Customer Reviews

N Or M? (Tommy & Tuppence chronology)

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Normally Agatha Christie chooses to focus on the mysteries and not really concentrate on political and social events of that period; consequently her characters sometimes seem to be living in a vaccuum, removed from all that is happening around them. What makes "N or M?" unusual is that Christie chose to focus on WWII and what was happening in England at that time. Tommy and Tuppence who are living quietly in London suddenly find their routine interrupted when Tommy is called away on a secret assignment to try and find Hitler's most dangerous agent who has infiltrated England in advance of a planned attack by the Nazis. Of course, Tuppence who refuses to be left out of anything, follows him and actively helps him while posing as a garrulous widow. The book is more powerful than most because of the very real sense of menace that Christie creates and the feeling of evil lurking in the air. Wingding suspense and a knock-out ending - the only flaw was the focus on romance. Normally, it is nice to have a romantic attachment develop in Christie's books as they provide a nice relief to the mystery, but in this case I thought she should have concentrated only on the mystery; romance is almost superfluous in such a setting. It's interesting to think that while Tommy and Tuppence never actually existed, there may have been characters like them - ordinary people who possessed above-average intelligence who were picked to lead dangerous spy missions and who succeeded precisely because they were so ordinary and therefore not what the enemy was expecting.

When one thinks of Agatha Christie, one usually thinks of novels in which a sharp-minded detective--such as Hercule Poirot or Jane Marple--unravels a tightly plotted puzzle from the comfortable safety of an arm chair. But Christie sometimes defies this concept of her work with a spy-thriller, and N OR M?, set during the early days of World War II, is among her best efforts in that direction.

The novel re-introduces husband and wife Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, characters Christie originally created for the much earlier spy-thriller THE SECRET ADVERSARY--and they are among her most immediately likable protagonists: quick witted, snappy, and unwilling to sit in an armchair when they can be up and doing things. Although they have been long out of the espionage game, when rumors indicate that one of Hitler's most trusted agents has arrived in England. they are sent to a small coastal boarding house in an effort to unmask the spy who might be hiding among the apparently innocent residents.

Readers will enjoy becoming reacquainted with Tommy and Tuppence, who Christie presents with considerable charm--and unlike the other novels in which they appear N OR M? is as much mystery as pure adventure: the book contains one of Christie's trademark twists at the conclusion. Although somewhat mild by the standards of her more famous novels, Christie endows the tale with a subtle sense of menace that serves it well; fans will enjoy the book, and newcomers will have a good time too.

i have been borrowing a couple of her books from the library after a long hiatus of 5-6 years. n or m is my first introduction to tommy and tuppence, and i must say they are a light-hearted, action-oriented departure from christie's other investigators, who give the impression of spending a lot of time in situ, whether at the murder scenes or comtemplating the case. christie veers from teh pack in her stubborn regard for the facts and teh circumstances; i have never done any professional spying, but i imagine if i did that i could take a few hints from her detailed analysis of how her characters think and act. so many detectives in detective novels strike you as so ordinary - some are not even very smart - but in this book you see the true complexity of wartime counter-espionage come to life, all the more frightening because it lurks beneath a veneer of everyday monotony. i love how she injects obscure words now and then...reminds you of a time when people didn't just use er..awesome as an umbrella expression for pleasure!

During World War II, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford follow an obscure clue to a small English seaside town where a Nazi mastermind is recruiting Englishmen to help their cause. But who at the hotel is the mastermind? When a young child is kidnapped, Tommy and Tuppence believe they're on the right track, but are they? This riveting thriller is Christie at her best. It's a noteworthy for the political slant she includes, because that's not terribly common for her books. It constantly amazes me the amount of pertinent details Christie includes for the readers. Some are red herrings, and some are decisive. Agatha Christie was certainly the best.

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.

I am rapidly running out of superlatives to describe this book and all other books written by this sensational author. The book is extremely hard to put down because Agatha Christie is, to put it simply, the best crime-fiction novelist there ever will be. I am in wraptures over this book. Sensational with a bizarre ending.

