Partners in Crime (Tommy & Tuppence chronology) (alkuperäinen julkaisuvuosi 1929; vuoden 2001 painos)

Christie’s second Tommy and Tuppence book (of five) is also the second-best. The characters shine as in their first outing, "The Secret Adversary", and their bubbliness – which was a bit off-putting in the trenches of "N or M?" – is used to maximum effect in these giddy little cases. All of the stories are enjoyable, and they were the basis for the 1980s TV series 'Partners in Crime', which I’ve never seen but reliable sources inform me wasn’t very good. (A pity, because the fanboy inside me wishes James Warwick and Francesca Annis could reunite and film the later books, for continuity’s sake!)

"Partners in Crime" is let down by the fact that each short story parodies a detective or detective style from the era. Many of these have faded into history, which can lead to hidden jokes feeling disconnected, and witty one-liners become merely non-sequiturs. The first time I read this book, however, I didn’t realise this; aside from the occasional discombobulating moment, it wasn’t an issue. Re-reading, I notice the format more. An enjoyable confection, but won’t sate your hunger for long. Sadly, when Christie revived the couple for three further escapades in middle age, they’d be largely a waste.

Tommy and Tuppence ranking: 2nd out of 5. ( )

This book is Christie's parody of detective fiction. She sends up all the famous authors who preceded her--Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allen Poe, even Christie herself. It is very funny, especially if you've read the thing she's parodying.

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, the leading characters in this book, are I think the best of Christie's sleuths. They're more action-oriented, less pompous, much more likable, and, frankly, they're just a lot funnier. I prefer these to Hercule Poirot (which to me is interesting mostly as an intellectual exercise). I wish she'd written more books with Tommy and Tuppence.

This book is really a collection of short stories, each of which is a parody on some famous detective author of the day. You can buy the short stories separately. The stories all hang together very loosely, and there is an introduction and a conclusion that makes it all part of a somewhat coherent story. But that's mostly just an excuse for riffing on all detective fiction.

Some of Christie's other hilarious works are The Secret of Chimneys and the Seven Dials Mystery, both of which are satires on the British upper classes (and both have very likable, though distinctly upper class, characters). Also, any book where Ariadne Oliver appears is often quite funny as well. Ariadne Oliver is basically Christie's cameo appearance, where she makes fun of herself as a detective writer. ( )

Light and fun reading. Wish I knew more about early 20th century popular fictional detectives because only Holmes and Poirot are familiar to me of all the ones Christie references in these stories. ( )

This short story collection by Agatha Christie features Tommy and Tuppence Beresford's adventures as they take over Blunt's International Detective Agency at the behest of Scotland Yard. Tommy impersonates Mr. Blunt, while Tuppence takes on the role of his confidential secretary, Miss Robinson. They solve cases of disappearance, theft, blackmail and murder, all while attempting to flush out international spies. And with each case, they experiment with the methods of a different fictional detective, including Christie's own Hercule Poirot.

You don't need to have read mysteries featuring the detectives that Christie is parodying to enjoy these stories. Wikipedia has a full list of the novelists and detectives being riffed on if you're interested in digging through the inspirations for these stories. That said, I did find it a treat to be able to recognize names such as Inspector French and Reggie Fortune, who have appeared in books republished by the British Library's Crime Classics series.

Taking these stories at face value, not just parodies, they are simply so much fun. Tommy and Tuppence are lively, clever, and unafraid to take on anything. Hugh Fraser narrates excellently -- I just about died during the last story, because of it parodying Hercule Poirot, and yes, even son cher Hastings! This collection will certainly be on my list of comfort audios. ( )

I enjoyed this collection of stories, it was nice to catch up with the young carefree Beresfords again!
And while each story was fun and engaging I did find the "luck" aspect of each story to be unbelievable after a while. No one in the world has that much luck to be able to stumble across the answer to mysteries. Some of the stories or circumstances were a bit of a convenient eye roll. But overall it was a cute, quick read. ( )