Day 22: secret adversary

Miles: 8
Water: 1.5 l
Peeps with new trail names: 2

Put in a good day over the PA rocks. Packs are heavy with fresh food.

A couple days ago I finished agatha Christie's secret adversary.  It was pretty sweet.

Secret adversary is not a murder mystery, but belongs more in the political/criminal thriller camp. Tuppence and Tommy have been friends for life, just after the great war they reunite. Tuppence is a plucky young lady, quick witted and obsessed with money and the luxuries that money can buy.  She spent the war as a domestic for a church, and is ready for something new. Tommy is the steadfast, slow and steady thinker, stalwart and true hearted he is just back from the war.

The two of them meet at a cafe and discuss their total lack of job prospects. Tuppence suggests they form the young adventurers society, and advertise their services for any adventure. Just moments later Tuppence is contacted by a shady character, and one coincidence later they are off to the races.

Tommy and Tuppence quickly get involved in political machinations, looking for the mystery lady, Jane Finn. A survivor of the Lucitania, entrusted with secret documents, everyone needs to know where Jane is. The British government, the criminal underground, the Bolsheviks, the labor party, everyone gets involved, but at the center of it all is the mysterious Mr. Brown, the titular secret adversary. A bogeyman pulling the strings in all walks of life.

All in all the book was a lot of fun. And ultimately comes down to which of the colorful characters that the young adventures met was Mr. Brown. The twist wasn't hard to figure out, but the skilled writing keeps the suspense up well.

Tuppence at first glance comes off as a very modern female protagonist. Self motivated, hilarious, and the greed angle was very nice. But I was disappointed that in terms of engaging the plot she was often pretty passive. And the boys get to do all the shooting and punching. But that is from a modern readers perspective.

Not sure what I'm reading next, I'll put it out there for you folks again.

1: The trail journal of Lewis and Clarke: this one might be a bit too close to home right now.

2: The ballad of black Tom: a lovecraftian novella, written by a black author, partially in response to the pervasive racism in the original lovecraft stories

3: some Philip k Dick novel. I have a couple. Have never read one. I hope it doesn't make me paranoia murder XL