N or M? / Quinta Colonna (review)
by Agatha Christie
This novel by the queen of mystery falls somewhere between a detective story and a spy story!
Agatha Christie takes us to an English village in the spring of 1940; the protagonists of the novel are a mature married couple, former "secret agents" of the British government. Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are their names. The two now live confined to their home, while their grown children work far away from their parents. For this reason, the couple finds it very sad and depressing no longer to find work that fills their days. Until one day Tommy receives a visit from a certain Grant, who offers him a secret assignment, a new real mission! Tommy can't believe his ears and accepts instantly, even though this will mean keeping Tuppence in the dark about everything. The mission will send him to a small boarding house in the open English countryside, the "Sans Souci," where two spies are believed to be hidden, namely two trusted secret agents of none other than Hitler himself! Of these two agents, the British government only knows the two initials: N. and M., picked up during a telephone interception.
Tommy thus heads to Leahampton, destination Sans Souci, where he will stay under the name of Mr. Meadowes. However, upon arrival, the protagonist finds a pleasant surprise awaiting him: Tuppence, as a perfect former secret agent, was not fooled by Mr. Grant and, intercepting the conversation between the two men, has reached the Sans Souci, where she has already rented a room under the false name of Mrs. Blenkensop. A fun detective story, then, with two investigators on the trail of two German spies. The purpose of the mission is now more important than ever, their task is extremely delicate, as the fate of an entire country is at stake!!
