The Secret Adversary is certainly worth a read. But it’s not Christie’s best. With so many better choices, it’s probably not one you will want to re-read
High Point: The introduction of Tommy and Tuppence–coupled with the knowledge Christie ages them naturally in her subsequent novels.
Low Point: Perhaps the easiest to solve of all Christie mysteries.
Author: Agatha Christie
Publication Date: 1922
Genre: Mystery
Free eBook (Project Gutenberg): The Secret Adversary
Free Audiobook (LibriVox): Not available
Movie/TV Adaptation: The Secret Adversary (TV Movie) (1983)
It may have been pure luck, but The Secret Adversary is the first Agatha Christie novel in which I was able to pick out the bad guy before the big reveal.
You might get the sense that Christie—in only her second published novel—was still feeling her way around. Unlike most of her stories, there are fundamental aspects of this plot that aren’t realistic. And some of the key points are too easy to figure out.
Despite all that, Christie’s creativity still shines through as she takes her story through the many twists, fake clues, and other tools she so successfully employed throughout her works.
And her introduction of Tommy and Tuppence—coupled with the knowledge that she actually ages them in subsequent novels–generates curiosity about the pair. Will they remain an early version of the Hardy Boys, develop into Nick and Nora Charles, or something altogether different?
The Secret Adversary is certainly worth a read. But it’s not Christie’s best. With so many better choices, it’s probably not one you will want to re-read.