In 1926 Agatha Christie disappeared for eleven days. Although there was much speculation regarding what actually happened, when she returned she simply stated that she didn’t remember what happened. Nina de Gramont now offers a re-telling of the events leading up to the disappearance as well as what happened while she was gone. This is also the story of Nan O’Dea, Archie Christie’s mistress and later his wife. It is the story of her stay at a Catholic home for unwed mothers. She always hoped that her Irish lover Finbarr would come for her and the baby, but when the child is taken for adoption her life goal becomes finding her daughter.

Getting away to consider her future, Finbarr finds Nan at her hotel and tries to convince her to return to Ireland with him. He is accompanied by Agatha, who is unaware of the massive hunt for the missing author. At the same hotel is a retired police inspector assigned to the hunt. As Archie deals with Agatha’s loss and the suspicions of the police, the four eventually meet. Agatha is finding freedom for the first time and the animosity that she felt toward Nan when Archie asked for a divorce is no longer evident. When a murder occurs at the hotel the inspector discovers a connection to Nan that jeopardizes everyone’s plans.

Nina de Gramont has written a story of love and loss. Nan’s loss has made her manipulative and desperate to find her child. Agatha’s loss of Archie leads to anxiety and her need to get away, but it also helps her find her independence. This is also a story of murder and retribution. Fans of Agatha Christie will be familiar with the speculation around her disappearance, but Nan’s story makes this well worth reading. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin Press for providing this book for my review.

Not knowing much about the disappearance of Agatha Christie, I was intrigued by the premise of this book portraying a peripheral view where Mr. Christie’s mistress added to this mystery. This is one of my favorite time periods to read about and I love a good mystery but I found it to be more character driven than mystery-plot driven

This book was so good. It was a historical fiction account of the disappearance of Agatha Christie. This has always been a thing of fascination for me so I enjoyed this fictionalized version.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC of The Christie Affair! This cover is so fun and convinced me that I definitely needed to read the book!

Pub date: Feb 1, 2022

In one sentence: Most mystery fans know that Agatha Christie went missing for 11 days - but what they don't know is how Archie Christie and mistress Nan O'Dea were involved.

The multiple perspectives in this book were a highlight for me - they brought something fresh to a topic I'd read about before. I loved getting the chance to not only get inside Agatha's head, but also inside Nan's head (she's got a lot going on in there!) Nan is based on Archie's real life mistress Nancy Neele, and she's not your typical villain. Both Agatha and Nan are well drawn characters with complex motives, secrets, and multifaceted personalities. I found myself rooting for both of them throughout the story. And the ending? Well, I didn't see that coming.

If you like historical fiction with a bit of mystery, definitely give this one a try! 4.5 stars.

Posted to Goodreads 10/26/21, posted to Instagram 1/31/22.

As many Agatha Christie fans become aware of sometime after they start devouring her books and the TV/Film Adaptions of them, her real life can read like the fiction she wrote. Two events stick with people the most. First, there is her husband’s affair and their subsequent divorce. This is followed by the mysterious eleven-day disappearance of Agatha in 1926 causing a national manhunt and great speculation that she never explained. In The Christie Affair, author Nina de Gramont bravely tackles both from the perspective of the woman for whom Archie Christie left his wife for, Nan O’Day. Was your gasp as loud as mine? There are just some books one cannot pass up.

Opening Line

“A long time ago, in another country, I nearly killed a woman.”

True State of Affairs

The Christie Affair did not focus on Agatha or Archie Christie, save in their large roles in the events of the story. It would be more accurate to call it the Nan O’Day Affair since the fictitious Nan narrates her own story alternating past and present. Part of that involves an interesting style of narration in which she tells of the events that occurred with the Christies and others when she was not present as if she were. Anyone who has read one of those psychological thrillers with the unreliable narrator who may or may not be innocent will recognize the sensation of reading this style of narration.

