The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont is a fictional account of Agatha Christie's real life disappearance. In this version of the story, Agatha Christie disappears after finding out her husband is having an affair with Nan O'Dea. The story is told from Nan's perspective but with omniscient narrator qualities as she is telling the stories years later after talking to all parties involved.
This was a great take on the story and I really enjoyed the twists and turns as well as learning about Nan's backstory.

I really like the concept of telling a story of Agatha Christie's 11-day disappearance, and I thought the story de Gramont conjured was quite compelling. It incorporated both romance and mystery in really satisfying ways. Where it fell down for me was in how it executed that narrative: the book's structure was really disjointed which made it hard to stay engaged. I understand what de Gramont was trying to do and why she told the story asynchronously, but the way it played out was disruptive and led to some reveals that felt premature or repetitive. De Gramont didn't just look backward in time to contextualize the present--she also did a lot of foreshadowing or explicitly naming what would take place years into the future. I found these forward-looking reveals distracting. The stories from the past were important to the story, but I think they could have been incorporated or examined more elegantly.

That said, the overall story was fun, and there were glimmers of ambience that showed really strong world-building and the ability to sweep the reader away. These were often interrupted by other locations or time periods, but I enjoyed the moments of respite where I could get swept up in Christie's story.

When I started this book, I will be honest I didn't know anything about the disappearance of Agatha Christie, however this book made me want to read about it more. I loved how it was told from the "other woman's" point of view and what her opinions were about the disappearance. It is a very intriguing read, especially if you don't know much about the case already.

I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Publication date, 02/01/2022
This historical fiction novel is part romance, part mystery. Perfect for spring book clubs, I highly recommend this time novelization of one of the greatest true mystery disappearances in history. With a backstory told from the perspective of the mistress of the errant spouse of Agatha Christie, we learn of how trauma and desperation turn to evil intentions. The full range of human emotions could be discussed as you read this novel; tears of compassion, anger and fear, flight of flight...all will cross your path. Excellent novel..imaginative version of the story.

3.5 STARS

A fictional account of the real Agatha Christie disappearance on Friday 3 December 1926 at around 9:30 p.m.

As a Christie fan, I had to read this one and find out more about the night the mystery writer vanished. There are some fascinating images of the news articles on the web.

The story is narrated by Miss Nan O'Dea, the mistress of Agatha's husband, Archie. It is a fascinating and shocking fictional account of what she tells (or imagines) happened and why.

Unfortunately, the book focuses much more on the mistress, Nan, than Mrs. Christie (who seems like more of a secondary character). Nan (the home-wrecker) tells her story and she has quite a past which includes her own suffering and hardships. She believes she has insight into why Christie disappeared without a word.

I was shocked by the ending twist, you will see it coming because of a very revealing hint, but still stunning. "It was Hamlet, who said, "One may smile, and smile, and be a villian."

It falls a bit flat, but still has some engaging chapters and a murder mystery, of course. "What some call murder, others might call justice."

Agatha Christie went missing for 11 days in 1926, but why and where was she?
This is the premise of this historical fiction book- sort of. This story is told from Colonel Archie Christie's mistress, Nan O'Dea's, point of view. This is highly fictionalized and wanders off the path almost completely. This is what Nan imagines Agatha did and waves in an elaborate backstory for Nan as well.
I was excited to read this book but was totally wrong about what it was about. I had read and really liked Marie Benedict's book last year, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie. I hoped that this was a similar book, but it is not. Lucid dreaming is mentioned in passing early on and that's what much of this book seemed to be- Nan's lucid dream. Maybe that is what the author is going for but that is not what I was expecting, and I just didn't buy it.
I liked this book okay, especially the last quarter of it where some events tie together, but I would recommend The Mystery of Mrs. Christie instead. Or better yet just go read a wonderful Agatha Christie book.
Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

"Nina de Gramont's The Christie Affair is a beguiling novel of star-crossed lovers, heartbreak, revenge, and murder - and a brilliant re-imagination of one of the most talked-about unsolved mysteries of the twentieth century.

