest'ultimo e, nello stesso tempo, di scoprire la sua identità.
Il racconto è ben architettato tant'è che Christie mi ha bellamente fregato nel mio tentativo di scoprire chi fosse Brown (non che io sia una cima... ma vabbe).
Comunque sia, ciò che si apprezza di più è il carattere dei personaggi che non è banale- non mi sbilancio a parlare della loro psicologia che difatto non esiste-. Difatto è proprio il loro carattere a rendere la storia divertente, appassionante e coinvolgente.
Insomma, una lettura consigliata per i periodi di relax? In realtà, no. Se infatti pensate che la trama sia minimamente interessante, conviene che mettetiate da parte questo libro per prenderne un altro: ‪#‎Passenger_to_Frankfurt‬, sempre della Christie, e con una trama simile ma 1000 molte migliore. Sarà che tra la scrittura dell'uno e dell'altro passano 50 anni circa (1922 e 1970 rispettivamente) per cui lo stile e le tecniche letterarie di Christie sono migliorate enormemente, ma Passenger to Frankfurt, oltre ad avere una trama eccezionale, è uno di quei pochi libri che, quando lo finisci, rimani po' a pensare. In apparenza è un giallo ma in realtà sono nascoste riflessioni politiche molto attuali sul controllo della massa da parte del governo (detto così sembra voyager ma ovviamente non è così però non posso dire altro per non svelare troppo del libro). Comunque - anche se in piccolissima parte - riprende i temi di 1984 di Orwell.

I had a hankering to listen to an audiobook so that I could work on some knitting and crocheting, but the only thing suitable the library had immediately available (that I could think of off the top of my head in 10 minutes without leaving the couch) was this one. The story was all right and even fun at times but a little too far-fetched (reminded me of a Tintin story), and the voices (especially of Tommy and Tuppence, who were made to sound like dopey teenagers most of the time) started off promisingly but grated on me after a while. And, as unavoidable in British novels of this time (and probably most times), the xenophobia was rampant. Not planning to read or listen to any more of this series.