Beginning at the point when Archie tells Agatha he means to end the marriage and wants a divorce, there is an introduction of the main players from Nan’s point of view. Nan is by no means a wide-eyed innocent and was deliberate in capturing Archie’s attention and love even while knowing she is the cause of a gentle, loving woman’s heartbreak. Nan O’Day admits to her role. Her dips into memories of her dark and painful past point to the cause of her affair with Archie and subsequent events that had her growing intimately acquainted with Agatha Christie. These effect, but do not deter her.

“I always admitted to admiring her as a person. I still admire her. Recently, when I confided this to one of my sisters, she asked me if I had regrets about what I’d done, and how much pain it caused. Of course I do, I told her without hesitation…simply adept at keeping secrets. In this way the first Mrs. Christie and the second are very much alike.” (22)

An Idyllic Escape

The bulk of the story takes place in Harrogate where Nan plans to spend time pursuing her own purpose, where Agatha has fled after Archie leaving her, and where two other surprising people join them in their separate though intersecting courses. There is murder, there is romance, and there is most definitely an untold story to explain the mysterious eleven days of Agatha Christie’s life.

“One more day undiscovered. Perhaps two. One more day exempt from time and repercussion. One more day dispensing with propriety and responsibilities. One more day as if her mother had never died, and her husband never left her- indeed if both of them had never existed at all, to cause her joy or pain.” (3755)

Some Praise and a Few Niggles

The Christie Affair brought out a mixed reaction in me. I was very struck by the author’s description of time and place that made it easy to imagine 1920’s Harrogate and WWI Ireland, the very different classes and lifestyles that cast the contemporary Nan and Agatha, and the author’s ability to invoke the reader’s thoughts and feelings.

However, the style of narration to have Nan ‘guessing-not guessing’ about events she wasn’t there to see and hear took me out of the story somewhat. I never got comfortable with it and wished that, if Nan had to narrate, that it had just been the parts involving her with an omniscient narrator or even Agatha narrating the other bits.

Another niggle I experienced was that I was none too keen on having the home-wrecker as my story source particularly for the first fourth of the book. To be fair, the blurb indicates this and I thought I was prepared and wanted it. Instead, I was tempted to set the book aside. I was immensely more comfortable when the story moved to Harrogate and I was confronted with a mystery and Agatha got up and dusted herself off to go on living and doing what she must, even taking a hand in solving said mystery. After reflection, I think the author meant me to, at the very least, feel ambivalent toward Nan no matter how tough her life was.

In the End

While this was more fiction than fact and ‘Nan’ and many others surrounding Agatha were sheer fabric of imagination, I enjoyed exploring a ‘what if’ for the famous Agatha Christie disappearance and appreciated the clever mystery and historical setting aspects. I had no trouble imagining I was getting a tale of post-WWI Britain with flashbacks to earlier both in England and Ireland. I can recommend it to others looking for historical fiction revolving around the most famous ‘Queen of Crime’.

“The Christie Affair” by Nina de Gramont
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Release Date: 02/01/22
Genre: Historical Fiction

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC! The first half of this book was probably 2 stars I almost dnf, but the last half sucked me in and was about 4 stars. The premise of the book was kind of confusing. I was wondering why we care about the first have. It’s dual timeline. POV is from Nan and she told each characters story. I think I would have enjoyed hearing Agatha’s POV.

Agatha and Archie Christie seem to have the perfect life. Marriage, wealth, and a beautiful daughter. The outside is not always what it seems. Behind closed doors Archie has a younger mistress Nan O’dea. Nan tells her story of being a mistress not for love or wealth, but a secret goal. On the night that Archie leaves Agatha for good she goes missing. For eleven days everyone is trying to find the famous Author. There are so many secrets and only one knows the whole truth.

Wow, this book was so so good!!!! As someone who is not coming in as a die-hard Christie fan, it was an interesting introduction to a theory on the authors disappearance! I actually did my own research after finishing this book and it was so fun to see the parallels and see where the author took some liberties!!!

The best way to describe this book is an onion. It has so many layers to it, and each story is interconnected in ways you can’t even imagine! It is mind blowing as revelation after revelation is brought to light and all these clues start clicking together!

The characters are really well done and while not always likeable, the reader is at least able to understand the decisions made and why. I’m still reeling and just having such a hard time putting my thoughts into words without spoiling the story!

