I think like most people, I am fascinated by the eleven days that Agatha Christie went missing and it is another one of those unsolved questions on my list of things that maybe one day will be answered. That is why The Christie Affair was so fascinating to me, as it is told from the perspective of Miss Nan O’Dea, a fictional character but is based on someone real. She was Archie Christie’s mistress, and became integrated in both Agatha’s and Archie’s worlds and this book examines what she potentially had to do with those mysterious eleven days Agatha went missing. The story also goes back in time to Ireland, to a young girl in love, a time before the Great War, to a couple destined to be together, until war and pandemic and secrets tore them apart.

Doesn’t this sound so interesting? I thought so as well, but I didn’t love it like I thought I would. I got a bit lost in the multiple storylines and timelines, which was hard to keep straight with the audiobook alone, so I was glad I had the physical book to follow along with. Overall I liked this one, and thought it was well written and entertaining.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio and St. Martins Press for the ALC and ARC to review.

I received a free digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I requested to read The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont as it examines the 11 days the well-known mystery writer disappeared in December 1926, an event myself and many others have been fascinated by for almost one hundred years. Whilst other books exist looking at this time, which Agatha always claimed to have no memory of, this book looks at the events from the point of view of a fictionalized version of Mr. Christies mistress, Nan O’Dea whom he later went on to marry. This story weaves real life events and imagined elements together to form a story of what may have occurred during this time.

Objectively, I can see this book has merit it unfortunately did not work for me personally. This book delved extensively into the personal lives of all of those involved and whilst it is made clear this is a fictionalized version of events, I still had a hard time separating the personal details of these characters from their public images that exist.

The book initially focused on Nan’s origins from working class girl with strong Irish roots to social climber and eventual wife of Mr. Christie. Before examining how her story intertwined with the period Ms. Christie was missing for. Her story without the Agatha Christie connection would still have been very readable but knowing the sadness her choices caused she was very difficult to sympathize with despite the many hardships this character endured. Overall I would say this book is very well written, the audiobook narration is excellent and I would be keen to read more from Nina de Gramont in the future however this was not to my personal taste.

I was excited for this novel because I have recently read Agatha Christie's Then There Were None and have become obsessed with her classic mysteries. The Christie Affair was a little different than I was expecting but there was a lot to love.

What I liked:
-The story had several unexpected mysteries unraveling throughout the book and it made it feel like a very Christie mystery.

What I didn't:
-TW: one of the main characters reveals her past which includes' a narrative of her friend's experience with rape from a priest. I did not like this twisted element, made me very uncomfortable.

First off, let me just say that The Christie Affair exceeded my expectations in almost every way. The author has chosen the perfect historical event to rewrite, as so little is actually known about what took place. Add to that the fact that it was the "Queen of Mystery" herself that went missing, and you've got a historical fiction author's dream.

Or nightmare, I guess... Because what if you don't do justice to the Grand Dame of the genre? Or what if all your brilliant ideas fall flat when put down on paper? So it's kind of a minefield too, I guess.

That being said, Nina de Gramont definitely succeeds, in my humble opinion. The plot is believable, the drama is intense, the denouement is very Christie-esque. Very well done!

"A mystery should end with a killer revealed, and so it has. A quest should end with a treasure restored, and so it has. A tragic love story must end with its lovers dead or parted but a romance that should end with lovers reunited. "

The Christie Affair is centered around Agatha Christie’s mysterious disappearance in 1926. Rumors circulated back then and now with many speculating on what really happened during that eleven-day stretch.

This story is narrated in a POV I wasn’t expecting, by Nan O’Dea – a fictional character who had an affair with Archie, Agatha’s husband– in real life the affair happened with Nancy Neale and who later went on to marry him. And while Nan’s story, past and present is interesting and somewhat tragic, I had really hoped to hear more from Agatha, fictional story or not. There are a lot of liberties taken with what others are thinking and what may have transpired between other characters but this is explained and I can let that go. I enjoyed the intricacy of the story and the imaginings of the author who imbued the story with murder, mystery and revenge in true Christie style.

Narration: Lucy Scott narrates and she is a delight to listen to. Her ability to completely change her voice between characters is a gift!

My thanks to @MacMillan.Audio and @NetGalley for this #gifted ALC

Thanks to the publisher for a free advanced audio copy of The Christie Affair by Nina De Gramont..

