The Secret Adversary

The Secret Adversary is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie.The book introduces the characters of Tommy and Tuppence who feature in three other Christie books and one collection of short stories written throughout her writing career. Reunited in 1919 London, demobilised soldier Tommy Beresford and nurse Prudence "Tuppence" Cowley, out of work and money, form the "The Young Adventurers, Ltd." planning to hiring themselves out as "adventurers ... [w]illing to do anything, go anywhere ... [n]o unreasonable offer refused."[4][5] They are overheard by a Mr. Whittington who offers Tuppence a comfortable position, but he is shocked when she randomly gives her name as "Jane Finn", a name Tommy in turn had overheard him use and mentioned during the same conversation. Whittington believes Tuppence is blackmailing him and sends her away with some money. Convinced that they can get further money out of Whittington if they play their cards right, Tommy and Tuppence prepare to shadow him, only to discover that he has closed his office and disappeared without a trace. To find out why, they place an advertisement, asking for information regarding Jane Finn. Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, DBE (née Miller; 15 September 1890 - 12 January 1976) was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote six romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for the 66 detective novels and more than 15 short story collections she wrote under her own name, most of which revolve around the investigations of such characters as Hercule Poirot, Miss Jane Marple and Tommy and Tuppence. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, The Mousetrap.