Book Review of Agatha Christie's "N or M?"

ISBN 9780062074324 Author: Agatha Christie © 1941 by G.P. Putnam's Sons, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. "N or M?" by Agatha Christie (available on Amazon.com) It's World War 2 and while Britain fights the physical, visible forces of Germany, the British face an even deadlier threat, that of "The Fifth Column". "The Fifth Column" is the name given to a group of unknown spies working for Germany. An attack by Germany is imminent and the British Intelligence Service is at a loss. Their best agent has just been murdered by Germany's spies named "N and M". Enter Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. Tommy and Tuppence have been rejected from serving their country. They are "too old". Both are middle-aged; the army only wants the young people. Husband and wife bemoan the fact that they must sit around while others are fighting for their country. They feel useless. One night they are approached by an old friend. The Intelligence Agency needs the Beresfords to go undercover at a small hotel in the country, a place called Sans Souci.  The Beresfords are the perfect people. They aren't connected with the Army, Navy or any branch of service. They are unknown. Their mission, should they chose to accept it, is to find a man and woman who may or may not be staying at Sans Souci, a man and woman spy team who are feeding intelligence to the German forces. The Beresfords need to uncover the identities of N and M. It's not going to be easy for the Beresfords. It's not going to be safe. N and M have just murdered Britain's top agent. Tommy and Tuppence could be next if they're not careful. The clock is ticking. The Germans could attack any day. Can the Beresfords discover who N and M are before it's too late? Sans Souci is full of strangers and any one of them might be the spies they are looking for. I really enjoyed reading "N or M?". I've read quite a few Agatha Christie books this Summer, but this was my first "Tommy and Tuppence" mystery. The idea of an husband and wife amateur spy team was intriguing. They're not professional. They make mistakes.  I enjoyed Tuppence's quick wit and Tommy's attempts at espionage.  Christie does a marvelous job of bringing her characters to life. With a good-sized cast of characters, one would think that at least one of them would be 2-D. This is not the case. Agatha Christie develops all her characters, major and minor, giving them background and motives that keep you guessing the whole time. She really does deserve the title, "The Queen of Mystery". I really hope my library has more of her "Tommy and Tuppence" mysteries because I intend on reading them all.