The Secret Adversary

Agatha Christie’s deft skill in plotting is on full display in the first adventure of Tommy and Tuppence, with seemingly disconnected events revealing a complex web of intrigue. Behind the plot is a formidable foe, a mysterious figure whose identity seems impossible to determine and whose plans include murder.

Tommy Beresford and Tuppence Cowley’s new firm, Young Adventurers Ltd opens for business only to have their first customer drop out of sight at the mere mention of a name. Careful investigation reveals connections between a missing survivor of the torpedoed Lusitania, documents highly compromising to the British government and a potentially catastrophic plot masterminded by a very dangerous man whose identity is known to no one living. The novel first appeared in 1922 and was greeted by reviews marveling at the author’s masterful concealment of the villain’s identity, some going as far as to say that unless the reader peeked at the final few pages there was no way to know it, making this a truly secret adversary. Appearing as silent movie in 1928 this was the first of the author’s novels to be made into a film. Although overshadowed by Christie’s better known sleuths, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, Tommy and Tuppence were her favorite creations and her enthusiasm for the couple and their adventures is transparent on the page.

With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Secret Adversary is both modern and readable.