Christie fan or not, if you enjoy a good mystery with multiple layers this one is for you!!!! It will leave you wanting to read it again as I think with each reread more will be revealed!!!!

Thank you to Nina de Gramont, St Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

“An emotional sort. As if there were any other kind of human. Show me an unemotional sort and I’ll show you someone dangerous.”

What could have been better?
It started off really interesting, but then? It got so SLOWWWWW. Like too slow. I had a hard time immersing myself in the story and it felt like there was too much going on by the end.

What I enjoyed?
Very cool idea and concept! I love alternate history stories where the blanks are filled in with someone’s imagination!

There was a reveal and mystery element that was pretty cool too and it had some great commentary on convents/orphanages and missing women that I enjoyed.

This would fall under okay for me. Not bad but not great either!

Agatha Christie was a well known author writing sixty-six novels as well as fourteen short stories. Her name was known far and wide so when quite mysteriously Agatha went missing for eleven days, everyone was in an uproar. Certainly this disappearance was the stuff of Mrs Christie's novels. One thousand policemen joined in the search as well as civilians and the famous Arthur Conan Doyle and Dorothy L. Sayers.

The newspapers had a field day wondering what happened and of course adding some spectacular items to the disappearance. Her car was found near a pond called The Silent Spring so this place definitely of intense interest. Scouring the lake, Agatha was not found. Her husband, Archie, was also a suspect as he was a philanderer and had a mistress. However, Agatha with all the people looking remained wherever she was until she was found at a hotel named Harrorgate supposedly not remembering a thing. She had changed her name assuming that of her husband's mistress. She seemed to be enjoying life and had met a number of upper class people who frequented that hotel.

In this book, Nina de Gramont visualizes for the reader what might have transpired. Of course, one must acknowledge that all of this is conjecture, but I found it to be clever conjecture indeed. This is a strange tale and of course over the years many have guessed as to the cause. However, Agatha went to her grave without letting anyone know what had really happened over the eleven days.

I enjoyed the story and the guessing game the author led us through. Although somewhat long, it was an entertaining story that kept me busy during a long car ride home.

Thank you to Nina de Gramont, St Martin's Press, and NetGalley for a copy of this story that will publish on February 1, 2022

THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR by Nina de Gramont is an intriguing re-imagining of one of the most highly publicized, unsolved mysteries in the literary world, the disappearance for eleven days in December, 1926 of author Agatha Christie. On December 3, 1926, Agatha Christie’s husband told her he was leaving her for his mistress. That evening, Agatha drove off from her home. Later her car was found abandoned along with her driver’s license and some clothing. She remained missing for eleven days before being discovered staying at a hotel. She never revealed her reasons or what she did for those eleven days. This fictional story is told from the point of view of Archibald Christie’s mistress (and later his second wife), referred to as Miss Nan O’Dea in this story (Nancy Neele in real life). As the story progresses, Nan gradually reveals her heart-wrenching backstory and her reasons for wooing Archie away from Agatha. Nan’s narrative tells what she imagines were Agatha’s motivations for her disappearance. Agatha Christie is really a secondary character in this book with Nan taking center stage. Like a good Agatha Christie novel, there is also murder mystery to be solved. The two storylines become entwined as the final twist is revealed. I enjoyed this creative and entertaining take on a real-life mystery and highly recommend it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.

The Christie Affair tells a fictional account of the 11-day disappearance of Agatha Christie. As a thriller/mystery reader, I'm sorry to say I'm quite unfamiliar with her famous disappearance. So with the promise of “star-crossed lovers, heartbreak, revenge, and murder” wrapped around Agatha Christie's disappearance, I jumped at the chance to request this.

Multiple storylines thread this novel - Agatha, Archie Christie, Nan (Archie’s mistress), and the inspector. But mainly, the story focuses on Nan’s POV. She’s an interesting character, one who believes in lucid dreams or lucid living. Nan retells her history, which is sad and heartbreaking. But for 80% of the novel, I could not figure out what her history had to do with Agatha Christie’s disappearance. Instead of the storyline being intriguing, I found it meandering and confusing. I love a good mystery, and this one did have a good twist but took too long to arrive.

