Blunt's Brilliant Detectives

Would you consider the audio edition of Partners in Crime to be better than the print version?

I enjoyed both. I think I liked the book better because I was able to picture the two actors from the BBC adaptations. But Hugh Fraser is a wonderful narrator and brought a nice, light touch to the novel.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I wasn't on the edge of my seat, but it wasn't that kind of book. It's a collection of short stories featuring the delightful Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. But each story was nicely written and solved.

What about Hugh Fraser’s performance did you like?

I love the way he portrayed the interplay between this charming couple. He had a nice way of capturing their playful banter.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Cocktails and crime

10 people found this helpful

The Lighter Side of Murder, Theft & Counterfeiting

With whodunits, my wife usually has the killer tagged well before the detective reveals all in the drawing room, while I’m happy to wait until all the suspects have found their seats there. My ingrained obtuseness when confronted with bodies in libraries is well-established. So, if I can figure out the broad general outline of a crime before Tommy or Tuppence have a clue, these stories can’t be the puzzlers one might expect from the Queen of Mystery. But then, I suspect that expectation misses the point of this collection.

The Golden Age of Crime Fiction was about more than little-known Asiatic poisons and how long it takes parsley to settle in the butter dish. It was about having fun. And it’s obvious that that’s exactly what Christie was doing here. Lucky for us; after all, Robert Frost’s dictum, “no tears in the writer, no tears in the reader” is just as true when we’re talking about laughter.

Beyond the playful banter between our two heroes, each yarn is also a good natured parody of a popular crime writer of the time. True, Herbert George Jenkins is remembered now as P. G. Wodehouse’s publisher, while The Scarlet Pimpernel overshadows the Baroness Orczy’s criminal output. Others, like Freeman Wills Crofts and Anthony Berkeley, have been revived of late through superb recordings from Soundings, Detective Club Crime Classics and HarperCollins’s growing “Bodies from the Library” series. Finally, there are the masters who still enjoy wider name recognition: Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton and Christie herself.

While the enjoyment runs a little deeper if one knows the author being parodied, the parody is so obvious—for every case, Tommy and Tuppance freely discuss which fictional sleuth they want to emulate—that lack of familiarity with, say, Edgar Wallace, is no impediment to laughter.

As always, Hugh Fraser is superb. A little shaky on distinguishing Tommy’s lines from Tuppence’s, he handles everything and everyone else with an effortless skill that’s a treat to listen to. The recording itself gets a little creaky in spots, too, with a sibilance and crackle that no filter on my phone could dampen.

5 people found this helpful

One of my favorites

I wish Agatha Christie had written more Tommy and Tuppence books. I enjoy these characters very much.

4 people found this helpful

Loved it. So good

I loved the way different detectives and characters were brought into the story as well as the other stories being brought along.

3 people found this helpful

Good collection of short stories

I bought this book because I wanted to read the Tommy & Tuppence books in order and I so enjoyed the first one. I was disappointed because this book was very different from the first one. Instead of one long intricate plot it was several short simple ones threaded together. It wasn't a bad book, just very different from the previous one in the series. If I had known that it was likely not necessary, I probably would have skipped straight to book 3. :-)

3 people found this helpful

Cute enough

Usual christie touches though some a little more ham-handed but not enough to make listening to Hugh Fraser's performance less enjoyable

2 people found this helpful

An Ingenious, Hilarious Performance & Story

Where does Partners in Crime rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's up there. I really can't determine where, but it is definitely one of my favorites! I love these characters and they really are my favorite of the Christie detectives.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Tuppence is most definitely my favorite. She is usually very blunt and brilliant, and she really loves Tommy but won't say it often. She has some hair rained schemes sometimes, and usually outwits quite a few people.

What does Hugh Fraser bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Hugh Fraser is one of my most favorite performers in audio books! He has such a wonderfully wide range of characters and has a great understanding of the books he reads. His portrayal of Tommy and Tuppence is spot-on to how I imagined them. Bravo!!!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me laugh in public!

Any additional comments?

Brilliant, hysterical, a must-read!

2 people found this helpful

EXCELLENT narration of classic, 1920s tales

Hugh Fraser performs the hands-down best “fake” American or Canadian accent which I have encountered in any UK mystery audiobook or tv show!!! :-) :-) :-) The American characters ACTUALLY sound American!

Neil Dudgeon’s “Jack” in the Cherringham series is the 2nd best “fake” American or Canadian accent :-) It’s just that Mr. Dudgeon voices the American detective with a tone of voice and a cadence which can be at odds with the words spoken by the character.

(So many voice and tv actors’ fake American or Canadian accents are SOOO off-base, that I find myself wondering why “full-cast” audiobooks and tv shows don’t just hire an American or Canadian; it’s not like there aren’t any in the UK! [Ok, Downton Abbey hired an actual American: the excellent actor Elizabeth McGovern; 3 cheers for the authentic casting!!! :-) :-) :-) ]

LOL: UK and Ireland residents probably wonder the same thing about American and Canadian attempts at UK and Ireland accents; just hire a native speaker, already!!! ;-) )

Re: Ágatha Christie’s writing: it’s really quite neat to get a (often detailed) view of English life in the 1920s (although mostly of upper-middle to upper class life). The plots are generally good, with a few not-so-good ones. The listener of those stories may find themselves telling the characters that they’re missing INCREDIBLY obvious clues and/or deductions. The characters ARE interesting, and behave true-to-type and to their first appearances in Agatha Christie works :-)

1 person found this helpful

Tommy and Tuppence

Tommy and Tuppence take over a detective agency. Really felt like a series of somewhat related short stories, which can be entertaining at times. I am not as fond of Tommy and Tuppence as I am off Hercule, hence 4 starts instead of 5. Hugh Fraser always does a fabulous job!

Witty and charming

Hugh Fraser is insanely good at embodying the stories’ characters. Clever mysteries told in delightful language.