"A long time ago, in another country, I nearly killed a woman. It's a particular feeling, the urge to murder. It takes over your body so completely, it's like a divine force, grabbing hold of your will, your limbs, your psyche. There's a joy to it. In retrospect, it's frightening, but I daresay in the moment it feels sweet. The way justice feels sweet."
– Nan O’Dea

A combination of fact and fiction, “The Christie Affair” recounts Agatha Christie’s real-life disappearance in 1926, through the eyes of her husband Archie’s mistress, Nan O’Dea. Christie abandons her car in the middle of nowhere and disappears for 11 days. How was O'Dea so intricately tied to those secretive days? The greatest enigma wasn't the famous crime writer’s disappearance, it's what she discovered. A composite of love and revenge, agency and betrayal, murder and justice, Nina de Gramont’s novel is entertaining and beautifully written.

Synopsis

In 1925, Miss Nan O’Dea infiltrated the wealthy, rarefied world of author Agatha Christie and her husband, Archie. In every way, she became a part of their life – first, both Christies. Then, just Archie. Soon, Nan 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 before, in Ireland, when Nan was a young girl. She and the man she loved were a star-crossed couple who were destined to be together – until the Great War, a pandemic, and shameful secrets tore them apart. Then acts of unspeakable cruelty kept them separated.

Note

In real life, Agatha’s devastation over her husband’s demand for a divorce led her to flee her Berkshire home and disappear for 11 days; no one knows where she went and she took that secret to her grave.

A huge thank you to @NetGalley, @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio for both the advanced review ebook and audiobook.

#TheChristieAffair #NinadeGramont #NetGalley # St. Martin's Press #Mysteries #HistoricalFiction #Fiction

I listened to the Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont on audiobook. The narrator was the perfect match for this eloquently told tale of Agatha Christie's disappearance told from the perspective of her husband's mistress. This was an interesting perspective and an intriguing fictional take on what may have happened during the days of Agatha's actual disappearance.

When Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days, it was a great mystery but The Christie Affair tells the tale of another, greater mystery: that of Nan O'Dea, Archie Christie's mistress. Nan has destroyed Agatha's marriage, enticing Archie to leave his wife, a woman everyone admires. On purpose. The question is: why?

Told through Nan's POV, we get insight into Agatha's story as well. There are other characters who we meet during these 11 days and soon there are series of intertwined events that at first appear unrelated but are all tied together.

I admit that when I started this read, I almost gave up. I am glad I returned to it and persevered. Although I didn't fall in love with this book, I did find the writing/story creative. I also enjoyed the second half better than the first once I stopped trying to dwell on: How does Nan know what is in Agatha's or any of the other characters minds?

Thank you #Netgalley for the opportunity to read and leave my honest review.

.This is not a book I would normally pick to read but I love to find new to me authors and I like to take part in the reader challenge that Brenda Novak has every year.

The story is more about Nan O'Dea, the mistress of Agatha Christie's husband. It is her narration of how she believed everything happened and why. Nan had many hardships and dealt with a lot of suffering. She definitely didn't have it easy. She believes she may know why Mrs. Christie left without a word.

There were a lot of things that made me upset in the story, because no one should go through what many of the girls did. It was beyond wrong and sickening.

There are some twist and turns in the story most I saw coming, some parts of the story were flat and I didn't feel engaged but then there were the parts that had me upset, so I am giving it 3 stars as it was good overall but I didn't love it.

Read it and see what you think because I didn't love it doesn't mean you won't.

Agatha Christie famously disappeared for 11 days following her husbands announcement that he was in love with someone else. She has never discussed, or revealed the true nature of her disappearance maintaining that she does not remember.
Told from the perspective of Nan O’dea, her husbands mistress, The Christie Affair tells a story of what could have happened.


Plus the author cleverly slips in a
Christie-esque mystery, which for me was the best part of the story.

Well written and interesting however this book was a 3.5-4 stars when it could have been a definite 5.
I didn’t love the character development as AC was sometimes portrayed as weak and almost vapid. And not the incredibly brilliant and strong woman that I would like to think she was.

The Christie Affair, definitely struck a cord with me. The narrator (Mr. Christie’s mistress) tells the story of Agatha’s speculated 11 day disappearance reimagined through her eyes and the life she intended.