I did enjoy Lucy Scott’s narration of #TheChristieAffair and I look forward to her future narrations. But as for the story itself, if you’re looking for the retelling of Agatha’s disappearance, I think you’ll be disappointed. The story is really about Nan while using Agatha’s disappearance as a side story.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.⁣
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In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days after quarreling with her husband who was having an affair & wanted a divorce. After a nationwide manhunt, she was discovered at a hotel using the name of her husband’s mistress. She claimed to have no memory of the experience and to this day the event remains a complete mystery.⁣
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Nina de Gramont attempts to provide a depiction of this mystery through the eyes of Christie’s husband’s fictionalized mistress, Nan. Her book was by turns intriguing, frustrating, satisfying, and just plain unhinged. The author gets points for creativity but the story she’s written has very little to do with Agatha Christie.
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The decision to have Nan narrate in first person was a bit of a stretch. She recounts intimate details of other people’s experiences as if she could read their minds. The author plays fast and loose with fictionalizing other characters to create a narrative that has only the barest connection to reality. It’s one thing to invent an inspector and remix Agatha’s family, but I was rather outraged by de Gramont’s characterization of the very real Dorothy L. Sayers as a wannabe medium (the total opposite of real life!). ⁣
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I went in expecting more Agatha but instead what this book was really about was the atrocities committed by the Irish Catholic Church against women and children during this era. I agree that this is an important story to tell, but again I’m rather baffled to find it in a book advertised as an Agatha Christie story. The resolution of the mystery was satisfying which helped save the book for me (although I guessed 80% of the resolution well before the end), but there came a point when I was actively rolling my eyes at the author’s decisions. ⁣
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I’m sure others may find value in this book but I want to make sure you’re all warned as to the disturbing content it discusses so you’re not blindsided as I was. The crimes committed by the Irish Church are unfortunately very real. However, nothing about this Agatha Christie is remotely plausible.

TW: graphic scene of sexual assault, child neglect and kidnapping, physical abuse, and suicidal ideation.

The Christie Affair is a fictionalized account of Agatha Christie's failing marriage, her husband's mistress, and her mysterious eleven-day disappearance. This was mostly told from the perspective of Nan O'Dea, Archie Christie's mistress. For me, this was a slow burn and the story really picked up at around 70% into the book. I found it confusing at times in certain chapters to determine who was telling the story. I did like how everything was eventually revealed and all of the background of Nan's story began to click into place. There were things revealed that I didn't see coming and I really enjoyed that. I never knew about Agatha Christie's real-life disappearance and was intrigued to learn more about it. Overall, this was an interesting historical fiction/romance/mystery read.

The Christie Affair is a fictional take on the real life Agatha Christie 11-day disappearance in 1926. It plays out like one of her own murder mysteries. The plot is filled with secrets, revenge, and suspense. The story is mistress Nan O’Dea’s as much as it is Agatha’s. More fiction than historical, but it’s a stylish, clever and highly entertaining read. A must read for those who enjoy historical fiction and/or literary mysteries.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

An absolute must read. Compulsively readable because of the fascinating subject. Will be one of the top books of 2022 so pick up a copy of this book and prepare to be dazzled. Happy reading!

n 1926 Agatha Christie went missing after her husband, Archie asked for a divorce. Archie was in love with another woman. She turned up in Yorkshire claiming amnesia.
This is the fictionalized version of that event as told by Archie's mistress, here fictionalized as Nan O'Dea instead of Nancy Neele. Nan has secrets, lots of secrets. There is a method to her madness of becoming Archie's mistress. The story is written in both Nan's past and her current circumstances. It has a lot of twists and turns and I was surprised by most of them. Your heart will break for most of the characters except maybe Archie.

THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR by Nina de Gramont is a solid historical mystery. It’s about the disappearance of Agatha Christie and how her husband’s mistress fits into this mystery. Ultimately a quick read (I finished this book in 3 days) but in the end I just didn’t love it. Historical fiction can be so hit or miss for me.
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What I liked:
- the setting of London in 1926 and being immersed in the world of the rich and famous Agatha Christie and her family
- the structured alternating timeline
- fast pace with short chapters
- mystery elements similar to classic mystery novels
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What I didn’t like:
- the narration and point of view felt disjointed
- the foreshadowing was too extreme
- many parts describing the mistress’s backstory were quite boring to me and it felt at odds to learn to like this character who was in opposition to the beloved character of Agatha Christie
- romance was lacking
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It was still fun to read this fresh take on Agatha Christie since I enjoyed several of her books including The Mysterious Affair at Styles and Murder on the Orient Express.

3.75 stars

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont is a clever novel of historical fiction built around Agatha Christie’s mysterious disappearance for 11 days in 1926. This book is an ambitious undertaking as it tackles a subject that has been explored many times in other works of fiction and documentaries and, to a certain extent it works as a what-if scenario involving a celebrated author and her marital woes.
The story is told from the first person POV of Nan O’Dea, a thinly disguised Nancy Neele, who was Archie Christie’s real life mistress and, eventually, his wife. Nan inserts herself in the Christies’ lives, focusing on claiming Archie for herself. In a rambling, sometimes confusing, tale, the story evolves in two timelines, Before and The Disappearance, with Nan’s back story central to the reasons for her actions and the murder mystery embedded in the story. The plot covers a lot of territory, with commentary on Irish nuns, priests, abuse, workhouses, and the “Age of Disappearing Women.” Nan, the protagonist, is a conundrum as she claims to like Agatha, calling her tender-hearted, and then proceeds to being horribly non-supportive of Agatha, her friend, by seducing Archie. Despite the title, Agatha is not really the focus of the story, but she is written as a very sympathetic character, with a playful, youthful side, in contrast to her usual depiction as having a cool upper-crust demeanor.
In most of the novel there is lovely, descriptive writing, with touches of wit and wry observations about famous people of the era. Perplexingly, there are passages with staccato, incomplete sentences and daydream-like detours, which I found distracting. I also struggled a bit with some abrupt shifts in POV—first person to third person, suddenly reverting back to first person in the same few pages without obvious chapter breaks.
Overall, this is a very imaginative tale of what could have happened during those 11 days Agatha Christie went “missing”. It is unique in its approach, enjoyably romantic, and definitely worth reading!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

I honestly don't know how I feel about this one. I really liked the author's writing style. She pulled me in and really made the story come to life. Both Nan and Agatha are flawed women with strengths and weaknesses which I appreciated.

There are two timelines in this book. One involves Nan as a teenager and a young woman and the other starts shortly before Agatha Christie's disappearance. Nan is the narrator of both stories and has a voice that is a mix of vulnerable and jaded which is interesting. It felt like this was really two books. While Nan's earlier story is tragic and does provide backstory for her I was always so relieved when we went back to Agatha's story. Nan's story was so heavy and tragic that while I was pulled in it was much more distressing then I was looking for. As well it felt much more developed then the story of Agatha's disappearance which was my main draw to the book.

I really enjoyed this author's writing style and love this concept. While this didn't end up being the story I was really looking for I think it will appeal to many other readers who are looking for a historical read that touches on darker issues and not so much for the Agatha Christie story.

There was hesitation on my part as to whether or not I wanted to read The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont. Like many, I was familiar with the reporting of Agatha Christie’s eleven day disappearance, which remains a mystery to this day. To say that I was surprised by this novel is an understatement. The author tells a fictional story surrounding the Christie mystery by using subjects such as the sexual mores of the early twentieth century, love affairs gone wrong, the First World War, unwed motherhood, murders, extra-marital affairs, and so much more. This is such a convoluted, mysterious blend of several characters’ lives that the reader is treated to an original and mesmerizing tale. It becomes difficult to remember that this is a work of fiction. Giving more details about this novel would give away information that readers will enjoy discovering for themselves. This is a book for those readers who like their mysteries with a slice of personal drama. Nina de Gramont has taken an actual event and written a fascinating book of fiction around it. I look forward to reading more by this author. Highly recommended. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.