Customer Reviews

Partners in Crime

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Originally published in 1929, PARTNERS IN CRIME reunites Tommy Beresford and Prudence "Tuppence" Cowley, first created by Christie for the earlier novel THE SECRET ADVERSARY; they are now married and, although happy in the marriage, Tuppence finds herself bored with the routine of life.

Her wish for excitement is answered when intelligence agent Mr. Carter puts a proposal before the two. A London detective agency has been found to be involved in espionage and its owner has been picked up--but government authorities want to keep the agency open in hope of tracing its illegal activities. How would Tommy and Tuppence like to take on the task?

This set up provides the frame for a series of short stories in which Tommy and Tuppence handle various legitimate calls upon the detective agency even as they hope to make contacts that will break the spy ring. There is Lawrence St. Vincent, whose lady-love has agreed to marry him... but only if he can solve a unique riddle. There is a stolen pearl, the odd scam, and a few murders as well--and, of course, espionage constantly in the background.

Along the way, Tommy and Tuppence have fun by adopting the methods, with considerably varied result, of famous fictional detectives such as The Old Man In The Corner, Sherlock Holmes, and even (albeit briefly) the celebrated Hercule Poirot. It is all very light hearted, lightly written, and as always when Christie elects to trot out Tommy and Tuppence the great attraction are the characters themselves--sharp, witty, and having a good time.

This collection of short stories comes no where near the brilliance of THE TUESDAY CLUB MURDERS, featuring Miss Marple, or THE LABORS OF HERCULES, only slightly less fine and featuring Hercule Poirot. Nonetheless, it is an entertaining sort of thing, and most readers will enjoy Christie's comic touch with her material. Good fun!

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

A collection of short stories featuring Christie's married team of Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. The stories are derived from Tommy and Tuppence being asked to take over a detective agency that the authorities believe is an information drop for the Russians. Christie poked a little fun at mystery writers and their counterparts by having the Beresford's take on the persona of a different, fictional detective for each story including Christie's famous, Belgium detective, Hercule Poirot.

This is one of Christie's best efforts. Every story moves smoothly and is satisfying throughout til their expert conclusions. I really like her Tommy and Tuppence books. It's too bad she only wrote 5 of them, but this one I think is her finest. The 2 meld well together and even argue delightfully. A must addition to any Agatha collection. You will not be disappointed.

Agatha Christie's team of detectives, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, return in their second mystery "Partners in Crime" a collection of short stories featuring the young sleuths. Although happily married for several years, Tuppence still craves adventure and Christie offers plenty of it in this collection of generally lighthearted stories.

Tuppence's craving for adventure meets its satisfaction when a superior from Scotland Yard asks them to front the Blunt Detective Agency, pretending to be Blunt and his associate in an effort to capture a criminal gang from Russia. The Beresfords jump at the opportunity, with Tommy augmenting his sleuthing abilities by studying the great fictional masters, like Sherlock Holmes and even Hercule Poirot. Many of the stories are interconnected, such as "The Clergyman's Daughter" which begins with a tale about a possible poltergeist forcing a poor young woman to sell the house she inherited, that then ends in The Red House" when Tommy and Tuppence discover the natural reason behind the supernatural events. Other standouts include "Finessing the King"/"The Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper" where a murder at a costume party has all fingers pointing in the wrong direction, and "The Man in the Mist" where Tommy and Tuppence encounter a possible ghost in connection with a strange murder.

"Partners in Crime" is an enjoyable and easy read. Tommy and Tuppence are definitely likable characters, and while the stories are rather dated, the wordplay and sheer fun that these two characters have is infectious. It is not by far Christie's best work, but it is an enjoyable departure from her regular sleuths, Poirot and Miss Marple.

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford's romance and postwar adventures were told in THE SECRET ADVERSARY. It is now 6 years later (1929) and the pair are comfortably settled into married life.