This narrative approach evoked sadness in me as the reader, I felt bad for Agatha, and the pain she must have felt when her husband announced that he was leaving as described , though the perspective of the mistress. I found it made Agatha more compelling, and needy, justifying her possible fugue state and disappearance. I did not feel compelled to like the narrator, or feel any empathy or likeness towards her. Not sure if this was the intended tool here.

The author brought to life the feels of a true Agatha Christie mystery, twists, romance, a real whodunnit. . The author conveyed the era, set the tone for the mystery to occur, developed the characters and laid out the clues.

I enjoyed this book and feel it was well done!

Thank you to St. Martian’s Press and #NetGalley for the advanced ecopy of this book.

What really happened to Agatha Christie when she went missing for those 11 days?

While I have read some of Agatha Christie's novels over the years, I will admit that I didn't know much about her personal life. While this is a fictionalized telling of what happened during those eleven days, it was fascinating to imagine the dynamics of the relationship between the Christie's and how this mistress came into their lives and destroyed their marriage. While mostly told from Nan O'Dea's POV, there are some chapters that are told to us from Agatha's POV and also the detective that found her quite by chance.

We learn a lot about Nan and her childhood and the first love of her life. There are some other things that come about that add complexity to the story and the reason why Nan did what she did to get to know this family. While I probably should have seen it coming, it was a bit of a surprise.

I found that the multiple POV added depth to the story and kept me intrigued as to why this story was playing out as it was for the characters. Did some of this happen? Perhaps.

You will also find that the chapters jump around in time but it is important to understand Nan's motivation for her actions.

This was a surprisingly delightful story and we give it 4 paws up.

The first 75% of this book, I didn't understand where the story was taking me, and I found it very boring. I am, however, thankful I kept with it, as all the pieces (that I didn't even know were pieces) came together.

We follow Agatha Christie, her husband (Archie), her husband's lover (Nan O'Dea). Agatha Christie learns of her husband's infidelity but believes it will all be okay and just go away. To Agatha's surprise, Nan talks Archie into leaving Agatha in order to continue his life by her side.
Why does Nan want to take a man that is already spoken for? Why this man? Does she really love him? Nan is even willing to commit murder to get what she so desperately wants.
Agatha leaves in a rush and is announced to be missing. Being an author, all the stops are pulled to find her. She is gone for a total of eleven days. While she is being searched for, all the different truths of the characters show themselves: strand by strand. Agatha learns why Nan infiltrated her life and accepts that change is sometimes a blessing in disguise.

I did find the timelines of this book rather confusing. We are present day, then last week, then years ago, then 3 weeks ago, then present day again.

Other than these downfalls, I am glad to have read this. It has a very different way of telling the story, and I find that refreshing.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Immense gratitude to #NetGalley and #StMartinsPress for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Nina de Gramont's The Christie Affair is gripping historical fiction novel loosely based around the disappearance of Mrs. Agatha Christie in 1926. The story is told from the perspective of Nan Neele. Nan's backstory could have been this entire novel. It is great to see a new take on the disappearance of Agatha Christie. This novel kept me on my toes till the end. I highly recommend it you those that love a good mystery or historical fiction piece.
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Excellent! I've always been fascinated by the mystery of the disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926 and this far-fetched, imaginative account of what could have happened during that time grabbed my attention and kept it from the first page to the last. Told in the first person by Agatha's husband's mistress, Nan O'Dea, she is the real main character of the book - one I didn't expect to like as much as I did. Agatha, while obviously having the entire plot based around her, is really a secondary character. The story started out a bit slow, and I was a bit confused about why we were hearing so much background about the mistress, but it all starts to come together pretty quickly, and then I was HOOKED. I'd recommend this book to fans of Historical Fiction, Mysteries, the history of Women's Rights, and/or Agatha Christie. Release date: 2/1/22

Thank you to NetGalley, Nina de Gramont, and St. Martin's Press for the advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

The eleven-day disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926 shocked everyone, making headlines everywhere. Nan O’Dea was less surprised, however, having just told Archibald Christie the timing was wrong for him to leave his wife, Agatha, despite being more than ready to assume that title herself. Agatha’s disappearance after Archibald’s announcement that he wanted a divorce leaves both Archibald and Nan in a precarious situation, as of course Archibald is the first one the police suspect of something nefarious. Nan has a story of her own to tell, as she knows secrets about those eleven days the rest of the world was never told… until now.
Nina de Gramont gives us a fictionalized version of the real-life Nancy Neele, the infamous “other woman” in Agatha Christie’s first marriage. I have to admit I started reading THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR with every intention of justifying my dislike for Nan. Instead, Nina de Gramont drew me in and helped me empathize with Nan and her story. Her situation is heartbreaking, albeit fictional, and I can’t help but even now wonder if the events could have been true.

