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Partners in Crime
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'Partners In Crime' Buddy Read
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Mike, will the discussion take place in this thread or will you be opening new threads for each block of stories?
I’ve split the contents of ‘Partners In Crime’ so that we read a story roughly every other day.Where Wikipedia says that a story has two parts, I’ve combined them.
I still don’t know how this fits with the audiobook version, which claims to be in six parts but where the reviews say that this doesn’t correspond to the actual structure of the narration.
Hare’s the proposed schedule:
To keep things simple, I'll open a thread here for each week's stories.
Sounds good, Mike. I got started on reading yesterday. So far, it's been fast and enjoyable.
Partners In Crime Buddy Read : A Fairy in the Flat/A Pot of Tea,The Affair of the Pink Pearl, The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger
These are the stories we're reading between 1st and 7th May. Please share you thoughts on these stories as replies to this post.
I'll start with A Fairy in the Flat. Christie amused me with Tuppence's discontent with the last six years of her comfortable life. Of course she was bored and longing for adventure - she stayed at home while Tommy went off to work. This led to a frank conversation where each talked about the kind of person they would like to meet. It's clear that Tommy and Tuppence are able to let off steam in this kind of honest exchange and then move on without hurt feelings. That's part of the charm of this couple. The Fairy granted a wish because Mr. Carter showed up and set the stage for the detective stories in the rest of the book.
I think of the first pair of stories as an "amuse bouche" -- just a mouthful of flavor to get the senses primed for the feast to come. And the now-married-and-settled-in T&T are such a delight to spend time with.
WEEK ONE:A Fairy in the Flat/A Pot of Tea
I think of the first pair of stories as an "amuse bouche" -- just a mouthful of flavor to get the senses primed for the feast to come.
The Affair of the Pink Pearl –
Okay, now we are getting to the heart of the matter. The truth is that "Partners in Crime" is really a box full bon-bons that I would like to devour in one sitting. The now-married-and-settled-in T&T are such a delight to spend time with -- so much more pleasant to spend any length of time with than the shallow and snobbish alcoholics, Nick and Nora Charles -- and please don't ask me what even brought them to my mind or why I insist on contrasting the two couples
The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger –
Well , honestly, I think I would have liked a bit more meat on these bones. The story went too quickly.
Mike wrote: " Partners In Crime Buddy Read : A Fairy in the Flat/A Pot of Tea,The Affair of the Pink Pearl, The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger
These are the stories we're reading between 1st and 7th May...."
found the first three stories in this collection a little disappointing. They read more like sketches than short stories and they're sketches that depend for their full effect on knowledge of other Golden Age Crime writers that I don't have. I feel that I'm watching 'Spitting Image' without knowing the celebrities that puppets are ridiculing.
That said, the chemistry between Tommy and Tuppence still works and I'm enjoying seeing Christie being so playful in her writing.
A Fairy in the Flat/A Pot of Tea
This worked as an introduction, re-establishing Tommy and Tuppence as a couple and getting them set up in a bogus detective agency. The trick that Tuppence played on Tommy was surprising and mildly amusing and helped to set out the terms of engagement of their relationship but didn't make for much of a story..
The Affair of the Pink Pearl
I've never read the Dr. Thorndyke mysteries so much of the fooling around with cameras and looking for ways of using science didn't have the context that Christie was expecting her readers to have. The 'mystery' was weak although I liked the simplicity of solving a crime with a single photograph
.The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger
This devolved into pantomime fairly quickly. Again, I've never read the Okewood brothers stories so I didn't know the roles that Tommy and Tuppence were choosing between. The characterisation, such as it was, was done in thick crayon and the ending felt more like a collapse than a resolution.
In other words, the stories are "period pieces." In 1929, I expect the readers of mysteries were rather conversant with Tommy's bookshelf of mystery writers and without that information today's readers miss the significance and the subtle details of the parody, leaving us with just the bare bones. No wonder I am sitting here yelling, "I don't get it."I suppose I could search the internet for some example of the authors mentioned but I know that I won't read what I find.
At this point, I'm going to polish off my box of chocolates. I'm going to read the stories for the enjoyment of spending time with Tommy and Tuppence and not worry anymore about the context.
Peregrina651 wrote: "In other words, the stories are "period pieces." In 1929, I expect the readers of mysteries were rather conversant with Tommy's bookshelf of mystery writers and without that information today's rea..."Yep, I think I'm going to take the same approach - minus the chocolates.
Peregrina651 wrote: "The now-married-and-settled-in T&T are such a delight to spend time with -- so much more pleasant to spend any length of time with than the shallow and snobbish alcoholics, Nick and Nora Charles -- and please don't ask me what even brought them to my mind or why I insist on contrasting the two couples"I wholeheartedly agree about Nick & Nora Charles - you know how I felt about The Thin Man, and it wasn't good.
