I think I've finally found my reading niche among Agatha Christie's mystery series, and it's not with Miss Marple or with Hercule Poirot. It's with Tommy and Tuppence, a Jazz-age sleuthing couple who make their first appearance in The Secret Adversary.
In 1920, Tommy, a young veteran of WWI, and Tuppence, a former wartime nurse, are both struggling to find jobs and make ends meet. On a whim, they decide to team up and advertise their services as "young adventurers". Surprisingly, they quickly receive a response and are engaged to help track down a missing girl who, years earlier, had secretly smuggled a set of highly secret government papers off of the Lusitania on the night that it sunk. As Tommy and Tuppence set off on the hunt, they soon realize that there's more than meets the eye to their case and their success or failure could have international diplomatic implications. The Secret Adversary was simultaneously the most fun and the most suspenseful of any of the Agatha Christie novels I've read so far. Tommy and Tuppence are extremely likable couple who exude humor and spunk in the face a dangerous enemy whose mysterious identity kept me turning the pages. I definitely plan to seek out the rest of the books in the Tommy and Tuppence series, and hope to read the next one while nibbling on fig and orange scones with Devonshire cream.
When I did my first attempt at a "cookalong with" post, I created a recipe based on a meal that was featured in the book. I should be clear here that this installment is really a fantasy cookalong. These scones don't actually appear in The Secret Adversary and I haven't actually made them yet, but when I saw the recipe on Paper and Salt and read about how Agatha was a voracious lover and eater of cream during her tea time, the connection seemed too perfect to resist. I love having clotted cream on scones and have never found a recipe to make it at home before. The crockpot method sounds easy enough for me to consider trying. If it comes out well, I'll break out another Christie novel in honor. And I'll be sure to blog about it, of course.
I think that there was a Masterpiece Theatre production of Tommy and Tuppence a few years ago. I would love to read this Agatha Christie. The best scones I have ever made came from one of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks. I think they were orange and cranberry. Delicious and so easy. I made them for Christmas morning.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to try to track down that Masterpiece version. Thanks for the tip!
DeleteI thought I had probably read all of AC's books, but obviously not. Tommy and Tuppence are news to me! Cool!! (And I think I have to try the orange and cranberry scones mentioned by Sunday...) I love this blog!
ReplyDeleteThey were news to me too! I was wondering if they were some of her lesser known works or if I just had my head in the sand and missed them!
DeleteI read a Tommy & Tuppence many years ago and really liked it, but I never pursued any of their other books. I'd like to try them again - I love Miss Marple and Poirot, but I'm so familiar with their plots that it would be fun to try something new. I've never attempted scones, but I've tried biscuits and they were a dismal failure!
ReplyDeleteI think scones are actually easier to make than they appear. I'd give them a try!
DeleteI'm embarrassed that this is the first I've heard of Christie's Tommy & Tuppence!
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