What I liked best about this book was that it was told from a totally unique perspective. The title of the book is a clever play on words. I went into the book thinking it was going to be about the Christie Affair referring to the mysterious disappearance of the author....and it was, BUT a great deal of the novel revolved around the actual affair Mrs. Christie's husband, Archie, was having. So for one part of the novel author writes about what she supposes drove AC to the event of her disappearance and what was happening for the whole 11 days of it. The other part of the novel explains the mistress's backstory. This mistress would, in fact, go on to be Archibald Christie's second wife, so she is no small player in the Christies' story

So, in real life, the events of Agatha Christie's disappearance and subsequent "forgotten memories" of the events is the mystery. In this book, there is a mystery playing out that the reader may not even realize is there until very late in the novel.

So, while this story would have required a lot of luck and coincidence to be able to truly have happened as written, I enjoyed the surprise of it. I think it would be a fun read for anyone who enjoys speculative fiction, or who has also wondered about the real-life mystery at play, and even people who just enjoy historical fiction. This is one of those books that had me wondering how in the world the author came up with the idea and pulled it together. She did it well and I liked the finished product.

I read The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont last fall as an ARC through NetGalley. I loved it so much that I requested the audiobook as well. The Christie Affair is an historical fiction novel speculating about what happened to Agatha Christie during her disappearance in 1926. I have read several books exploring this subject, but this interpretation was unique. The Christie Affair is told from the perspective of Nan O’Dea, Archie Christie’s “other woman.” Without revealing too much, this novel suggests that Nan and Agatha were together during the disappearance, developing a secret friendship that would last the rest of their lives.

As I said, I enjoyed reading this book the first time around, so I was eager to give it a listen. The audiobook was narrated by Lucy Scott. I really liked her reading. She distinguished the characters by doing different voices, and for the most part they worked. Occasionally Agatha’s husband Archie sounded a little off, but otherwise her voices were diverse and immersive.

The narrative structure is greatly benefitted by the audio format. The novel is told from the first-person perspective by Nan, but in scenes where she is not present it becomes third-person omniscient. While reading the book this shift was sometimes jarring and a little confusing, but as an audiobook it makes so much more sense. It was easier to understand that the story was generally being told in the third person, with the person telling the story sharing her own thoughts and experiences. This is one of those cases where I would say the book works even better as an audiobook.

The story of the Christie Affair is pretty unbelievable; however, it is so heartwarming that you don’t mind. The third part of the novel is where this book really shines. I was enjoying it just fine up until then, but then in this final section it is bliss. There is a joyfulness radiating from the words of this story. I loved it so much that after I’d finished listening to it I went back and relistened to that part twice. The author, speaking through her narrator, acknowledges that the reality of these events was not a very happy ending, but that as the storyteller she can take whatever liberties she pleases. From that perspective, this is the story of what could have been, where everyone could have had a happy ending, tied up in a pretty bow. It’s that element of fantasy that really makes me love this book. I’ve already read it twice in the span of a few months, and I could definitely see myself reading it again and again.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advance copy.

A book about the famous writer Agatha Christie. One day she randomly disappears and a manhunt ensues. This is based on true events!!

Agatha Christie was missing for 11 days-in real life-and she couldn’t remember anything about it, or so they say.

This book takes the liberty of suggesting she ran away because her husband was having an affair. The book follows his lover and her back story and Agatha and what she’s doing while she has run away.

It’s a fun premise and I was engaged at the beginning but then it slowed down and slogged for me a bit in the middle.

Published 2/1

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press for an advance audio copy in return for my review.

I am a huge fan of historical fiction and this was no exception. It was definitely more of a slow burn, but there was love, mystery, unexpected friendships, murder, betrayal, heartbreak, redemption and it was both written and told beautifully.

I will say, however, that I believe this book did not need the Agatha Christie aspect. It felt like a stand alone story for the main character, Nan O’dea, and that the other characters in her life could have been just about anyone. The MC had depth and intricacy and I appreciated listening to how her story was unfolding. I almost wish this had been two separate books, because at times I felt a disconnect. Or maybe I just wanted more of Nan’s story. Regardless, it was well done overall and I enjoyed it!

Thank you so much @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for the gifted copy of this audiobook!

The Christi Affair puts a fictional twist on the disappearance of Agatha Christie back in 1926. There are many characters and subplots woven in, which made this a slightly confusing story to take in, especially on audio. I did enjoy the mystery around the disappearance and the insights from Nan, the mistress.