Agatha Christie's sleuthing couple, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, made their debut right after WWI had ended. "N or M?" finds the couple middle-aged and in the midst of WWII, desperately hoping to be of service to their country once again, but nobody seems to want them. Then a covert mission comes along that pits the married pair as strangers in a search to find traitors in their midst. "N or M?" is a fast-paced thriller, different than Christie's usual mysteries, that fans of her fiction will love for its unique if slightly easy to figure out story.

When Tommy is approached by the Home Office to discover German spies at a seaside boarding house, Tuppence feels left out and takes matters into her own hands. As disguised guests "unknown" to each other, the duo tries to figure out who these spies might be, a male referred to as N and a female known as M. There are several candidates, the most likely being a young German scientist who supposedly escaped the horrors of Germany after his family was imprisoned. But the woman who runs the boarding house is certainly of a foreign descent and strange things begin to occur that let Tommy and Tuppence know they are on the right trail even if they have very little to go on. In an era of suspicion and war, everyone is a likely suspect, especially those who claim to be something they are not. And when Tommy goes missing, Tuppence must call upon her wiliest scheme to rescue him and uncover the treacherous spies.

"N or M?" is an enjoyable thriller, its time period perfectly captured by Christie, as it was originally published in 1941, not long after WWII began. It plays magnificently to the fears that existed that German spies had infiltrated English society and that so-called patriots could be turned by the enemy. Christie plausibly fashioned many suspects, and while one identity may surprise, I felt that one was rather easy to figure out since it was the tried and true least likely suspect. All in all, "N or M?" is a nice thriller featuring Tommy and Tuppenece, although not quite up to par with their earlier escapades.

Tommy and Tuppence Berseford are amateur sleuths who make an appearance as star players in a handful of Agatha Christie mystery novels. In "N or M" we meet them as a middle-aged married couple. England is undegoing the suffering during the Nazi bombing of the sceptered isle when the novel begins. Tommy and Tuppence are bored with their mundane existence as they long for action in the war. They have two children and they want to serve their King and Country in active war work!

Mr. Grant, an official in the British Intelligence Service, visits the Bersefords. He asks Tommy to go to work for government in an effort to squash out Fifth Column elements boring into the British apple. A British agent had recently died as he uttered the words "N or M". This alphabetic letters refer to German secret agents. It is believed that the spies are hiding out at the Sans Souci hotel at a small British resort town. Tommy goes to the resort using an alias. Later he is joined by Tuppence disguised as a Mrs. Blenkensop. The two Bersefords act like they are becoming romantically interested in one another as they communicate about what they have learned about the spy nest.

During their time at San Souci a young girl named Betty Sprot is kidnapped by a Polish woman. Who is the mysterious woman and why is Betty seized? What is the past of the landlady Mrs. Eileen Perenna and her fetchingly beautiful daughter Sheila? Is the young scientist Carl Von Deinim who claims he fled from Nazi Germany in reality a spy? Why does the enigmatic Commander Haydock invite Tommy to join him for golf at the club? Is the bellicose old Indian hand Major Bletchley a German spy? What will happen to Tommy and Tuppence?

Join the fun of this wartime Agatha Christie mystery? It will keep you guessing as you flip the pages! Have fun!

This story has Tommy and Tuppence serving as spies during WWII. It is the third of five T&T mysteries that Agatha wrote, and fairly typical of the series. In the series, each story has T&T roughly 10-15 years older than the last, so you see how they age and how their adventures change over time. In N or M, T&T are middle aged, too old to enlist and too young to stand by and do nothing. The identities of the baddies were fairly evident to me rather early in the story and Tommy's rescue involves some rather unlikely coincidences (Albert the (former) butler makes a key appearance), but the story has its charms. It provides an interesting perspective on the British view of things during WWII. The anti-German bias is understandable but the characterizations of the Germans are stereotypical and simplistic.

This book just goes to show who the master of mystery books is: Agatha Christie!

The book kept me guessing all the way until the very end. Think you know who the culprit is? Think again. The mystery itself was wonderfully written, with just the right amount of intrigue and menace. The lovely seaside setting combined with the pall of WWII hanging over everyone's heads made for a very interesting backdrop for the book.

This book is an excellent combination of mystery and WWII espionage.