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prashiie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“One can't expect to be infallible straight away.”
In this book we meet Tommy and Tuppence again. It’s been six years since ‘The Secret Adversary’ and they are now yearning to escape the boredom of mundane life. Therefore, when they get the chance to run an undercover operation and a detective’s agency simultaneously, of course they take it! Tommy impersonates Mr. Blunt who is currently imprisoned and Tuppence is his secretary. Tommy and Tuppence are nothing like Agatha Christie’s Poirot or Miss Marple. The fact that they are amateur sleuths makes these short stories so much more interesting and amusing. Half of the time they do not know what they’re doing. They draw a big amount of inspiration from fictional detectives, such as Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Thornley Colton, and Dr. Thorndyke etc.
“Use your little grey cells, mon ami. Scintillate, Watson. Be a bull that has been more than ten minutes in the arena.”
The problem with short stories is, well, that they are short. There is very little character development and you just have to accept the proposed solution to a mystery. It wasn’t particularly mind-blowing. But if you’re willing to get past this, you might end up liking this book. I was glad to see that the short stories are only focused on Tommy and Tuppence’s time at the detective agency, instead of just being a general collection of stories.
The short story I most enjoyed is “The Clergyman's Daughter/The Red House”, mainly because they have to solve a puzzle to get answers.
Also, the set up of the first case is hilarious. Great marketing, Tuppence!
In this book we meet Tommy and Tuppence again. It’s been six years since ‘The Secret Adversary’ and they are now yearning to escape the boredom of mundane life. Therefore, when they get the chance to run an undercover operation and a detective’s agency simultaneously, of course they take it! Tommy impersonates Mr. Blunt who is currently imprisoned and Tuppence is his secretary. Tommy and Tuppence are nothing like Agatha Christie’s Poirot or Miss Marple. The fact that they are amateur sleuths makes these short stories so much more interesting and amusing. Half of the time they do not know what they’re doing. They draw a big amount of inspiration from fictional detectives, such as Sherlock Holmes, Poirot, Thornley Colton, and Dr. Thorndyke etc.
“Use your little grey cells, mon ami. Scintillate, Watson. Be a bull that has been more than ten minutes in the arena.”
The problem with short stories is, well, that they are short. There is very little character development and you just have to accept the proposed solution to a mystery. It wasn’t particularly mind-blowing. But if you’re willing to get past this, you might end up liking this book. I was glad to see that the short stories are only focused on Tommy and Tuppence’s time at the detective agency, instead of just being a general collection of stories.
The short story I most enjoyed is “The Clergyman's Daughter/The Red House”, mainly because they have to solve a puzzle to get answers.
Also, the set up of the first case is hilarious. Great marketing, Tuppence!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Body shaming, Suicide, Murder, Kidnapping, Fatphobia, and Confinement
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Pregnancy and Drug use
heather_freshparchment's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Stalking, Classism, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Pregnancy, War, Forced institutionalization, and Fatphobia
poirot's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Xenophobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Pregnancy
lilacs_book_bower's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
CW: in one story a minor character expresses extreme fatphobia, and in another Tommy plays at being blind to "enhance his other senses." I've read a lot of Christie, but somehow never cared much for the Tommy and Tuppence stories, based on previous limited exposure in short stories and one novel. I couldn't quite put my finger on why, but after reading this book, I can say that, here at least, I find Tommy a bit smug and a little condescending to Tuppence. It is supposed to read as loving banter and teasing, but I didn't care for it or him. I did like Tuppence, and I found their employee Albert to be quite amusing. This short story collection has the T and T team (assisted by Albert) running a private investigator agency, so they handle several different cases, with both Tommy and Tuppence getting their moments to shine. It is always good to read a new-to-me Christie though, and some of the mysteries were fun. Regarding the CW: a person could skip those stories and be fine. The fatphobia is expressed by the man who hires the couple in "The Case of the Missing Lady" and in "Blindman's Bluff" Tommy pretends he is blind. He expresses sympathy for blind people, but it made me uncomfortable nonetheless, that he is just trying on a disability. I read this as the February selection for #readChristie2023.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia and Ableism
ekevka's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Fatphobia, and Sexism
Moderate: Torture, Gun violence, Alcohol, Death, Blood, and Classism
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