Reviews with content warning for War - The Secret Adversary

Overall very entertaining. Guessed the culprit but then started to doubt myself. Enjoyed the format of amateur adventurers as a change of pace from all-knowing detective.

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pedanther's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I have mixed feelings about this book. I found the climax effectively tense, and it successfully kept me guessing about the identity of the eponymous secret adversary when I'd been confident I knew who it was. But a lot of what precedes it is episodic runaround without much depth, and the kind of xenophobic political worldview I've already encountered in other thrillers from this period that I read when I was younger and less discerning and didn't really need any more of.

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poirot's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Rating: 5/5 stars

The first in the Tommy and Tuppence series introduces adventuring pair Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley. When the two form a “joint venture” to solve mysteries, they become drawn into a mysterious and dangerous conspiracy orchestrated by an unknown criminal mastermind who calls himself Mr. Brown.

One of my peculiar quirks is that when I’m reading the works of an author who is new to me, I generally prefer to read ALL of them and to read them in publication order. I break this rule frequently for contemporary authors when I want to read their latest and buzziest, but for well-entrenched novelists like Christie, I try to hold firm. This meant that my second Christie read ever had to be the second Christie book ever—that is, The Secret Adversary. I hadn’t heard of it before and honestly wasn’t particularly excited to get to it, but I held fast to my own personal rule, and am SO GLAD that I did.

I don’t say this lightly, but The Secret Adversary has instantly become one of my all-time favorite novels. I loved it from the first chapter—the characters, the plot, the witty dialogue, the lightning-fast pace, and the brilliantly unspooled mystery all come together to make a singularly excellent read, and I could not get enough. I have no idea why it isn’t Christie’s most beloved novel, but if that means that all the big-name bestsellers are as good as this one I DEFINITELY have some treats coming my way.

Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: mysteries; witty and engaging characters; fast-paced plots.

CW: Abduction/confinement; death.

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