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It is World War II, and while the RAF struggles to keep the Luftwaffe at bay, Britain faces an even more sinister threat from "the enemy within" - Nazis posing as ordinary citizens. With pressure mounting, the intelligence service appoints two unlikely spies, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. Their mission: to seek out a man and a woman from among the colorful guests at Sans Souci, a seaside hotel. But this assignment is no stroll along the promenade - N and M have just murdered Britain's finest show more agent and no one at all can be. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I adore Tommy and Tuppence. They're freaking hilarious. Tuppence in particular is a legend.
“You know,” said the young man with enthusiasm, “I think you’re splendid, simply splendid.” “Cut out the compliments,” said Tuppence. “I’m admiring myself a good deal, so there’s no need for you to chime in.
Christie, Agatha. The Complete Tommy & Tuppence Collection (Tommy & Tuppence Mysteries) . William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition.
I love that they're both still happily married and as in love as they ever were. You don't really see many books about happily married couples where their falling in love is the beginning of the story - not the end. Plus they're still full of snark and banter and it was perfection. I also adore show more that Tuppence hasn't lost her thirst for adventure or her tendency for mischief. Pulling one over Mr Grant had me in hysterics. Succinctly, Tommy narrated what had occurred. He did not dare look at the other. He carefully kept out of his voice the pride that he secretly felt. There was a silence when he brought the story to an end. Then a queer noise escaped from the other. Grant was laughing. He laughed for some minutes. He said: “I take my hat off to the woman! She’s one in a thousand!” “I agree,” said Tommy.
Christie, Agatha. The Complete Tommy & Tuppence Collection (Tommy & Tuppence Mysteries) . William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition.
And that Tommy is still as supportive of her as ever. “And Mrs. Blenkensop.” More knitting—an untidy dark head which lifted from an absorbed contemplation of a Balaclava helmet. Tommy held his breath, the room spun round. Mrs. Blenkensop! Tuppence! By all that was impossible and unbelievable—Tuppence, calmly knitting in the lounge of Sans Souci. Her eyes met his—polite, uninterested stranger’s eyes. His admiration rose. Tuppence!
Christie, Agatha. The Complete Tommy & Tuppence Collection (Tommy & Tuppence Mysteries) . William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition.
“How on earth did you get here, Tuppence?” murmured Tommy. “It’s a miracle—an absolute miracle.” “It’s not a miracle at all—just brains.” “Your brains, I suppose?” “You suppose rightly.
Christie, Agatha. The Complete Tommy & Tuppence Collection (Tommy & Tuppence Mysteries) . William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition. They have such a great relationship and I love that give and take between them - they're a real partnership. And Tommy recognises it and endorses it.
That was what his life with Tuppence had been and would always be—a Joint Venture. . . .
Christie, Agatha. The Complete Tommy & Tuppence Collection (Tommy & Tuppence Mysteries) . William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition.
The mystery was fantastic. I loved the twists and turns and the doubts and the clues. I enjoyed finding out who was N and M and how they went about it. It amused me how they were dismissed for being too old (at forty six) but totally went ahead and foiled a major national security plot. And Albert makes an appearance!
Overall 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. show less
“You know,” said the young man with enthusiasm, “I think you’re splendid, simply splendid.” “Cut out the compliments,” said Tuppence. “I’m admiring myself a good deal, so there’s no need for you to chime in.
Christie, Agatha. The Complete Tommy & Tuppence Collection (Tommy & Tuppence Mysteries) . William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition.
I love that they're both still happily married and as in love as they ever were. You don't really see many books about happily married couples where their falling in love is the beginning of the story - not the end. Plus they're still full of snark and banter and it was perfection. I also adore show more that Tuppence hasn't lost her thirst for adventure or her tendency for mischief.
Christie, Agatha. The Complete Tommy & Tuppence Collection (Tommy & Tuppence Mysteries) . William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition.
And that Tommy is still as supportive of her as ever.
Christie, Agatha. The Complete Tommy & Tuppence Collection (Tommy & Tuppence Mysteries) . William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition.
“How on earth did you get here, Tuppence?” murmured Tommy. “It’s a miracle—an absolute miracle.” “It’s not a miracle at all—just brains.” “Your brains, I suppose?” “You suppose rightly.
Christie, Agatha. The Complete Tommy & Tuppence Collection (Tommy & Tuppence Mysteries) . William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition.
That was what his life with Tuppence had been and would always be—a Joint Venture. . . .