Nan is present for part of the days of Agatha’s disappearance, but she also makes up what she thinks likely happened, making her a very unreliable narrator. It’s interesting to see the twists she puts on Agatha’s disappearance and how it intertwines with Nan’s own personal history and choices. We flash back to Nan’s earlier years and her experiences in Ireland were both unexpected and part of what helped me care for her character, even as her own adult actions shattered the world of Agatha.

I love the day-by-day narration, as Nina de Gramont builds the tension in the story line. Even as we know that Agatha is eventually is found alive and healthy and that she later gets married and flourishes as an author, we still sit on edge as we wonder why. After all, the allure of most mysteries is the why behind the events and oh wow, does Nina de Gramont offer one heck of a good reason for Nan O’Shea’s otherwise despicable behavior.
I love all things Agatha Christie and Nina de Gramont more than lived up to my expectations. Not only does Nina de Gramont offer readers a stunning new twist for the mysterious disappearance, but she also humanizes one of the supposed villains of the real-life mystery. THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR is a spectacular and intriguing story about the lengths people will go to over both love and grief.

*review is in the editing queue at Fresh Fiction*

Another fascinating story about the time Agatha Christie disappeared for several days. This is a very entertaining version that I enjoyed very much. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The fictionalized recounting of the time when esteemed author Agatha Christie went missing without explanation. This story told from the point of view of the mistress of Archie Christie, Nan. This story was full of intrigue, sadness, and even murder. I was drawn from the beginning, not sure what to expect. I was blown away and couldn't put this book down. It was a quick read for me because the story was so well written and absorbing.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc. I loved it!

From the very first line, I was completely hooked! It’s a fresh fictional take on a real event and went in directions I didn’t expect at all.

It’s mainly told from the mistress’ (Nan) perspective, and I never thought I would say this…but I came to empathize with her, and de Gramont really humanized her and made her a complex fierce character. The book focuses predominantly on the horrific injustices women suffered at the time coupled with the traumatic effects, both immediate and lingering, of war for not just soldiers but their loves and families too. De Gramont intelligently weaves in threads of injustice and privilege based on gender and class that is key to understanding certain circumstances.

Even though some plot points were too convenient and I didn’t quite connect with the characters, which might have been more a result of the writing style to reflect the times, I developed a deep respect for most of them. De Gramont cleverly takes the mistress / wife dynamic and turns it on its head. This book is so fascinating, expertly written and researched, and very cleverly executed.

The Christie Affair was a lovely and twisty historical fiction - emphasis on the fiction. I didn’t realize until doing some outside searching how little is really known about Agatha Christie’s 11-day disappearance in 1926, but I loved de Gramont’s premise. The story centers not so much on Agatha, but on Nan O’Dea, a fictional rendition of Agatha’s husband’s mistress, and the mystery surrounding their affair. It took a little for the plot to get moving and to start seeing threads between the various aspects of the storyline, but once everything became clear, I let out an audible gasp. Definitely a worthwhile mystery!

I should probably plan to have my bookstagram membership revoked after revealing this: I have never read an Agatha Christie book. 😳

Regardless, I was really excited to read this book. Most are familiar with Christie’s disappearance and I was looking forward to a bit of gossip about what actually happened. But…it…took…forever…to…get…there. I’m not sure if the slow pacing was meant to mimic Christie’s own writing or an attempt to build suspense but this was just too much of a slow burn for me. The jumping timelines did not help matters. The writing was strong and the story was interesting, but put together there was just something missing. I’d love to know what Christie fans think about this book. I feel like my lack of experience with her books is doing this one a disservice.