Every story has its secrets.
Every mystery has its motives.

"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."

The greatest mystery wasn’t Agatha Christie’s disappearance in those eleven infamous days, it’s what she discovered.

London, 1925: In a world of townhomes and tennis matches, socialites and shooting parties, Miss Nan O’Dea became Archie Christie’s mistress, luring him away from his devoted and well-known wife, Agatha Christie.

The question is, why? Why destroy another woman’s marriage, why hatch a plot years in the making, and why murder? How was Nan O’Dea so intricately tied to those eleven mysterious days that Agatha Christie went missing?"

I adore all the what-ifs of Agatha Christie's disappearance!

I really enjoyed this envisioning of the reasons behind and one possible story about what happened to Agatha Christie during the period of her disappearance. I liked that the story was told from an unexpected point of view and how cleverly the narrator connected the characters over time, including the telling of the narrator's story which initially seems not to be overly related to Christie's disappearance. The author ties everything together in a very entertaining and sometimes surprising way, even tweaking the nose of the reader at the end. I would recommend this.

I wasn’t a fan of this book, but I think that is a little more on me on a reader then it is the authors fault. It’s a little confusing to tell who is speaking in each chapter and each time I started a new section I had to re-read the first sentences a couple times to figure out how who was speaking before continuing on.

Overall I’m not a big historical fiction reader though, and that was the biggest hurdle for me. I think if I had a bigger interest in Agatha Christie maybe, this wouldn’t be such a hurdle for me. But I recognize the name and wasn’t interested in the story so I had a hard time getting invested. I am sure other readers who are fans of either Christie or historical fiction will love the novel though. Unfortunately that’s not me.

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont is the story of Agatha Christie's 11-day disappearance in 1926, told from the point of view of Nan O'Dea, her husband's mistress. Part star-crossed romance, part murder mystery, this novel had a lot going on and numerous twists and reveals.

I enjoyed the unique perspective of the 'other woman,' and though her motives were suspect from the beginning, it took me a while to figure her out. I also liked the mood of the book, with a bit of a film-noir feel, complete with a hard-boiled yet soft-hearted detective looking for Mrs. Christie. Some of the twists I had figured out, but several were surprises that made me gasp, oh my!

This novel is not a factual retelling, and though based on the real disappearance, the storyline is definitely fiction. The main characters are well-fleshed out, there are many minor characters that appear and reappear throughout, and the timeline goes back and forth between present, the disappearance, and Nan's life before meeting the Christies. I did not find it difficult to follow, however, and the chapter headings were excellent cues to assist.

It was a refreshing read, different from what I would typically expect from a romance, mystery or historical fiction. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishers for the e-ARC of The Christie Affair. The opinions in this review are my own.

This book was ok. I'm not a fan of historical novels but this one wasn't bad. I am grateful that netgalley let me read this in exchange for an honest review

I will fully admit I was not terribly impressed with this slow burning plot until I hit the ¾ quarter mark- and then – oh. my. This is a book within a book, a cleverly crafted nod at Agatha Christie. There were several jaw-dropping moments that took me completely by surprise.

I can’t give this book five stars for one major reason- the book is supposed to be a first person point of view- but chapters take place that are third person and even first person for other characters but are purely the imagination of the main character. It is quite confusing and kept me repeatedly from being able to fully immerse myself in this story.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the gift e-copy!

I DNF’d this. I just couldn’t get into it at 25% abs found it boring. I don’t know if it’s partially the writing plus the fact that I didn’t read any Christie but not for me.

The premise of this book is so intriguing, and it lived up to that hype. I have long heard about Agatha Christie's disappearance and found it fascinating. This fictional version of the 11 days was well thought out and really interesting.