Christie, Agatha. The Complete Tommy & Tuppence Collection (Tommy & Tuppence Mysteries) . William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition.
The mystery was fantastic. I loved the twists and turns and the doubts and the clues. I enjoyed finding out who was N and M and how they went about it. It amused me how they were dismissed for being too old (at forty six) but totally went ahead and foiled a major national security plot. And Albert makes an appearance!
Overall 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5. show less
Christie's Tommy and Tuppence never measures up to her more famous creations, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. I enjoy their adventures to varying degrees. I would have really liked N or M? but for a very strange scene where they finally get to know who the main antagonist is. It is one of the most ludicrous things I have ever read. That scene seems like something an author would write if they could not find any other way of solving the problem at hand. It would have put me off even if a lesser author had written it, let alone my favorite Agatha Christie. I expect much better from her. Overall, this is an enjoyable spy thriller, barring that infernal scene!
Unlike Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, Christie's sleuthing couple, Tommy and Tuppence Beresford age pretty much in real time, from being 'bright young things" in their first appearance, "The Secret Adversary" to being senior citizens in their final book "By the Pricking of My Thumbs". In this story, published in 1941, they are middle aged and feeling frustrated that their doesn't seem to be a place for them to 'do their bit' during WWII. But their old boss, Mr. Carter, recommends them for a job ferreting out Nazi spies on British soil. The intelligence service is looking for outsiders to take on the task since there are believed to be traitors within. They are sent off to a seaside boarding house, filled with very typical boarding show more house types, to determine who is not what they seem.
Christie was better at dealing with domestic plots than espionage, but this is one of her better espionage efforts. The network of 'Fifth Columnists' is a bit over-the-top, but the actual revelations of who can and can't be trusted is really clever and unexpected. It's an enjoyable story, even if not her best. show less
Christie was better at dealing with domestic plots than espionage, but this is one of her better espionage efforts. The network of 'Fifth Columnists' is a bit over-the-top, but the actual revelations of who can and can't be trusted is really clever and unexpected. It's an enjoyable story, even if not her best. show less
With World War II underway, it's only natural that Tommy and Tuppence Beresford would recall their experiences during the previous war. They approached their dangerous assignments then with a sense of adventure. Their early venture into private detecting ended with the birth of their children. Now that the children are grown, Tommy and Tuppence wonder if there isn't some way that they can use their experience to serve their country. Tommy is pleasantly surprised to receive an assignment to pose as a guest at a seaside hotel in Leahampton. The intelligence service knows that an enemy agent – either N or M - is operating from the hotel. Is it one of the guests? Or possibly the mysterious proprietor? Imagine Tommy's surprise when he show more arrives to find that he's already very well acquainted with one of his fellow guests. Can Tommy and his partner spot the enemy agent before the agent spots them?
I'm among the minority of Christie fans who count Tommy and Tuppence as their favorite detectives. They're a perfect team. I think it's the extra sense of danger and the espionage angle to the stories that appeals so much to me. Poirot and Miss Marple are rarely, if ever, in physical danger from the murderers they unmask. Danger is all in a day's work for Tommy and Tuppence. Although we've missed the Beresford children's youth between the last Tommy and Tuppence novel and this one, there's an adorable toddler staying with her mother at the hotel and she manages to charm both the Beresfords and the reader. She's just one more reason to love this book.
World War II is currently popular as a setting for historical mysteries, and many of the recently written books bear strong similarities to this Christie adventure. However, today's novelists have an advantage that Christie didn't have. They know how the war ended, and they know about operations that were secret during the war years. N or M? was published in 1941, long before the war ended. It's interesting that one of the characters in the novel is a Major Bletchley. I wonder if this caused a stir in intelligence circles when the novel was published? It's common knowledge now that Bletchley Park was the British headquarters for cryptographers during World War II, but it wasn't public knowledge at the time Christie wrote this novel. show less
I'm among the minority of Christie fans who count Tommy and Tuppence as their favorite detectives. They're a perfect team. I think it's the extra sense of danger and the espionage angle to the stories that appeals so much to me. Poirot and Miss Marple are rarely, if ever, in physical danger from the murderers they unmask. Danger is all in a day's work for Tommy and Tuppence. Although we've missed the Beresford children's youth between the last Tommy and Tuppence novel and this one, there's an adorable toddler staying with her mother at the hotel and she manages to charm both the Beresfords and the reader. She's just one more reason to love this book.
