The world wondered what happened to the great Agatha Christie during that unfortunate week. This is a plausible telling of a mystery left untold.

Whewwww thought I might DNF, the story didn't pick up till after 40% but I'm glad I didn't put it aside. I ended up enjoying it, what a ride. Very good but took awhile to get there!

This was just mediocre to me. I wasn't interested enough in the backstory of Agatha Christie and felt it was long to get to the point.

Agatha Christie disappeared for 10 days and no one knows where she was. This novel tells on possible version from the perspective of Archie Christie’s mistress. ARC from NetGalley

This book was not for me. the story was all over the place. It took the few facts we know about Agatha Christie's disappearance and spun a wild story that probably would have been better without the Agatha Christie story thrown in. Or maybe not.

Agatha Christie is one of my favorite authors and I've been fascinated by her life and her mysterious disappearance. Maybe someday we'll learn the answer!

The Christie Affair
A Novel
by Nina de Gramont
Pub Date **Feb 01 2022**   
St. Martin's Press
General Fiction \(Adult\)| Historical Fiction


Currently, I am reviewing The Christie Affair through St. Martin's Press and Netgalley:


What prompted the world's most famous mystery writer to disappear for 11 days? What makes a woman so desperate that she destroys another woman's marriage? Can revenge be craved so deeply?




Miss Nan O'Dea infiltrated Agatha Christie's wealthy, exclusive world in 1925 with her husband, Archie. She became part of their lives in every way -- first, both Christies. After that, it was just Archie. Nan soon became Archie's mistress, luring him away from his devoted wife, desperate to marry him. Nan’s plot didn’t begin the day she met Archie and Agatha.


It began decades ago, in Ireland, when Nan was a young girl. She and the man she loved were destined to be together--until the Great War, a pandemic, and shameful secrets tore them apart. After that, they were separated by acts of unspeakable cruelty.

What motivates someone to commit murder? In the name of love, what will someone do? What kind of crime is impossible to forgive? This and many other questions are explored in Nina de Gramont's brilliant, unforgettable novel.


I give The Christie Affair five out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

The Christie Affair was an enjoyable read filled with complexities, twists & turns that kept you on your feet—in true Christie spirit. The premise of the book as well as the execution is both clever and tremendously done.

This book was so interesting! As an avid Agatha Christie reader, the topic of her disappearance was fascinating. However, I found the book a little awkwardly paced. Some chapters ran too long and were difficult to follow. The character development was good, but it felt like some background information was irrelevant and took away from the main storyline. As a novel based on historical events, it was worth a read, but I unfortunately struggled to stay engaged.

"The Christie Affair" by Nina de Gramont is a captivating historical novel that reimagines one of the most intriguing mysteries of the 20th century: the real-life disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926. Blending fact with fiction, de Gramont offers a fresh perspective by telling the story through the eyes of Nan O’Dea, a fictionalized version of the woman who had an affair with Christie’s husband and is often cast as the villain in the famous author’s life.

Nan is a complex, multifaceted character whose life is steeped in secrets and sorrow. As she recounts her own troubled past and her complicated relationship with Christie’s husband, Archie, readers are drawn into a narrative that weaves together themes of love, betrayal, and redemption. De Gramont skillfully portrays Nan not as a simple antagonist but as a woman shaped by her circumstances, making her both sympathetic and intriguing.

The novel excels in its atmospheric portrayal of 1920s England, with richly detailed settings that transport the reader to a world of grand estates, smoky jazz clubs, and rural villages. De Gramont’s writing is elegant and evocative, perfectly capturing the moody tension of the time.

While the story is centered around Christie’s disappearance, it is equally a tale of the lives touched by it. The author deftly explores the emotional landscape of her characters, delving into the pain, longing, and resilience that define them. The alternating timelines between Nan’s past and the events surrounding Christie’s disappearance keep the narrative engaging and suspenseful.

It’s a compelling read for fans of both Agatha Christie and historical novels, offering a fresh take on a real-life mystery while exploring the complexities of love, loss, and forgiveness.

