Partners in Crime

Following their successful first outing, Tommy and Tuppence featured in a number of Agatha Christie’s short stories. Christie drew these together and lightly revised them to produce the second novel in the series. Although a collection of stories, there is a frame narrative to give the collection coherence.

As Tommy and Tuppence settle into their role of running Theodore Blunt’s International Detective Agency, they make use of a library of “Classics”—by which is meant “classics” of detective fiction—to investigate their cases. As the episodes unfold, the couple model their investigations on the manner of—among others—Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Thorndyke, Inspector French, and even Christie’s own Hercule Poirot.

Christie recounts these early adventures of Tommy and Tuppence with a light touch, not neglecting the relationship of the husband and wife team of sleuths along the way.

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