This book had some twists and turns that I did not see coming. Others I did see coming but it didn't make them less enjoyable. These characters were well developed and easy to follow their thoughts and motives.

This story is told in the POV of Archie's mistress Nan, which at first was disappointing however, as the story progressed and we learned more about Nan you got sucked in.

The Christie Affair was an interesting historical fiction thriller! A little bit of a slow burn for me but enjoyable. The synopsis said it best "the greatest mystery wasn’t Agatha Christie’s disappearance in those eleven infamous days, it’s what she discovered."

As a huge Agatha Christie fan, I have always wanted to know what happened over those 11 days she was missing. She was of such importance that she became the focus of a nationwide search. And this was before she had become famous as an author. Yes, Christie had published some books before her disappearance; but most were published in the following years.

It is also no secret that she and her first husband, Archie, had a tumultuous marriage that ended with his affair with a woman he met while golfing. His mistress was often part of family functions initially, so much so that she and Agatha may have been friendly at one point.

In these points, de Gramont kept true to the book. While the author may have changed the names of some parties involved, she kept the base story true.

But this novel is more about the story of Nan O’Dea than it is about Agatha Christie. While it is an interesting story and one that is plausible, it wasn’t totally what I expected. I struggled with some of Nan’s flashbacks because they didn’t fit quite right when they were in the story. Nor did the bits of foreshadowing, if that’s the proper term.

This book was just not my glass of wine.

What should have been a 5-star book only rated 3 stars with me. However, the idea behind this book was brilliant. Take the true-life disappearance of Agatha (Dec 3, 1926 – Dec 14, 1926) and make a part true (the husband) and a mostly fictional story about it.

Unfortunately, it just did not work for me. Instead, the book focused on the mistress and her very tragic upbringing.

The whole book is told from the mistress's point of view, and in some ways, it is disconcerting. For example, you will be reading passages that have nothing to do with the mistress (Nan), and all of a sudden, Nan will be 'talking'.

There are many, many hot-button issues in this novel- the Catholic Church, rape, forced adoption, cheating, etc.

*ARC was supplied by NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and the author.

I enjoy reading a good Agatha Christie novel and had heard that she went missing for a brief period, but never looked into it. This novel, The Christie Affair, by Nina de Gramont offers an interesting "insight" into what may have happened during those eleven days, from the perspective of Agatha's husband's mistress. The story unfolds with a few twists that justify why the activities of those days remain a secret. Historical fiction with components of a good thriller mixed in. Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC ebook version of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Well, I am an easy guy. Just mention the name of my favorite author ever in the title and I am totally in. Some similar books have raised lately, all of them revolving around the intriguing vanishing of Mrs. Christie during 11 days in 1926, some of them quite disappointing, I must say. But this one is special. The writing is really good and the story is twisty and just enough dark to keep you guessing.
Highly recommended!

I love reading Agatha Christie novels and books about her life. I enjoyed this new novel that reimagines the unexplained 11-day disappearance of Agatha Christie that captivated the world.

The book is told from the perspective of Archie Christie’s mistress, Miss Nan O'Dea, a fictional character but based on someone real. I applaud the author for her fresh take on a story I was already familiar with from recent books and movies.

I did have trouble with the POV in this book. It is told from Nan’s POV, but Nan is an omniscient narrator. We experience all of the action of the book from Nan’s perspective, even other character’s inner thoughts. I know this is a perfectly acceptable way to write a book, but as a reader it left me confused several times as to who was speaking. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that Nan was telling the reader what Agatha (and other characters) was thinking/feeling.

As with other books that covered this event, I had little time for Archie Christie …spoiled, self-centered, selfish man! I did however come to feel ‘some’ sympathy for the fictional mistress, Nan.

The plot was the thing that kept me reading and propelled me to the end! There are several ingenious plot twists that took me by surprise. The fact that I was surprised contributed to the overall rating I have given this book. However, there were a few plot lines that were not resolved or addressed by the end of the book.