World War II is currently popular as a setting for historical mysteries, and many of the recently written books bear strong similarities to this Christie adventure. However, today's novelists have an advantage that Christie didn't have. They know how the war ended, and they know about operations that were secret during the war years. N or M? was published in 1941, long before the war ended. It's interesting that one of the characters in the novel is a Major Bletchley. I wonder if this caused a stir in intelligence circles when the novel was published? It's common knowledge now that Bletchley Park was the British headquarters for cryptographers during World War II, but it wasn't public knowledge at the time Christie wrote this novel. show less
I'm not generally a fan of Christie's political novels, but I do love Tommy and Tuppence. This story gives an interesting look at what my kids would call the "vibe" in England at the start of WWII. There's a lot more tension than in many of Christie's mysteries. The intrigue I can take or leave, but I like that the novel is emotionally complex, the parent-child relationships feel authentic, and the Beresfords' marriage is refreshingly equal(ish).
Tommy and Tuppence are now middle-aged and chafing at the idea that no one seems to want to let them help out in this war effort like in the last one. So when an old friend recommends Tommy for a spy gig on home shores, he jumps at the chance, even though they’re both told that it’s men’s work only – and finds Tuppence already undercover and waiting for him when he arrives. Their job is to try to uncover a German spy mastermind in a small resort town while posing as boring old ordinary citizens on extended holiday and staying at a boarding house.
It’s Christie, so of course everyone is a suspect, and the plot is fast-paced and fun. I’m always delightfully shocked by the reveal, and as always, I adore Tommy and Tuppence.
It’s Christie, so of course everyone is a suspect, and the plot is fast-paced and fun. I’m always delightfully shocked by the reveal, and as always, I adore Tommy and Tuppence.
It appears I have read the Tommy and Tuppence novels in completely the wrong order – but I don’t suppose that matters. A few months ago, I read By the Pricking of My Thumbs which takes place a few years after this one, an excellent mystery – and I have had the final novel Postern of Fate for years but have never read it. Admittedly I have seen some poor reviews of that last novel – so perhaps I shouldn’t be in too much of a hurry to read it.
N or M? takes place in the spring of 1940, Tommy and Tuppence who original readers first encountered as bright young things, trying to shake off the horrors of the First World War, are now middle aged in the early months of another war. They have been married for a long time, have two grown show more up children, and have, in the past undertaken work of a secretive nature for ‘Mr Carter’ the former chief of Intelligence. The pair have been feeling very much out of things for a while, yet know they still have a lot to offer, are desperate to do something to help the war effort.
So, when a Mr Grant ‘a friend’ of Lord Easthampton (the real name of Mr Carter) Tommy and Tuppence know immediately that it is no social call. Sensing that their visitor would rather speak to Tommy alone, Tuppence makes her excuses.
“ ‘…All we know about them is that these two are Hitler’s most highly trusted agents and that in a code message we managed to decipher towards the beginning of the war there occurred this phrase – suggest N or M for England. Full powers –’ ”
Mr Grant wastes no time in taking Tommy into his confidence, a conspiracy of fifth columnists, activities which threaten Britain’s European campaign. Grant asks Tommy to undertake a secret, covert operation, he needs someone whose face is unknown. The only thing the intelligence service know are the code names N and M; the final words of a murdered man and the name of a boarding house on the south coast. Grant asks Tommy to keep his mission a secret even from Tuppence and invents a dull desk job for him in Scotland to explain away his absence. Tommy bids a fond farewell to his understanding wife, and to add colour to the lie, takes a train to Scotland, before turning around and heading back South to the boarding house Sans Souci in the seaside town of Leahampton.
When Tommy finally arrives at San Souci – as Mr Meadowes he is absolutely stunned to find Tuppence already installed, in the guise of a Mrs Blenkensop. Tuppence having of course listened in to the conversation between Tommy and Mr Grant – was not about to miss out on a bit of excitement, and the chance to prove herself still useful. They have a challenging task, routing out traitors and conspirators, a seaside boarding house not an obvious hunting ground. Tommy and Tuppence must appear to everyone as strangers – and they manage to play their part very well, meeting up on the beach to swap notes. At their first meeting after Tommy’s arrival, Tuppence is unrepentant at her deception.
“ ‘…I wished to teach you a lesson. You and your Mr Grant.’
‘He’s not exactly my Mr Grant and I should say you have taught him a lesson.’
‘Mr Carter wouldn’t have treated me so shabbily,’ said Tuppemce. ‘I don’t think the Intelligence is anything like it was in our day.’
