The Secret Adversary, by Agatha Christie

There are many "firsts" in my life that I don't remember. I have always regretted not keeping a journal from the time I was young, keeping track of the first time I met people, the first time I read this book or saw that movie, first time I got a job, and so on.

There are two firsts that I do remember.

The very first play I ever saw was Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap. I was about 11 years old. It was 1971, and there was a draught in Zambia or some other African country. The cargo firm for which my father worked was hired to fly food from Botswana to Zamia. THe job was to last for at least a year. My dad decided to take advantage of the tax breaks offered to those whose whole families lived overseas for a year, so he took my mom and two siblings with him, and we moved to Johannesburg, South Africa. The flight took us via London, England, and while there, we went to see The Mousetrap. First play, first mystery play, first crush on an actor. (I liked the guy who played Detective Sargeant Trotter.)

In Johannesburg, we rented a furnished house from a couple, and on their bookshelves was The Secret Adversary. I might not have picked it up if I'd never seen The Mousetrap, but I was familiar with the name Agatha Christie, so I did, and loved it. It was the first "grown up" book I ever read, the first "grown up" mystery, and the first book of Agatha Christie's that I ever read.

I have been a fan of Agatha Christie's ever since. Of course, even though there's a special place in my heart for Christie, I am not blind to her faults. And I don't care for the last few books she wrote, they definitely suffer in quality. But when she was in her prime....

Agatha Christie's books can be divided into two main sections - her detective novels, featuring Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, and her adventure thrillers, featuring, usually, independent heroines or young couples.

The Secret Adversary, published in 1922, was Christie's second book published, after The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which was a detective story featuring Hercule Poirot.

Tommy Beresford served in the Army and was demobbed (demobilized) with few prospects. Tuppence Beresford served as a nurse during the war, and is also at a loose end. They meet accidently, rekindle their friendship, and discuss their difficulties in finding work. They decide to form their own business - Young Adventurers Ltd, and put an ad in the newspaper seeking informaton on someone called Jane Finn. Tuppence had overhead two other people talking about someone with that name, and wondering where she was. So she and Tommy decide to be proactive in what they hope will be their first case.

But they get more than they bargain for. Jane Finn disappeared after the sinking of the Lusitania, entrusted with a treaty that at the time - during WWI - made since, but now if its terms were known could cause another war, but not with Germany, and the British government and various nefarious parties have been searching for her, and that treaty, ever since.

The Secret Adversary is, to put it plainly, just a lot of fun. It's hardly dated at all, for all that' its over 80 years old. Secret treaties with terms that can backfire are certainly plausible, the characters are engaging, and the mystery fast moving. There are of course no computers, no cellphones, no TVs, in that it's a simpler time.

That's another reason why I like to read these early books of Agatha Christie. The author is at the height of her powers, but we also get insights into how people lived (at least, a certain social segment of it) way back in the 1920s.

Christie used the Tommy and Tuppence characters several more times. I also recommend Partners in Crime, which is an anthology of short stories, in which Tommy, with Tuppence's assistance, solves various mysteries using methods of other top detectives of the day (the 1920s day) such as Holmes, Reggie Fortune, the Thinkng Machine, and so on. N or M, which takes place during World War II, is also well done.

After that, the series falls off, in my opinion. Unlike Poiror and Miss Marple, who never age in the 60 years of their existence, Tommy and Tuppence do, and by By the Pricking of My Thumbs (written 20 years after N or M?) they are old, Tuppence is matronly, Albert's (their young, intelligent servant) brains have atrophied (he is now more comic relief than anything) and the fun has rather gone out of the series.

But, they had a good run.

As for purchasing details, the book is still in print and can be purchased via Amazon.com if not in your local bookstore. If Amazon.com is to be believed, you can also get it for free from Kindle.