New Books and the Spy / Thriller Genre continued

It's been one of those lazy, quiet days today. I managed to make more headway on A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness this morning. Things are starting to pick up. I also made good progress on Brother Odd, really enjoying this so far. I watched Episode 4 of Devs and don't like where things are going at the moment! How will they resolve it! I also watched two episodes of Peter Gunn, preferred the second one as I didn't get the ending of the first. It was difficult to discern what was being said in a resounding rain storm. Jo and I also watched The New Abnormal this afternoon; Mayor Bowser of Washington DC was the guest of Rick Wilson and Molly Jong-Fast. The show seemed to go very quickly today. Excellent as always. Not sure what we'll be watching tonight, but I'm going to try and finish Brother Odd by tomorrow morning.

A new book arrived in the mail today. They come much quicker from within Canada. Jo and I are still waiting for stuff from the UK and we ordered them in Feb and March. Oh well, maybe to be expected. I have a feeling they are sitting someplace in a Canada Post warehouse. I'll update the new book and move on with my ongoing look at the Spy / Thriller genre.

New Book

1. Thou Shell of Death by Nicholas Blake (aka Cecil Day-Lewis) (Nigel Strangeways #2 / 1934). I read one other of Blake's books a few years back and remember being somewhat underwhelmed, but I'm looking forward to trying the Strangeways' books again.

"Nigel Strangeways is off to a Christmas house party hosted by Fergus O’Brien, a legendary World War I flying ace now retired from private life, who has received a series of mocking letters predicting that he will be murdered on Boxing Day.

His guest list includes everyone who could even remotely be suspected of making the threats, including several people who stand to profit from O’Brien’s death, as well as Nigel, who is invited in his capacity as a criminal investigator. 

Despite Nigel’s presence, the murder takes place as predicted, and he’s left to aid the local police in interviewing the suspects. One of them is Georgia Cavendish, a brave and colorful explorer who has been romantically linked with O’Brien and with whom Nigel falls in love. Convinced that the case will never be solved unless the mystery of O’Brien’s past is cleared up, Nigel heads for Ireland to learn what he can about the victim’s origins."

The Spy / Thriller Genre - Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie

I've discussed Agatha Christie in previous BLog entries especially in my look at the Mystery genre; Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie lived from 1890 - 1976 and over the course of her life wrote sixty-six novels and 14 short story collections. As I mentioned she was best known for her cozy, intricate detective stories featuring Miss Jane Marple and her Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. But she also wrote standalone mysteries and other short series. I will focus on the intrepid duo of Tommy and Tuppence who did get involved in espionage - type mysteries and maybe a couple of other books. So let's see what they are.

1. The Secret Adversary (1922 / Tommy & Tuppence #1).











"The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie is the first book utilizing the wonderful detective skills of Tommy and Tuppence, who eventually appeared in 4 of Christie's novels. 

In The Secret Adversary Tommy and Tuppence meet by chance, both looking for work and struggling to make ends meet. They decide to form up an agency, The Young Adventurers and put an ad in the newspaper. Surprisingly they get a job, trying to find a young American woman. This woman survived the sinking of the Lusitania and was supposedly carrying important documents, which if they fell into the hands of the enemy, might destroy the fabric of society of Britain. The woman is also being hunted by the mysterious, super spy, Mr. Brown. 

The story is a race against time, with many suspects as Tommy and Tuppence must use their wits to solve the mystery and fine the woman and the document. I've seen the TV series starring Jessica Raine and David Walliams as the intrepid duo. There are differences between the book and the series but both were enjoyable, entertaining mysteries/ adventures. Agatha Christie never disappoints. (3 stars)"

2. N or M? (1941 / Tommy & Tuppence #3).

"Loved it. My first Tommy and Tuppence book and I enjoyed so very much. Intrepid spies from the First World War, sort of put out to pasture at the start of the 2nd. But they manage to get an assignment with the government trying to find out who are the German Fifth columnists at a resort hotel on the coast. Interesting, well-paced story, Tommy and Tuppence are a lovely couple, the guests are all suspicious. Excellent! (4 stars)"

3. By The Pricking Of My Thumbs (1968 / Tommy and Tuppence #4).

"When Tommy and Tuppence visit an elderly aunt in her gothic nursing home, they think nothing of her mistrust of the doctors. But then Mrs. Lockett mentions a poisoned mushroom stew, and they find themselves caught up in an unexpected adventure."

4. Postern of Fate (1973 / Tommy and Tuppence #5).

"Tommy and Tuppence Beresford have just become the proud owners of an old house in an English village. Along with the property, they have inherited some worthless bric-a-brac, including a collection of antique books. While rustling through a copy of The Black Arrow, Tuppence comes upon a series of apparently random underlinings. 

However, when she writes down the letters, they spell out a very disturbing message: M a r y - J o r d a n - d i d - n o t - d i e - n a t u r a l l y. . . And sixty years after their first murder, Mary Jordan's enemies are still ready to kill..."

5. Partners in Crime (1929 / Tommy and Tuppence #2). OK, I always confuse this. There were 5 T & T novels not 4.. *sigh* my apologies. It depends on whether you look at wiki or Fantastic Fiction.









"Tommy and Tuppence Beresford were restless for adventure, so when they were asked to take over Blunt's International Detective Agency, they leapt at the chance. After their triumphant recovery of a pink pearl, intriguing cases kept on coming their way: a stabbing on Sunningdale golf course; cryptic messages in the personal columns of newspapers; and even a box of poisoned chocolates."

6. They Came to Baghdad (1951).

"Baghdad is holding a secret superpower summit, but the word is out, and an underground organization in the Middle East is plotting to sabotage the talks.

Into this explosive situation appears Victoria Jones, a young woman with a yearning for adventure who gets more than she bargains for when a wounded spy dies in her hotel room.

The only man who can save the summit is dead. Can Victoria make sense of his dying words: Lucifer… Basrah… Lefarge.…"

So there you go, folks. Agatha Christie never disappoints and she stands the test of time. The complete listing of her works can be found at this link.

Take care and stay safe.