However, if you want a classic mystery that is closer to the T&T than the N&N, I recommend
The Norths Meet Murder
featuring Pam & Jerry North. If you are interested, you can find reviews of the first three books in the series on my blog:
https://allthevintageladies.com/2020/...
Unfortunately, I don't think they have been recorded as audiobooks, and IIRC, that's how you do most of your reading these days.
Christine PNW wrote: "Peregrina651 wrote: "The now-married-and-settled-in T&T are such a delight to spend time with -- so much more pleasant to spend any length of time with than the shallow and snobbish alcoholics, Nic..."Wow, the only Kindle version available in the UK is the 13th book in the series. Everything else is paperback, often secondhand. The paperback version of The Norths Meet Murder is £19.16 on Amazon.
Mike wrote: "Wow, the only Kindle version available in the UK is the 13th book in the series. Everything else is paperback, often secondhand. The paperback version of The Norths Meet Murder is £19.16 on Amazon.."Oh, that's too bad, Mike. There are a bunch of them available from my library, which is how I have been reading them. That's a preposterous price for a secondhand paperback. Maybe keep an eye out in charity shops and one will pop up?
Here's this week's set of stories from Partners In Crime. 
Please post your comments as replies to this post
Christine said: Unfortunately, I don't think they have been recorded as audiobooks, and IIRC, that's how you do most of your reading these days.Thanks for the suggestion. You are right, books are for listening these days and there is nothing on Audible. So darned! I am SOL unless I want to eyeball (to which I am getting a very clear, "I don't think so" from said organ). Still, I wishlisted the title at the Library should I change my mind.
I'm a bit behind on my reading this week, but hope to get caught up soon. As for two of the stories this week (Finessing the King and the Missing Lady), they turned out to be some mixed reading.I had high hopes for the Finessing story in that it contained an actual murder for the two to solve and included some clever puzzles and clues to sort out. The murder took place during a costume party, and it reminded me of one of Hercule Poirot's stories that also included a murder during a costume ball. Agatha seemed to be rehashing some concepts here.
As for the Missing Lady, this one was a dud for me. I kept thinking that I had read something similar before - a lady trapped in an institution - but this one ended in a funny but unsatisfying way.
What I like about these short stories is that they move fast compared to Poirot novels that can spend a long time chasing after clues.
Please post your comments as replies to this post
Mike wrote: "Here's this week's set of stories from Partners In Crime. Please post your comments as replies to this post"
I've begun to see these stories as a sort of Improv game that Christie is playing for her own amusement. I imagine her having a fine time effortlessly spinning off plot idea after plot idea and dressing them ironically in the costumes of another writer's characters. How exhilarating it must have been to have an imagination so fertile.
Unfortunately, they are less fun to read than they probably were to write.
Finessing the King/The Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper
This waa a clever idea but the denouement felt rushed.
I've no idea if the stuff with the dots in newspaper headlines was a real thing or just a joke that Christie played on her readers to get them to check it out for themselves.
I liked the description of the Ace OF Spades club. It felt like the 1920s version of a Pleasure Garden - a seedy place for Toffs to go slumming in.
The Case of the Missing Lady
As Tommy was channelling Sherlock Holmes in this one, I finally had the context fully to appreciate what Christie was doing. I thought the mimicry was spot on. This was a weak, insubstantial story with the characters spicing up a dull mystery rather like a pepper sauce on an indifferent steak. Still, I've read a few of Doyle's shorter Holmes stories that are as insubstantial as this one.
I liked Tuppence's reaction to Tommy's attempt at playing the violin.
Blindman’s Buff flamboyant
Oh dear, did someone really write a series about a blind 'Problemist'?
Still, if Marvel Comics can have Daredevil leaping between buildings and practising mixed martial arts while unable to see a thing, then a blind detective should be a run-of-the-mill thing to stretch my imagination around.
This one was pure pantomime. Sadly, I've never enjoyed pantomime.
Here are the three stories for this week. Please post your comments in reply to this thread.
Mike wrote: "Please post your comments as replies to this post"
I can see that my enjoyment of these stories goes up when I'm familiar with the fictional detective(s) being mimicked but they are so slight that, when I'm ignorant of the reference points, it's like biting into a meringue.
The Man In The Mist
I thought this was the best of the three but that may be because I'm familiar with at least the TV version of Father Brown. The Father Brown link was tenuous but the fancy dress aspect of it was fun. I thought the scene in the pub worked well although the Irish stereotypes might find themselves being edited out at some point in the future. The solution was really quite clever but the delivery was so rushed that it felt as though Christie had lost interest.
