The Secret Adversary
is a proper old-fashioned adventure story in Agatha Christie form.
'Tuppence' Cowley and her childhood friend Tommy Beresford are
unemployed and underfunded following the declaration of peace after World War I, and decide to make their
fortunes by becoming adventurers. As luck would have it, their
conversation is overheard by a rather suspicious man who offers
them an equally suspicious job, and their investigations bring them
into contact with an international gang bent on the destabalisation
of the British Empire. At its head is the mysterious 'Mr Brown', who
none of the gang members know the identity of, but each suspects it
is one of his fellows.
Tuppence
and Tommy race to find a girl, Jane Finn, who disappeared years ago with the
pivotal package of documents on which the gang's plot hinges, with
the aid of an imposing King's Councillor and Jane's cousin, an American millionaire.
This
story has a fast-paced, light-hearted theatrical feel, with
convenient amnesia, hidden document caches, and a high-speed car
chase (with guns!). Great fun to read, with a devilishly thought out
plot.
Next
up: Le Chef-d'oeuvre inconnu
by Honoré de Balzac
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