From the privations of World War 1 Ireland to the lush comforts of upper class London in the lavish 1920s - a multi-layered mystery wrapped around enigmatic women whose wartime connections breed a dangerous peace.

This novel is so much more than the mystery one might expect. Yes, it deals fictionally with the well-known disappearance of the famous mystery author, Agatha Christie, on the eve of her divorce from her adulterous husband. But beyond that, it’s an examination of women’s lives in England and Ireland in the 1920s. Intertwined with the hunt for Agatha is one path her husband’s mistress might have followed to grow from an innocent teen writing to her soldier boyfriend, through the Influenza that decimated the world’s population in the aftermath of World War I, to become a young woman who coldly, calculatingly, set her cap at a married man with the intent of replacing his wife.

While some aspects of this book resemble the 1979 movie (with Vanessa Redgrave gravely and gracefully convincing as a very distressed Agatha), this story is more layered, as much character driven as plot oriented. The narrator rings true all the way through. The side characters littered throughout are fascinating, as many layers to their lives as the main characters, although we are only permitted glimpses into those hidden depths. The unraveling of a side mystery is a bit rushed, but we didn’t care about those people anyway, being spellbound by the complex interplay between Agatha’s story and Nan’s.

The book is also a socio-psychological study into Irish Catholic culture at the time: elements that are well known to all of us now, about convents, unwed mothers, and the cruelty of nuns; the secret lusts of priests; the Magdalene laundries where any girl thought to be immoral or uncontrollable could be sent to slave for the rest of her life. In its way this book is a rage against the patriarchy of a bygone era. It is also a love story and a family saga, a step outside of time, and a mystery novel with a murder and other crimes at its heart.

Highly recommended.
@J_E_Barnard @je_barnard

I readily admit to being a bit of a lazy reader: I read to escape, I want to be entertained, and I read nonfiction, not mystery, to exercise my brain. I was attracted by the jazz-age cover (those pearls!) and scintillating title, and it took midway through chapter two to realize the narrator was speaking about THAT Agatha Christie, of mystery novel fame. I almost put the book down several times, and am SO glad I stuck with it.

Nan O’Dea is in love with Archie Christie, who has promised to leave his wife for her. When he breaks the news to his wife Agatha, she goes missing for almost two weeks, amid scandal and intrigue (which is amazing for book sales!), and upon her return, does divorce, and both former spouses remarry. This inventive historical novel imagines why Nan, why now, and what happened during those pivotal eleven days. While the narrative gives insight into multiple characters, including the police inspector, it’s all as imagined by Nan (who may not even be a reliable narrator!) The story moves back and forth in time from Nan’s unsavory experience as an unmarried pregnant girl in a corrupted convent and a seductive mistress. The timeline is usually easy to follow (though there are one or two muddled times that took a little re-reading). In the midst of Christie’s disappearance, there is a murder mystery involving two guests near where the author is holed up.

Without giving away too much plot, I will say the voice and story are compelling, the plot brilliantly woven, and the tone reminiscent of Christie herself. Period details seem to be well-researched and the ending is extremely satisfying. I fully expect this to be an Edgar Award contender if not winner this year.

I received an advance reader’s review copy of #TheChristieAffair from #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy for review. All opinions are my own.

Wow! The Christie Affair was such an incredible story. I kept questioning whether it was fiction or not! The story held me captive and I could hardly put it down.

Thank you St. Martin's Press, BookclubCookbook, and NetGalley for allowing me and my bookclub to read and discuss this book. Though our formal chat is coming in March I am offering my review now.

Wow, what an engaging and well executed historical mystery, I love books that blend real world events and people with fictional interpretations that are fair, nuanced, and thoughtfully placed in the time, contexts, and lives of those involved, including the real life people. This story of Agatha Chistrie's missing time is examined through the eyes of "the other woman" but is done so with an eye towards female empowerment and intelligence, not to judge or make the reader judge the characters but more to invite the reader into this wonderful, and suspenseful, mystery. I found Ms Gramont's writing to be strong, powerful, and well paced, the story unfolded in intriguing and thrilling ways while honoring the legacy of Ms. Christie.

This is one recommended for mystery fans and historical fiction fans in general and I can say that my bookclub is looking forward to talking about this engaging book soon.