The Crackler
This one didn't do anything for me, which could be a sign that it was faithful to the detective stories it was imitating. I grew up with 'The Edgar Wallace Mysteries' as an apparently endless series of B feature movies and I hated pretty much everything about them, from the graphics, through the music to the stuffy, corny storytelling. Christie poked some fun at how prolific Wallace was and implied that this was because his quality level was low. That was about the only thing in the story that held my attention, although I was amused at just how awful Tommy was at naming villains - 'The Crackler' just doesn't work as a label for a criminal mastermind.
The Sunningdale Mystery
I had no point of reference here so all the stuff with the string and knots and the man in the corner went over my head. I also had to look up what an A.B.C. café was.
The plot here was quite a good one, I can see it making an interesting TV episode but the exposition felt rushed and the 'detecting at a distance' approach with no contact with any of the people involved in the crime, made it a slightly dry read..
Mike wrote: "Please post your comments as replies to this post"
I'm catching up here with last week's reading.
The Man in the Mist.
I enjoyed this one. It started with a description of T&T experiencing an embarrassing failure with one of their cases. It seems that their approach of mimicking famous literary sleuths did not help them this time, and I found this opening bit to be funny and even relatable.
The murder mystery was light on red herrings but as Mike mentioned, Christie could have spent a bit more time creating a more satisfying end.
The Crackler
I don't know who Edgar Wallace is so the story's references made no sense to me. But I enjoyed the back-and-forth quips between Tommy and Tuppence as they headed into the criminal underworld to catch a counterfeiter that Tommy called The Crackler, a name that only Tommy liked. The over-the-top French femme fatale was one of the highlights of this otherwise thin mystery.
The Sunningdale Mystery
I think Christie liked writing the opening lines of these short stories because they're light and fun glimpses into Tommy and Tuppence's relationship. As for this story, it had elements of some Poirot mysteries: the murder that took place near a golf course, a misappropriation of funds, and of course, people masquerading to misdirect investigators. I liked this story the best out of the three for the week.
Mary wrote: "Mike wrote: "Please post your comments as replies to this post"
I'm catching up here with last week's reading.
The Man in the Mist.
I enjoyed this one. It started with a description of T&T exp..."
Thanks for highlighting the banter between Tommy and Tuppence. I't's good fun and I enjoy seeing Christie being playful.
The final two stories in the collection this week. Please leave your comments as replies to this post. Thanks.
Mike wrote: "Here are the three stories for this week. Please post your comments in reply to this thread."
Only one of these really stuck with me this week - the one I think of as The Tommy And Tuppence Christmas Special. I think my lack of familiarity with the writers being lampooned is making me deaf to a lot of the content. My nearest point of comparison seems to be Scooby Doo.
The House Of Lurking Death
Agatha Christie loves her poisons and that was the most interesting part of this story. The rest just slipped past me.
The Unbreakable Alibi
I'm surprised that Agatha Christie didn't save the twins idea for a novel. She could have done 'Prestige' decades earlier. Unfortunately, the writing was thin and the storytelling felt rushed.
The Clergyman’s Daughter / The Red House
This is probably my favourite story in the collection so far. I liked the chemistry between Tommy and Tuppence and I realise that I prefer the stories where Tuppence takes charge - she's better at this than Tommy and sees the humour more easily. There was a nice 'Christmas Special' feel to the story.
The mystery was fairly transparent, which worked because it meant more energy went into the humour and the dialogue. I liked the old fashioned cryptogram. It reminded me how young Tommy and Tuppence still are at this point. I loved the idea of the two of them digging in the dark on Christmas Eve.
I wondered whether Christie would add an extra twist and sell the house to the bad guys without letting on that the treasure had been recovered. It turned out that Tommy and Tuppence were too nice for that. Or perhaps ending the story at midnight on Christmas Eve just worked better.
Mike wrote: "Here are the three stories for this week. Please post your comments in reply to this thread."
The House of Lurking Death
A young woman received a substantial inheritance from a wealthy aunt and shortly afterward, a box of chocolates arrived from an anonymous sender. The chocolates were full of enough poison to sicken but not kill anyone in the household. The young woman hired Tommy and Tuppence to investigate the incident. Before they could arrive at the manor house, the young woman and several others in the house died from poisoned fig sandwiches.
This story had a great start but it lost its luster as T&T investigated everyone left in the house. Christie threw a few red herrings to keep the story going but the ending was uninspired.
The Unbreakable Alibi
I kind of liked this one. Christie set up the story as an impossible problem, with one person claiming to be in two places at the same time. As Mike pointed out, Christie simply does better when she has more time to tell a story. This one just abruptly ended. Not enough time to ratchet up the tension.
The Clergyman's Daughter
For some reason, Tommy changed Tuppence's pseudonym at the office from Miss Robinson to Miss Sheringham. I'm not sure if that has something to do with the mystery characters they are copying.
