In 1926 Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days. When she was found in Harrogate she claimed to have no recollection of what happened during that time. The mystery of her disappearance has haunted popular imagination with a number of imaginings of various crimes. Nina de Gramont's The Christie Affair is the latest offering to explore this lore from the golden age of crime.

The Christie Affair explores the mystery from the perspective not of Agatha, but in fact of her husband's mistress, Nan. She is a classic unreliable narrator, plainly telling the reader that she is filling in the narrative gaps with her invented version of events, reimagining scenes that others have relayed to her. Nan's narrative of Agatha's story is interspersed with flashbacks of her own history, a lost love and a scandal in her past. We also see some scenes through the eyes of Chilton, a detective pulled out of retirement to find Christie, but Nan remains behind the narration even when the perspective shifts.

There are two 'mysteries' at the core of the novel, one are two mysterious deaths at the Harrogate hotel where Nan and Detective Chilton are staying. The other is a plot twist and is the story that brings the characters of the novel together. However, this mystery isn't a neat little case for the likes of Poirot and Marple, instead it digs into deeper complexities of human feeling and relationships - not something which can be solved. De Gramont's book is less crime or mystery than a family saga, or clever literary historical fiction.

However, de Gramont keeps narrative tension and momentum, building sympathy for complex and flawed characters, and turning the trope of the 'other woman' on its head. She paints Christie as a pragmatic and confident woman, reckoning with the breakdown of her marriage. Popular imagination has got carried away with Christie's disappearance as like a case from one of her own novels, and while in The Christie Affair there is a dramatic story underpinning the whole incident, Agatha isn't moonlighting as a detective but is simply dealing with personal relationships, and coming to terms with her own feelings.

The Christie Affair is a clever exploration of mystery lore and the very nature of storytelling itself. If you are looking for a Poirot worthy mystery, maybe stick to Christie's own books but if you are a fan of Christie and her life then this book is a wonderful take on her history.

I found this a difficult read to begin with but the more I read the more intriguing I found it. It was a fascinating read as I wondered why Agatha Christie has disappeared in 1926. I became fascinated by other characters in the book and loved how all the various threads became intertwined, Excellent read.

Fantastic retelling of Agatha Christie's famous disappearance in 1926. An elegant mystery combined with wit and romance, and an excellent evocation of the setting and era. I loved this.

There’s been plenty of books over the years which have reimagined what happened during those 11 days when famous author Agatha Christie disappeared. And, maybe this one isn’t the best exploration of the subject matter as it actually doesn’t have that much to do with Agatha. But I thoroughly enjoyed this book – it was a gripping, multi-layered historical drama – with a little Christie-esque murder mystery thrown in too!

This story is told from the point of view of Nan O’Dea, a fictional character based on a real person. She’s the other woman – she’s embroiled in an affair with Archie Christie and, when he decides it’s finally time to reveal all and tell his wife Agatha his secret, it sets off a chain of events she could never have predicted.

“Anyone who says I have no regrets is either a psychopath or a liar. I am neither of those things, simply adept at keeping secrets.”

It’s a bold move from the author to choose to tell this story from the view of the other woman rather than Agatha herself, but for me it really works. Nan is a wonderfully complex characters – she’s certainly no angel, but as she reveals more to the reader about her history she becomes easier to understand. And, she provides her own unique viewpoint on exactly what happened to Agatha – despite reflecting that she wasn’t present herself.

As Agatha’s disappearance sparks a nationwide police hunt, Nan has her own business to take care of so travels to Harrogate. We follow the 11 days of the disappearance, but alongside this Nan shares her own story. This takes the reader on a journey back to the early 1900s, to a lost love and teenage summers spent on an Irish farm, through to devastation of World War 1 and Nan’s time in an Irish convent. It’s haunting and tragic, and it’s her history which really steal the show here.

But it all ties back to present day, 1926, and Agatha’s disappearance. The author brings the two timelines together in a clever and original way I could have never predicted. Some elements of the story mimic Christie’s own writing, with an ingenious structure packed with twists and turns along the way. This was a clever, compelling and touching tale which gives an original take on the vanishing of Agatha Christie.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me review this book, I could not put it down. I loved the story of Agatha's time away and would love to think that some elements of it could have been so. It was fantastic that there were threads of Christie's book plots in this. A must read for all Agatha Christie fans.

This book was not what I expected and I think that’s why I ended up enjoying it so much more than I initially thought I would. De Gramont managed to bring to life her own storyline alongside the major attraction of what happened during Christie’s disappearance and that’s what makes this book pleasantly surprising. It doesn’t go where you’d expect it to, instead of ‘hey here’s what I imagine Christie got up to when she legged it’ you get a delicate mystery of love and loss.

