Very good. Tommy and Tuppance Mystery a classic Agatha Christie book with good plot twists and characters ( )

This was my first dive into the world of Agatha Christie. Knowing she's hailed as one of the greatest writers ever, I dove into this classic mystery with an open mind.

Overall, I found it pretty enjoyable. While it didn't exactly blow me away, I understand why Agatha Christie is revered after 100 years of this book's publication. (Albeit this was her 2nd published book in 1922.)

I managed to suss out the culprit halfway through, but the story still held my attention with its twists and turns.
There were moments when the prose felt slightly exaggerated, almost cartoonish, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the characters' strokes of luck. Nevertheless, these quirks added to the charm of the tale, making it a delightful and brisk read.

Btw, Tommy and Tuppence are the cutest (non-couple) couple! ( )

This is Agatha Christie's second book, the first of her Tommy and Tuppence series. The two lead characters are old childhood friends who briefly saw each other during the Great War. As they reunite in London, they are in their 20s, unemployed, and desperate. They decide to start a Young Adventurers Limited company to take on gallant jobs, and quickly find themselves embroiled in a spy caper involving a missing American woman who survived the sinking of the Lusitania and may have been carrying valuable international documents.

The plot is twisty-turny and thoroughly engaging. Tuppence, in particular, is a fascinating character, very much a flapper though that term is never used--she's described as "plucky" more than once and survives by her wits and impulses. Of course, it's still a book of its time, and Christie relies on caricatures to fill in her cast. There are so many named characters that I became lost at times. I thought I'd guessed the big bad guy, then was made to doubt that, and then aha! I was right after all. I do appreciate that kind of plotting. ( )

I really love the Poirot mysteries, so I had high hopes for this one. Tommy and Tuppence are fun characters, and I loved their relationship with one another. Nadia May's narration was excellent as usual. But the dullness of the mystery and the glacial pace of the plot was too much of a slog. I got about a third of the way through it, set it aside, and haven't been able to make myself pick it up again.

DNF at 39%

Audiobook, free from the Audio Plus catalog ( )

Not my favorite Christie book, but ok. Both Tommy and Tuppence got on my nerves after a while. ( )