Although the narrator did a excellent job telling the story, the back-and-forth of the timelines and skewed point of view made it very confusing and difficult to follow. There is just too much going on in this novel and it just didn’t work for me.

Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this advanced audio.
2.5 ⭐️ rounded up.

After reading Marie Benedict's version of what might have happened during the eleven days that Agatha Christie went missing, this story, being so different was quite bothersome to me. I obviously thought the other book could have been what happened, so to read another version from the point of view of Archie Christie's mistress was quite disturbing and uncomfortable. Once I really got involved with the author's suggestion of the events, I found this story quite interesting. Who knows what really happened but I think I like this version.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, the author and NetGalley for an ARC audio version of this book. The narrator of this book did a good job - I liked her accent - it was perfect for this story. This book is about the story of Agatha Christie's disappearance for 11 days in 1926 told from the perspective of Archie Christie's mistress. While I enjoyed the narration, the storyline did seem to jump around a bit and was a bit confusing. I was actually more interested in learning about Agatha's disappearance than learning about Nan Odea's backstory. Parts of it seemed a bit out of place in the story. The story was an interesting premise and I may have enjoyed it more if I had read along with the audio - I think that may help me keep the timeline straight.

4 Star Historial fiction!

The mystery surrounding Agatha Christies 11 day disappearance in 1926 is re-imagined by Nina de Gramont's new novel. Set in the sleepy spa town or Harrogate Gramont weaves a story of love, loss and mystery told through the eyes of Nan O'Dea.

I would like to thank Nina de Gramont, Lucy Scott, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t realize until I was a few chapters in that this book is about the real disappearance of author Agatha Christie which is still a mystery to this day. It is such an interesting premise to explore what happened to her during the 11 days she was gone. It seemed like the author of this book paid homage to Christie by making this a Christie-like mystery to solve.

The fictional narrator, Nan, told the story of what happened to Agatha through her perspective and imagination. Through the lens of a woman having an affair with Agatha’s husband. I lost interest a bit towards the middle when the author included chapters of Nan’s back story because I was just far more invested in what happened to Agatha.

This was an amazing concept for a book and I enjoyed the style of an old school mystery novel. I also loved the 1920s setting, which really was a character in itself. I’m glad that I listened on audio because the narrator was good at distinguishing the characters and their voices. Overall, I liked the story and the real-world mystery surrounding it, but it just seemed like it was missing something to bump it to a “loved it” rating for me.

When Agatha Christie‘s husband Archie tells herhe it’s over and tell her it may be in the papers in to keep his mistresses name out of it. In the book this was told to her after a night of romance with her husband and leads to her eventual disappearance. Archie’s mistress Nan is the one telling the story. I didn’t have a high opinion of her and thought she was very calculating, selfish and oblivious to others feelings. As per the story it was told in two parts one from the mistresses life and then the mistress proceeds to tell us about what Agatha Christie thoughts and felt. Even when she was intimate with her husband. As for the story overall I really started losing interest when I found out that Fingaull, Nan’s Young Irish boyfriend who was lost in World War I started showing up even at Agatha Christie’s accident prior to her disappearance and when ever Nan thought of him. Want to One time she asked him if he was okay and he said we’re OK and it wasn’t until then, supposedly that she realized he was no longer alive. I really thought this had the potential to be a great book, but they were just too many things that either couldn’t happen or she couldn’t have known. Either way I thought the narrator did a great job and really liked the tone of her voice and her reading style. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher,but I am leaving this review voluntarily. Please forgive any grammatical or punctuation or errors as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are my own.

THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR by Nina de Gramont was an enjoyable read about Agatha Christie’s 11-day disappearance, told from the perspective of Mrs. Christie’s husband’s mistress. I know this is a mouthful to start my review but bear with me. I have read a few books about Mrs. Christie’s short and shocking disappearance in the mid-20s’ and I can say that this one, although far from the true story, was an entertaining and romanticized view of the events. I decided to judge the book purely on the entertainment part and not dwell on the lack of historical accuracy. It is a good read.

The narration was well done and perfect for the book.

This is 5 star historical fiction and I loved it!

This is historical fiction to the Nth degree and I can’t recommend it enough.

