N or M? (Tommy and Tuppence)
by Agatha Christie
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Book Summary Information
Author: Agatha ChristieEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2000-09-01
ISBN: 0451201132
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Signet
Book Reviews of N or M? (Tommy and Tuppence)
Book Review: "Goosey, goosey gander!"
Summary: 5 Stars
Tuppence (about the British Secret Service): "I don't think the Intelligence is anything like what it was in our day."
Tommy (gravely): "It will attain its former brilliance now we're back in it."
As much as I appreciate M. Hercule Poirot's little grey cells and Miss Marple's insight into human nature, my preferred Agatha Christie sleuths are the fun-loving and very engaging Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. Christie, in 5 novels, chronicles their exploits, which, while often containing elements of real peril and intrigue, managed to convey an air of lightheartedness and real fun. And this stems directly from the personalities of Tuppence and Tommy (but mostly Tuppence). Near two decades of married life find them still best pals, still devoted to each other. No change in personalities, either, as Tuppence remains intuitive, quirky, and impetuous while Tommy is solid, practical, and plodding - "plodding" meaning that he takes his time figuring things out. But he gets there, to the ruin of various so-called clever criminals. Meanwhile, Tuppence's ear for the preposterous surfaces again with the fashioning of her alias. Gotta admit, Mrs. Blenkensop is a pretty silly moniker. Anyway, N OR M? finds the duo back at catching enemy spies.
A bit on the plot of N OR M?: Tuppence and Tommy's glorious amateur detecting days are years and years in the past. As we catch up to the Beresford couple, we now find them in their mid-40s and once again inhabiting a war-torn London. The still adventurous couple volunteer but are outraged to find their services spurned by the war effort. Discouraged and feeling useless, they suddenly receive a visit from British Intelligence and are offered a secret mission. Or, rather, Tommy is offered a mission. Tuppence pretty much elbows her way in.
A British operative has expired thru mysterious circumstances. His baffling dying words: "N or M Song Suzie." British Secret Service has already ferreted out that "N or M" are codenames for Hitler's two most trusted agents. N and M have been responsible for establishing fifth columns in nations opposed to Germany's warmongering, and it seems one or the other or both are doing their thing in England. N and M's true identities remain veiled in secrecy. "Song Suzie" might actually be Sans Souci, the name of a sleepy guest house found on Britain's South coast. Tommy's long shot of a task is to take up lodging at Sans Souci and nose around and hopefully unearth a spy or two. Persistence pays off as Tommy and Tuppence (or "Mr. Meadowes" and "Mrs. Blenkensop") are soon up to their necks in sinister skulkers, break-ins, kidnappings, and deadly espionage.
Reading N OR M?, the Berefords' third outing, is like dropping in on comfy old friends, and Tommy and Tuppence make such charming hosts. I always enjoy re-reading this one. Agatha Christie has always excelled in peeling back the sedate, banal layers of British society to reveal the startling villainy festering beneath. Gradually, the routine of the seaside resort gives way to an atmospheric mood and an air of quiet menace. Written during WW2, the author does her patriotic bit as she has her cast express damning commentary on the appalling rot within the system: English turncoats. The mystery in N OR M? isn't as intricate as in her Poirot or Marple bafflers, but, still, her flair for the clever whodunit, her planting of the odd red herring or two are much in evidence.
As usual, she works from an unassuming cast of characters. Who's N, who's M? Is it the blustery Major? The faintly superior landlady or her feisty, moody daughter? The fretful invalid or his fussing wife? The foreign woman who's been spying on the premises? Or the German refugee? Hell, could it be the merry two-year-old girl who enjoys being read "Goosey, goosey gander"? (well, no, it's probably not her). One letter's identity is stumbled upon, but the other is ferreted out quite nicely in a clever twist. Tommy and Tuppence are urbane and amiable company and make for competent detectives, and I had fun as they bask in the excitement of skullduggery afoot. But these two are now mature enough and have lived long enough that they aren't any more as frivolous in nature. They still live in the moment, but they comprehend the gravity of this war.
Whereas Poirot and Marple always seemed old but never aging, Christie does pile the years on Tommy and Tuppence with each progressive thriller/mystery. In five novels (The Secret Adversary, the short story collection Partners in Crime (Tommy and Tuppence Mysteries), N OR M?, BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS., and Postern of Fate) Christie has Tommy and Tuppence go from the bloom of careless youth to spry middle years and finally on to graceful old age. I've mentioned that the Tommy and Tuppence mysteries had a fun, breezy quality to it, and that definitely holds true for the first three books. But there's a change of pace and feel with the last two books. In BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS and the elegiac THE POSTERN OF FATE, Tommy and Tuppence are decidedly getting along in years, although still with all faculties intact. There's a melancholy, bittersweet flavor in these last books, which satisfyingly round out the lives of this fictional couple. Because I witnessed Tommy and Tuppence get old, they seem more real and resonate more with me than her other, more celebrated detectives. N OR M? finds them a bit long in the tooth but still delightful and still very effective at what they do, even as they have fun in the doing of it. Carpe diem, Tommy and Tuppence.
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