In this story, another aunt left another inheritance to another poor young relative. In this case, it was a house but no cash. A buyer came forward with an offer to buy the house but the young woman and her invalid mother decided to live in the house and take in renters to get some income. Shortly afterward, strange occurrences happened, with pictures falling down and furniture moving down. The renters got scared and left. Tommy and Tuppence were called in to investigate, and the story turned into a good mystery, as Christie put some effort into clues.
Mike wrote: "The final two stories in the collection this week. Please leave your comments as replies to this post. Thanks."
The Ambassador's Boots
A clever idea, the kind of thing that I think Conan Doyle would have been happy enough to publish in The Strand Magazine, but there was nothing much to this one except the idea
The Man Who Was No. 16
This was a good story to end on. There was some substance to the plot and a couple of moments of excitement. It was even nice to see that this time it wasn't Tommy who needed to be rescued. I also enjoyed Tommy's impersonation of Poirot and how Hugh Fraser managed to come up with a voice that was both Poirot and Tommy.
The ending was,,, well, very much of its time. I was happy and exuberant but it feels odd to hear a woman say, in effect, I can stop playing at being a detective now because I'm about to become a mother.
Still, I wonder how long it took Tommy to realise that Tuppence already knew this when she said, at the start of the story, that this would be their last case and then went ahead and put herself in danger anyway?
I'd like to thank everyone who joined the Partners In Crime Buddy Read.I've put my review of the collection here:
https://mikefinnsfiction.com/2023/05/...
Thank you, Mike, for organizing this excellent buddy read!
I enjoyed my meetings with Agatha Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence both as bright young things looking for adventure in ‘The Secret Adversary' (1922) and as an older married couple working for the security service tracking down spies at the English seaside early in the Second World War in ’N or M?’ (1941).
I want to spend more time with them so I’m having a Buddy Read of ‘Partners In Crime’ in May here at n the Appointment With Agatha group.
If you’d like to join in, grab a copy of the book (it’s available in all formats but I’m trusting myself to Hugh Fraser’s narration) and share your thoughts in this thread.
To help keep us all together and avoid spoilersr, I propose that we read three stories a week for each of the first four weeks of May.
‘Partners In Crime’ (1929) is a collection of short stories in which Tommy and Tuppence, still restless for adventure, accept an offer to take over Blunt’s International Detective Agency. After their triumphant recovery of a pink pearl, intriguing cases kept on coming their way: a stabbing on Sunningdale golf course; cryptic messages in the personal columns of newspapers; and even a box of poisoned chocolates.
The twelve stories in the collection (somehow bundled into six chapters in the audiobook - a mystery I have yet to solve) are light-hearted tales.
According to Wikipedia, Agatha Christie wrote them partly as a way to parody detective stories that were popular in the 1920s. Here’s the list of stories and the works that Wikipedia says they were parodying.
A Fairy in the Flat/A Pot of Tea – Introduction of the setup of Tommy and Tuppence at the International Detective Agency. Reminiscent of Malcolm Sage, detective (1921) by Herbert George Jenkins.
The Affair of the Pink Pearl – This first case is in the vein of the detective Dr. Thorndyke by R. Austin Freeman.
The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger – An espionage story, following in the footsteps of Valentine Williams and the detective brothers Francis and Desmond Okewood. One of Williams' books in particular – The Man with the Clubfoot[10] (1918) – is named by Tuppence in the story.
Finessing the King/The Gentleman Dressed in Newspaper – This two part story is a spoof of the nowadays almost-forgotten Isabel Ostrander, with parallels to the story The Clue in the Air (1917) and the detectives Tommy McCarty (an ex-policeman) and Denis Riordan (a fireman).
The Case of the Missing Lady – This story references Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmesstory The Disappearance of Lady Frances Carfax (1911).
Blindman's Buff – Matches Clinton H Stagg's stories about the blind detective Thornley Colton.
The Man in the Mist – In the style of G K Chesteron's Father Brown stories.
The Crackler – A spoof on Edgar Wallace's style of plotting.
The Sunningdale Mystery – The tale is in the style of Baroness Orczy's The Old Man in the Corner(1909), with Tuppence playing the role of journalist Polly Burton and Tommy tying knots in a piece of string in the manner of Orczy's character, Bill Owen.
The House of Lurking Death – Recreates the style of A E W Mason and his French detective Inspector Hanaud.
The Unbreakable Alibi – Modelled after Freeman Wills Crofts, known for his detective stories centred on alibis, and the Scotland Yard detective, Inspector Joseph French.
The Clergyman's Daughter/The Red House – A two part story, this is a parody of detective Roger Sheringham by Anthony Berkeley, with plot elements reminiscent of The Violet Farm by H C Bailey(although the latter was not published until 1928).
The Ambassador's Boots – Following the style of H C Bailey with Dr Reginald Fortune and Superintendent Bell as the parodied detectives.
The Man Who Was No. 16 – This story parodies Christie's own The Big Four, featuring Hercule Poirot.