Tommy said gravely; ‘It will attain its former brilliance now we’re back in it. But why Blenkensop?’
‘Why not?’
‘It seems an odd name to choose.’
‘It was the first one I thought of and it’s handy for underclothes’
‘What do you mean Tuppence?’
‘B, you idiot. B for Beresford, B for Blenkensop. Embroidered on my cami-knickers. Patricia Blenkensop. Prudence Beresford. Why did you choose Meadowes? It’s a silly name.’ ”
The boarding house is filled with an odd assortment of people. There is Mrs Peranna, her daughter Sheila, a Major, Mrs Sprot a devoted young mother and her charming little child Betty, a large Irish woman Miss O’Rourke, a German refugee von Deinem, an elderly lady called Miss Minton, a married couple, the Cayleys an invalid and his fussy, chattering wife. Tommy and Tuppence soon have their suspicions, and within a day or two of their arrival another foreign woman has been seen loitering outside the boarding house.
Tommy and Tuppence find themselves playing a dangerous game in a bid to unmask the traitors. Neither of them is safe, each of them seeming about to land themselves in hot water, I had my heart in my mouth. However, Tommy and Tuppence are possessed of incredibly cool heads. Christie is quite brilliant here, at recreating the sense of wartime paranoia, where nobody’s identity can be take at face value and foreigners are all treated with a degree of suspicion. Twists, turns and misdirection keep the reader guessing, and there are several surprises before the case is solved.
N or M? is an excellent Christie novel, more wartime espionage than the usual murder mystery we associate her with, it’s a brilliant little page turner, featuring an adorable couple. show less
N or M? takes place in the spring of 1940, Tommy and Tuppence who original readers first encountered as bright young things, trying to shake off the horrors of the First World War, are now middle aged in the early months of another war. They have been married for a long time, have two grown show more up children, and have, in the past undertaken work of a secretive nature for ‘Mr Carter’ the former chief of Intelligence. The pair have been feeling very much out of things for a while, yet know they still have a lot to offer, are desperate to do something to help the war effort.
So, when a Mr Grant ‘a friend’ of Lord Easthampton (the real name of Mr Carter) Tommy and Tuppence know immediately that it is no social call. Sensing that their visitor would rather speak to Tommy alone, Tuppence makes her excuses.
“ ‘…All we know about them is that these two are Hitler’s most highly trusted agents and that in a code message we managed to decipher towards the beginning of the war there occurred this phrase – suggest N or M for England. Full powers –’ ”
Mr Grant wastes no time in taking Tommy into his confidence, a conspiracy of fifth columnists, activities which threaten Britain’s European campaign. Grant asks Tommy to undertake a secret, covert operation, he needs someone whose face is unknown. The only thing the intelligence service know are the code names N and M; the final words of a murdered man and the name of a boarding house on the south coast. Grant asks Tommy to keep his mission a secret even from Tuppence and invents a dull desk job for him in Scotland to explain away his absence. Tommy bids a fond farewell to his understanding wife, and to add colour to the lie, takes a train to Scotland, before turning around and heading back South to the boarding house Sans Souci in the seaside town of Leahampton.
When Tommy finally arrives at San Souci – as Mr Meadowes he is absolutely stunned to find Tuppence already installed, in the guise of a Mrs Blenkensop. Tuppence having of course listened in to the conversation between Tommy and Mr Grant – was not about to miss out on a bit of excitement, and the chance to prove herself still useful. They have a challenging task, routing out traitors and conspirators, a seaside boarding house not an obvious hunting ground. Tommy and Tuppence must appear to everyone as strangers – and they manage to play their part very well, meeting up on the beach to swap notes. At their first meeting after Tommy’s arrival, Tuppence is unrepentant at her deception.
“ ‘…I wished to teach you a lesson. You and your Mr Grant.’
‘He’s not exactly my Mr Grant and I should say you have taught him a lesson.’
‘Mr Carter wouldn’t have treated me so shabbily,’ said Tuppemce. ‘I don’t think the Intelligence is anything like it was in our day.’
Tommy said gravely; ‘It will attain its former brilliance now we’re back in it. But why Blenkensop?’
‘Why not?’
‘It seems an odd name to choose.’
‘It was the first one I thought of and it’s handy for underclothes’
‘What do you mean Tuppence?’
