Characters in Partners in Crime

Supporting characters

• Tommy Beresford

  Steady and practical, he runs the cover operation and usually casts himself as the lead detective being imitated.

  Also in The Secret Adversary, N or M?, By the Pricking of My Thumbs, Postern of Fate, A Pot of Tea: A Short Story, Blindman's Buff: A Short Story, Finessing the King, The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger: A Short Story, The Affair of the Pink Pearl, The Ambassador's Boots: A Short Story

• Albert

  Eager and devoted, carried over from The Secret Adversary, he relishes the cloak-and-dagger atmosphere of the agency.

  Also in Postern of Fate

• Mr Carter

  The shadowy government handler who installs them at the agency and supplies its real espionage purpose.

  Also in The Secret Adversary

• Sherlock Holmes

  The Beresfords mimic Conan Doyle's reasoning and the Holmes-Watson dynamic in their casework.

• Father Brown

  Chesterton's mild clerical sleuth is among the styles the couple consciously adopt.

• Dr Thorndyke

  R. Austin Freeman's scientific investigator informs the method of an early case.

• Hercule Poirot

  In a self-referential touch, the couple imitate Poirot's manner near the close of the book.

• Inspector Marriot

• Tuppence Cowley

  Quick, restless, and enthusiastic, she drives much of the playacting and often outpaces Tommy in deduction.

  Also in The Secret Adversary, N or M?, By the Pricking of My Thumbs, Postern of Fate, A Pot of Tea: A Short Story, Blindman's Buff: A Short Story, Finessing the King, The Adventure of the Sinister Stranger: A Short Story, The Affair of the Pink Pearl, The Ambassador's Boots: A Short Story