This first Tommy and Tuppence novel is a silly story, but a fun one. I enjoyed the search for the arch-criminal Mr. Brown, with the fate of British democracy at stake. The several love interests—Tuppence and the American Julius Hershheimer; Jane Finn and Hershheimer; and Tuppence and Tommy, of course—were an unnecessary distraction, but as usual Christie managed even to bring them off. And it was interesting to me to see the story shaped by the same sort of paranoia about “foreigners” and Communism and post-WWI labor strife that Americans suffered from. All in all, a light enjoyable spy story that moved along with the irrepressible rhythm of the 1920s.