‘B, you idiot. B for Beresford, B for Blenkensop. Embroidered on my cami-knickers. Patricia Blenkensop. Prudence Beresford. Why did you choose Meadowes? It’s a silly name.’ ”
The boarding house is filled with an odd assortment of people. There is Mrs Peranna, her daughter Sheila, a Major, Mrs Sprot a devoted young mother and her charming little child Betty, a large Irish woman Miss O’Rourke, a German refugee von Deinem, an elderly lady called Miss Minton, a married couple, the Cayleys an invalid and his fussy, chattering wife. Tommy and Tuppence soon have their suspicions, and within a day or two of their arrival another foreign woman has been seen loitering outside the boarding house.
Tommy and Tuppence find themselves playing a dangerous game in a bid to unmask the traitors. Neither of them is safe, each of them seeming about to land themselves in hot water, I had my heart in my mouth. However, Tommy and Tuppence are possessed of incredibly cool heads. Christie is quite brilliant here, at recreating the sense of wartime paranoia, where nobody’s identity can be take at face value and foreigners are all treated with a degree of suspicion. Twists, turns and misdirection keep the reader guessing, and there are several surprises before the case is solved.
N or M? is an excellent Christie novel, more wartime espionage than the usual murder mystery we associate her with, it’s a brilliant little page turner, featuring an adorable couple. show less
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Author Information
2,144+ Works 439,245 Members
One of the most successful and beloved writer of mystery stories, Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie was born in 1890 in Torquay, County Devon, England. She wrote her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920, launching a literary career that spanned decades. In her lifetime, she authored 79 crime novels and a short story collection, 19 show more plays, and six novels written under the name of Mary Westmacott. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language with another billion in 44 foreign languages. Some of her most famous titles include Murder on the Orient Express, Mystery of the Blue Train, And Then There Were None, 13 at Dinner and The Sittaford Mystery. Noted for clever and surprising twists of plot, many of Christie's mysteries feature two unconventional fictional detectives named Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. Poirot, in particular, plays the hero of many of her works, including the classic, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926), and Curtain (1975), one of her last works in which the famed detective dies. Over the years, her travels took her to the Middle East where she met noted English archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan. They married in 1930. Christie accompanied Mallowan on annual expeditions to Iraq and Syria, which served as material for Murder in Mesopotamia (1930), Death on the Nile (1937), and Appointment with Death (1938). Christie's credits also include the plays, The Mousetrap and Witness for the Prosecution (1953; film 1957). Christie received the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for 1954-1955 for Witness. She was also named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1971. Christie died in 1976. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Selecciones de Biblioteca Oro (libro 281)
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Is contained in
Agatha Christie's Detectives: Five Complete Novels (The Murder At The Vicarage, Dead Man's Folly, Sad Cypress, Towards Zero, N or M?) by Agatha Christie
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- N or M?
- Original title
- N or M?
- Original publication date
- 1941-11-01
- People/Characters
- Tommy Beresford; Tuppence Beresford; Mr Grant; Carl von Deinim; Major Bletchley; Mrs. O'Rourke (show all 15); Miss Minton; Mr Cayley; Mrs Cayley; Millicent Sprot; Betty Sprot; Mrs Perenna; Sheila Perenna; Commander Haydock; Albert [Tommy and Tuppence Mysteries]
- Important places
- Sans Souci (a boarding house), Leahampton, South Coast, England, UK (a boarding house); Leatherbarrow, South Downs, England, UK
- Important events
- World War II
- Related movies
- Partners in Crime (2015 | IMDb)
- First words
- Tommy Beresford removed his overcoat in the hall of the flat.
- Quotations
- Our danger is the danger of Troy - the wooden horse within our walls. Call it the Fifth Column if you like. It is here, among us. Men and women, some of them highly placed, some of them obscure, but all believing genuinely in... (show all) the Nazi aims and the Nazi creed and desiring to substitute that sternly efficient creed for the muddled easy-going liberty of our democratic institutions. (p. 14)
Mr Cayley, finding attention diverted from his explanation of Germany's methods of substitution of raw materials, looked put out and coughed aggressively. (p. 52)
I hate the Germans myself. "The Germans," I say, and feel waves of loathing. But when I think of individual Germans, mothers sitting anxiously waiting for news of their sons, and boys leaving home to fight, and peasants getti... (show all)ng in the harvest, and little shopkeepers and some of the nice kindly German people I know, I feel quite different. I know then that they are just human beings and that we're all feeling alike. That's the real thing. The other is just the war mask that you put on. (p. 123) - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"We must do all we can to make up to them for having such a dull time in this war...."
- Original language
- English UK
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