I started this on a Saturday morning and had an extremely difficult time putting it down. The story is seamless, and it drew this reader in deep from the first chapter. The author’s writing is masterful and I was able to see the vivid and lush imagery she gives with her words.

I kept at this one, not stopping once to read from my other current reads. That’s high praise in itself, as any reader of many at one time well knows. This one is definitely going on my re-read list. I’m planning on listening to it on audio in a few months, or next year - the story was amazing.

For audiobook listeners:
As I wrote in my original review of this, I was planning on listening to this at some point, and when the opportunity arose to listen to an advance audiobook copy, I listened and I’m so happy that I did.

You may be wondering at the voice narrating the audiobook as I was. It’s Lucy Scott, who you might remember from the BBC 1995 miniseries of Pride and Prejudice (the one with Colin Firth), and who does a wonderful job with The Christie Affair. While the cover states that Ms. Scott reads this audiobook, I feel what she actually does is perform it beautifully, with fully different voices for characters.

The audiobook made this story even more enjoyable.

The Christie Affair
by Nina de Gramont
A remarkable audible book talking of the weeks disappearance of the writer Agatha Christie. Not only showing the remarkable nature of her entrance into the writing world, the end of her marriage, but the church provided adoptions. the story tells how the catholic church uses young women as labor, and provide children for adaptation in the 1920's. The sad part of this story is that it still occurs. the young women left to the unwed mother industry still happens, as teen mothers are forced to labor, and other misuse because of their labeled nature as being sinners.

Having read another Novel to do with Agatha Christie's Disappearance, I was intrigued about this story. I enjoyed listening on audio, the narrator was superb. The story of Nan, her background, her secret which we learn throughout the story was believable and as a reader, I could understand the affair. Overall, the story was great, with both Agatha and Nan interwoven throughout, whether this is wat occurred only they truly know but it makes for a good what if story.

No. Just no.

I would like to thank Nina de Gramont, Lucy Scott, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Possible spoilers

I rarely DNF (did not finish) books, especially ones received via NetGalley, but I’m calling it. When at 48% I saw that I had five and half hours left of this audio galley, I simply thought, “Nope.”

Foremost, I HATE the chronology of this book. I don’t know who thought jumping around in time like a jackrabbit on speed was a good idea, but they should be taken out back. As well as every editor who failed to advise against it. Every chapter makes a time jump—or nearly every, it’s a bit hard to go back and check with an audio galley—and it’s not at all linear. Also, at times the narrator speaks of what happens in the future, unnecessarily I might add, further confusing things. It’s a fucking mess, a terrible narrative choice.

Also, I found it very irritating, confusing, and disorienting when the POV switched to another character—but also stayed within the POV of the first-person narrator. It’s hard to explain, but you’ll know what I mean if you read it. Another terrible narrative choice.

Next, I have no idea what the point of this novel is. It’s historical fiction, obviously, but is it a mystery? Maybe even a romance? By halfway I should know what the goal of the story is, and I don’t. Am I actually supposed to sympathize with a conniving homewrecker? With a cheating husband, who by this account was a selfish prick? With a woman who willfully went “missing” just to fuck with said husband (at least according to this book) and ended up wasting the authorities’ time and resources?

I do respect de Gramont for daring to make the “other woman” the main character and trying to make readers care about her, but Nan was not sympathetic in the slightest. She wasn’t sorry for being the other woman. She wanted what she wanted and didn’t seem to spare any thought for others or consequences. Sure, it’s sad that her older sister committed suicide. Sure, it’s sad that Nan got herself knocked up and had nowhere to go but an orphanage that was more or less a concentration camp. Sure, it’s sad that the man she truly loved went to war, came back traumatized, nearly died of influenza, and their life together didn’t happen the way she’d dreamed. None of that changes the fact that she’s a self-centered asshole. It seemed to me that Archie and Nan deserved each other. If I felt sorry for anyone, it was the Christies’ daughter, who was called Teddy here. Not sure why, since Agatha Christie’s only child was named Rosalind. *shrugs*

I’m not very familiar with Agatha Christie’s personal life, I haven’t even read any of her books (which is on my to-do list to rectify), but I always had the impression that she was intelligent and respectable. This book portrays her as neither, and it feels sacrilegious.

Lastly, Lucy Scott, the narrator of the audiobook, was, thankfully, excellent at her job. She had nothing to do with why I disliked this book.

Overall, this book was poorly done. An interesting premise, I guess, maybe, but not at all well executed.