Tommy has a job in the Secret Service, working for Mr. Carter whom they had met during their earlier adventures, and is reasonably content but Tuppence is bored. The housework only occupies a few hours in the morning leaving her longing for earlier, more exciting times. Just as Tommy warns her to be careful what she wishes for his boss arrives to offer them an adventure.

He requests the pair take over a detective agency that is a front for Russian spies. The plan is to keep the agency going until the Secret Service can capture the rest of the spy ring. In order to keep up the front of the detective agency Tommy and Tuppence take on various jobs that come along. They are great fans of detective stories and model their detection techniques on the "Classics" the popular fictional detectives of the day.

This collection of light hearted adventures is charming and cleverly plotted. It is wonderful to see what has happened to the delightful characters of not only Tommy and Tuppence but also Albert and the mysterious Mr. Carter. So why a 4 instead of a 5 star rating? The problem is with the use of the fictional characters as role models. Other than Sherlock Holmes few of the other detectives (Dr. Thorndyke, Inspector Hanaud, Max Carrados, Reggie Fortune, Inspector French, Father Brown and The Old Man in the Corner) are very well know today. Still, it is possible to enjoy the stories without knowing who the inspirations were.

The detectives in this book are none other than Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, a lively husband-and-wife team who enjoy adventure.
PARTNERS IN CRIME opens as most Tommy and Tuppence books do -- they are bored with life and crave adventure. Their wants are answers when The Chief visits them, and informs them of a failing detective agency. The Chief asks them to take over the failing detective agency and look for a mastermind criminal whose symbol is the number 16. Tommy and Tuppence agree, and the result is adventure and many humorous experiences.
PARTNERS IN CRIME is a great example of Agatha Christie's lighter side. She placed some very funny material in the book, making it very enjoyable. I would recommend it to any Christie fan.
PARTNERS IN CRIME is also worth reading just for the last line in the book, delivered by Tuppence. She says something that will force the reader to smile and say, "Awww..."

When I read this reader's opinion of Partners in Crime, I agreed 100%! Very well put! An excellent book - I immediatley went to the library after reading this book to check out another Tommy and Tuppence novel, but it seems that in the other Tommy and Tuppence novels with the exception of The Secret Adversary, Tommy and Tuppence are middle aged. One of the reasons I enjoyed Partners in Crime so much is their lively youth, not to mention the romance, excitement, and humor!

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford have been married for six years. They first met as blackmailers in the 1922 Christie novel "The Secret Adversary.' The two have been involved in secret service work and have survived World War I. They live in Bloomsbury in London as the book begins. Tommy is employed in a mundane desk job for the British Intelligence Agency. Tuppence (nee Prudence Cowley) is a bright young socialite who is bored with daily life longing for excitement and danger.
The British Intelligence Agency asks the Bersefords to assume aliases as they take over the Blunt Detective Agency. Mr. Blunt was arrested for engaging in espionage for the Russian Communist regime. The Bersefords begin their work with gusto taking on several knotty criminal cases. They imitate the techniques of famous detectives such as Christie's Hercule Poirot and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
There are several cases which the twosome solve during the course of the 215 page book. This is very lightweight Christie but her ingenious mind does use her "little grey cells" enough to keep her inquisitive readers guessing
"whodunit?". Light! Entertaining! Fun! Enjoy yourselves with a few hours with Tommy and Tuppence!

This is a collection of short mysteries in which Tommy and Tuppence work their way through posing as detectives owning their own agency, as asked by Scotland Yard, to catch a mean suspect. Tommy and Tuppence are wonderful characters. They have great humor and love to pick on each other. I really enjoyed the teasing of each other. And this lovely couple act out different detectives for each case, based on what they know of the case. You really get a small glimps of how they see other detectives in the books.

I love Agatha Christie books but had never read the Tommy and Tuppence series. I read Thje Secret Adversary first and then ordered the rest of the series. Partners in Crime is really a bunch of short stories featuring Tommy and Tuppence and their various adventures. The two sleuths remind me of Mr and Mrs Peale from the old TV series. Very entertaining and fun to read. I especially like that the stories are short ---- I read every night to relax into sleep.
I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.