N or M?

Name: N or M?
Rating: 4.4 (2105 reviews)

by Agatha Christie Book 3 in the Tommy and Tuppence Mysteries series.

First published 1941

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4.4(2,105)

During the Second World War, the middle-aged Beresfords are frustrated that younger officials consider them unsuitable for intelligence work. Tommy is secretly sent to a seaside boarding house to identify one of two enemy agents, and Tuppence independently places herself in the same investigation.

Among retired officers, refugees, mothers and apparently ordinary residents, every accent and personal history can become a reason for suspicion. The novel uses blackout Britain, invasion anxiety and the fear of a hidden fifth column to turn domestic observation into counter-espionage, while Tommy and Tuppence confront the moral danger of distrusting people simply because they are foreign or unconventional.