The story focuses on Nan O’Dea (she is our narrator) the mistress of Archie (Agatha Christie’s husband) and in the beginning, we open with a scene with Nan and Archie, quickly followed by a scene with Agatha and Nan going to lunch. This was an interesting one to have straight off the bat because it’s a scene of power play and pleading, but all so subtly done.

As we know Agatha goes missing after Archie declares that he is leaving her, and this leaves room for us to hear more about Nan O’Dea, her past and what she’s doing in the present whilst Agatha is missing. It’s Nan O’Dea’s past that makes up the most of this story, and it’s a sad one, but one I won’t reveal in order to not spoil the reading experience. Her sadness and her search for is her driving force, and so whilst she doesn’t want to tear Agatha’s marriage apart, she has her eye on one thing only.

In the present day of the story, we’re given another mystery on top of Agatha going missing. This occurs in the hotel that Nan O’Dea is staying in whilst she goes on the hunt for Agatha herself. I like that we still got a mystery novel tied up with the other aspects of the story, as it felt like a homage to Christie. De Gramont also includes the names of other crime writers in this, mainly in passing as people lend their help to search for Christie, but it’s nicely done.

I will say that if you’re looking for a juicy reimagining of what Christie could have been up to during her disappearance, then this book isn’t that. Whilst Christie is in the book, it’s mainly the events of her life that are the focal point. Christie as a character is hidden away somewhere writing and there’s no real insight into her mind during that time (it’s mentioned but very limited), the focal point of this story is Nan O’Dea, not Christie. Whilst I didn’t mind this, I think devoted Christie fans will. This book had more depth than pure speculation of what Christie did with her time, it was clear she was reeling from a severe breakup and instead of giving us a scorned woman. De Gramont, widen the circle and looked at the other characters and created a narrative with depth, loss and mystery. Some parts even felt quite magical, which I was surprised to see.

Overall, for me, a wonderful read and one that I would read again. I like twists and turns and this book took me on a wonderful journey.

OOOFT.

I was expecting a fun mystery not a mother and babies home story, I was not quite prepared for that hardship!
However, I still really liked this book and the inclusion of that storyline even if it broke my heart....and if it was weird to base it on a real person. I would have enjoyed it a lot more if Agatha Christie wasn't named - there was no need for her to be Agatha Christie really, only to reference to her famous disappearance....but it could have been any wealthy/high(ish) profile woman and the story would remain no different really.

So while it *did* end up being for me....it was in a different way than expected, if you are looking for a fun silly mystery - look to Christie herself. If you want a broken heart - carry on with The Christie Affair.

As I don’t know anything about Agatha’s Christie’s disappearance, I have no idea how much fact and how much fiction is included in this novel. However, I was attracted from page one.

As a parallel narrative written from both Agatha’s and Nan O’Dea’s point of view, this is a compelling read, full of mystery and twists and turns, which closely resembles Agatha’s own writing style. Will definitely recommend it as an enjoyable read.

Thank you @Netgalley and publishers for advanced copy of this novel.

I liked this book but I didn’t love it… I have always been intrigued about the eleven day period where Agatha Christie disappeared with no explanation and always like to read a new fictional possibility.
This one centers upon the influence of Nan O’Dea, who was Agatha’s husband’s mistress. It is definitely an original take on this period of time and I was fully ready to dislike Nan because I have a reader’s bias towards Agatha, but instead through Gramont’s tender depictions I grew to understand her and why she made the choices she did with Archie.
Overall an original take on an old mystery and an interesting read.
(3.5 stars)

Agatha Christie has disappeared, but her husband's mistress may have a part to play, this novel will go through those 11 days and what could have happened.

I wanted to like this novel. But I couldn't get on with it, and it took me a long time to finish.
Gramont gives a great narrative but there was a lot happening; not only do we hear about the past and present storyline of the main character, Nan, but there is also a murder and a disappearance to solve.

The author entwines each narrative and does conclude them neatly but it took a long time to get there, and unfortunately, I did not find it as intriguing and exciting as it could have been, to the extent the back story of Nan I couldn't stand to read, although it played an essential part of the novel.

This was a strange book. Set around Agatha Christie's notorious disappearance in 1926, the novel purports to offer an explanation for what happened. The narrator is the future second Mrs Christie, the woman for whom Archibald Christie left the famous novelist. I expected to have my typical misgivings around biographical fiction and how far it is appropriate to re-animate the lives of real people for the purposes of fiction. But early on there are signs.