No one knows for sure the who, what, where, when and why of Agatha Christie's disappearance in 1926 so the story is open to anyone who has an original, compelling story line. Nina de Gramot has given us this story through the eyes of Christie's husband's mistress. Gramont takes us on a wild ride through the history and aftermath of Nan O'Dea's fictional romance of Archie Christie. I've read many books on what may have happened in 1926 and this one is as plausible as the others.

This is a fun "what if" take on a very interesting event in the very interesting life of Agatha Christie. If you enjoy historical fiction with a loose connection to actual history or if you, like me, are kind of obsessed with Agatha Christie, this book is for you.

Great story of an unknown segment ,to me, of Agatha’s life. The story progressed at a nice pace, very descriptive and extremely interesting.
I’m writing this vaguely so as not to give any spoilers.
I definitely would recommend this book and any others by this author.

The Christie Affair was a really engaging historical mystery. I don't read a lot in this genre, so it was a really nice change of pace for me. dr Gramont did a wonderful job with this reimaging of Agatha Christie's 11 day disappearance. So good!

Such a fun read! Loved this one!

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for my ARC.

I loved this book! It's well-written, enjoyable, and a great read. Nina de Gramont did a great job of writing in a way that captures the readers attention, and makes you not want to put it down until you're finished! This was such an interesting story, I would highly recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of the ebook to review. I requested this book knowing it was a historical fiction and I don't tend to gravitate towards this genre. I had expected more from this book but the writing was boring and the characters were flat.

Not sure if it was the book or me but this wasn't a good read for me. I couldn't get into the story and the writing style wasn't one I enjoyed.

"We both know you can't tell your own story without exposing someone else's."

In London, a renowned mystery author goes missing for 11 days in December 1926 after an argument with her unfaithful husband, Archibald Christie. This novel is the author's envisioning of the mysterious unresolved event. The story is narrated in the first person who happens to be Nan but alternating timelines from her youth to where she is now, blatantly flaunting herself in the Christie home as an assistance to Archie. His dalliances were not exactly a well-kept secret so when he told her he was spending the weekend away, Agatha had no disillusions that he would be with Miss Nan O'Dea.

Mrs. Christie's disappearance remains up to debate as to what occurred although she was eventually "found" at a day spa hotel not too far from home. The rumors ranged from her having dementia, amnesia, pulling a publicity stunt to wanting to harm herself. The ribbon which ties the story together in this case is Nan O'Dea and how she came to be in the circle of the elite. Her background is filled with as much mystique and mystery as those of the Christie's. It is obvious that Nan both admired and loathed Agatha for her success and marriage to Archie.

"Agatha Christie had a fascination with murder. But she was tenderhearted. She never wanted to kill anyone. Not for a moment. Not even me."

This is Nan's story of ambition and desire to climb over other people in order to obtain her rags to riches ending.

Many readers know about the time in 1926 when Agatha Christie disappeared for eleven days. There was a nationwide hunt and she was eventually found in a coastal town and insisted she remembered nothing. This is that story but told from another perspective. This is the perspective of Nan O'Dea who is Archie Christie's mistress and second wife. In this telling, Agatha disappeared after Archie informed her that he would be divorcing her and marrying Nan.

Nan grew up between London with a large family of sisters and summers in Ireland at her uncle's farm. There she met the love of her life, Finnbar. They plan to marry but World War I intervenes. When Nan finds herself pregnant, she is taken to an orphanage run by the Catholic Church. There pregnant unmarried girls deliver their babies who are then adopted out. Nan runs away after her daughter is adopted.

In this imagining, a hotel is full of people who become suspects after a newly married couple is murdered . There is Nan and some of her friends from the orphanage. Finnbar is nearby and there is a British policeman called Chilton who is assigned both to the murder and to look for Mrs. Christie. The reader learns why Nan went after Archie and why she won't give him up even to have a life with Finnbar.

I listened to this book and the narrator did an excellent job. When Agatha was speaking, the voice reminded the reader of the upper class English life. When the nuns were speaking, one could imagine the sarcastic smiles they had as they pretended they were there for the best outcome for the girls. Nina de Gramont captures the time and place perfectly. Her imaginative take on the event is one that will remain in the reader's memory long after the last page is read. This novel is recommended for readers of women's fiction.