The protagonist of The Christie Affair is Nancy O'Dea while Archibald Christie's mistress was actually called Nancy Neele. Miss O'Dea has Irish ancestry. Miss Neele did not. Agatha and Archibald's daughter was called Rosamund while in this novel, the child is called Teddy. The list goes on. As a result, I had no discomfort around how de Gramont was portraying what does seem to have an extremely emotionally taxing period of Agatha Christie's life since whatever it was that happened during those mysterious eleven days, it wasn't this. But that does then rather beg the question, what precisely is the point of The Christie Affair?

The prologue opens with Nancy confessing ominously that of course she has regrets over what happened. We flash back to Nancy charming Archie into asking Agatha for a divorce. Right away we see that Nancy does not love him and that Agatha still does, deeply. The blame for the situation is laid squarely at Archie's feet. He has been weak and easily distracted. He disparages Agatha to Nancy but still desires her physically. When he tells Agatha their marriage is over, she is devastated and he leaves, uncaring. And so we reach the point where the first Mrs Christie vanishes. But despite the title's tease, Agatha Christie is something of a supporting player here. In fact, the novel is something of a Trojan horse. Rather than exploring what might have been behind the famous crime writer's infamous vanishing, de Gramont instead considers a very different mystery. As Nancy points out, the 'age of disappearing women did not begin with Agatha Christie'. Women popped out of view constantly. No police reports were filed. Newspapers did not report on it. If they returned, they did so quietly. Sadly. With empty arms.

This is one of those books which centres around child loss but does not warn its reader of this fact from the beginning. Stories like this catch me out time and again, so much so that I wonder if I perhaps seek them out subconsciously. Expecting some kind of adventure story on similar lines to the Doctor Who episode, I earmarked this for reading during my daughter's feeds. Instead, the narrative veered far away from Christie and over to the notorious Magdalene laundries of Ireland. As this became clear, I was acutely aware of the warm and beautiful baby sleepily suckling from my body. Even after she had sated herself, I found myself unable to transfer her to her crib. Instead, I gazed upon my sacred child and felt a grief for the real life women who were separated from their children. While The Christie Affair is fiction layered upon fiction, I like to imagine these abused mothers avenged. There are surely few more unholy acts than ripping a baby from the arms of a loving mother. I clung to my own child, tears pricking and felt huge sorrow for the generations who suffered.

De Gramont's story does pack an emotional punch, posing the question of just how far a woman would be prepared to go in seeking a reunion with her lost child. But I also liked the surprise twist, which explained exactly why Agatha Christie was ultimately discovered in a hotel staying under the name of her husband's mistress. But oddly this was one of the only plot aspects which seemed to link back to Christie, with the suggestion that this situation would later inspire Murder on the Orient Express. The search for her whereabouts serves as secondary plot and does have its moments, particularly the comedy around Arthur Conan Doyle consulting his medium with a glove that did not even belong to Christie. Ultimately though, de Gramont's Christie felt too far removed from her real life counterpart for the reader to successfully connect. I was glad that Nancy got her revenge. I could even understand why she gave up on true love for a life with Archibald Christie and almost admire her courage. But as the novel wore on, de Gramont's depiction of Christie became steadily less and less compelling. And in the finale, yet another layer of meta-fiction as de Gramont serves up a happy ending which we know never took place.

I finished The Christie Affair strongly impressed by de Gramont's storytelling ability but felt that the novel was a five star premise which never quite meshed with the real life mystery. Committed Christie fans are likely to find this novel disappointing in how little it overlaps with the author's genuine biography. My own theory on the true Christie affair is that, grief-stricken by Archie's betrayal, Agatha had a breakdown and fled the situation. But that did not stop me from appreciating de Gramont's novel as an entirely separate work of art and one with a compelling and enigmatic protagonist. Nan O'Dea is a very different character to Nancy Neele, who does seem to have lived in quiet contentment as the second Mrs Christie. But if the reader is prepared to utterly suspend their disbelief, they are in for a raring read. Just go with it.

The Christie Affair has a fantastic premise: what if there had been a real0life mystery behind the period during 1926 when best-selling novelist Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days? Even better, what if that mystery involved both Christie and her husband Archie's mistress, here re-named Nan O'Dea?

Sadly, for me, the execution didn't deliver on the concept. And that reimagining of Archie's real-life second wife, Nancy Neele, into Nan O'Dea is one of the primary reasons for that.

Nan's personal story is a tragic one involving an Irish lover, an unexpected pregnancy, and a brutal forced incarceration. But it only becomes entwined with Agatha's life towards the end of the novel and has little relevance to her disappearance. Indeed, the 'twist' at the end that links the two women was, to me, both somewhat disrespectful to the real Agatha, Archie, and Nancy and also rather far-fetched and bizarre.

Nan's tale is, in and of itself, a very compelling one - and it is well told by the author, with an evocative sense of both character and place coming across on the page - but I just couldn't understand why the Christie connection had been made.

I understand that this is fiction but the title, blurb, and marketing of The Christie Affair suggested that the book "reimagines the unexplained eleven-day disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926 that captivated the world". Yet instead of Nan's story revealing "the truth of [Agatha's] disappearance", it wholly alters several aspects of both Christie and Nancy Neele's lives, replacing the real women with compellingly-written but barely recognisable figures and 'reimagining' their biographies by inventing fictitious romances (for Christie) and traumatic secrets (for Nancy/Nan).

If The Christie Affair hadn't promised to be a novel about Agatha Christie, I suspect I'd have enjoyed it a lot more. It is clear that the author can write a compelling historical novel and create interesting, believable, and empathetic characters. Sadly, the Christie link ended up feeling like little more than a convenient and underutilised hook that detracted from an otherwise interesting - but very different - novel.

Agatha Christie is one of the best known authors in the world today. She’s written hundreds of books and short stories, and there has been hundreds of adaptations for these stories, right up to the current day. She is known for her tightly plotted mysteries and ability to deceive her readers while still providing all necessary clues for her readers to solve the mystery themselves, if only they are paying enough attention. One of the most enduring mysteries from Agatha Christie, concerns her own personal life, and has never been solved. In December 1926, Agatha Christie went missing for eleven days, and never provided any explanation for what occurred during this time period, claiming that she couldn’t remember and had suffered a short memory loss. She never addressed this in her own autobiography, and no one has ever been able to definitely confirm what happened at this time.

The Christie Affair takes this circumstance as its driving force and builds out a narrative around it, told from the point of view of Nan O’Dea. Nan is the mistress of Archie, Agatha’s husband and will play a significant part in the story. As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that there is more to Nan’s actions than meet the eye.

This is a good story with a clever balance between known facts and speculation of what could have happened. It’s an interesting approach and it is written well, I thought it was intriguing to fill in the gaps of what may have gone on in the missing eleven days and there has definitely been a lot of thought put into the story. I did enjoy the writing but some of the characters weren’t as fleshed out as others - Chiltern being an example. I think this is a really interesting twist of a historical story, and would recommend it!

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

An immersive fictional take on what happens following the disappearance of renowned Agatha Christie. Told mainly from the perspective of the ‘other woman’, a character based on the woman Archie Christie had an affair with and later married, this book is full of mystery and intrigue, and I found it hard to put down. A pleasure to read and enjoy, especially as a huge fan of Agatha Christie.

A beautifully-written and really intriguing story of love and loss, centered around the disappearance of Agatha Christie. I really enjoyed this story.

A beautifully written and imaginative reworking of the true mystery at the heart of Agatha Christie's real life. As well as being informative on the real event, it cleverly pulls in the characteristics of one of Christie's own novels, begging the question which came first, the real life events or the art?

Just to reiterate, this is a work of fiction and not based on actual real events. But that said it has taken events that happened in real life and made a wonderful story of what might have happened.

The story is based around the disappearance of Agatha Christie for eleven days to the Lake District.

For the most part the narrator is Nan O’Dea, Archie Christie’s mistress and based on his real life mistress and second Wife. There are varying timelines and relationships within the story.
Nan tells the story and we learn about her life from an early age. We also learn about her motivation to be a part of Archie Christie's life, as well as his – and Agatha’s -Daughter, even though it means being a partner in destroying his first marriage. Agatha is presented by Nan as a good person who just shouldn’t be in that marriage, and that she-Nan is the person who will take Archie [he doesn’t need much persuading] to make this happen and her future secure and happy.
She admires Agatha, but not enough to leave her Husband alone as she has her own future to look after. You could start off not liking Nan for all for what she is doing -as well as Archie for having an affair – but as the story unfolds you may get to feel differently about her – I did.

This is an excellent story that approaches an age old story in a different way and cleverly puts together and incorporates lots of stories within the narrative that all marry together at the end. I really enjoyed it.

I love love love the idea of this book and the mystery did not let me down. I love this fictional version of what happened when Agatha Christie disappeared. There was a lot of surprises along the way that I really didn’t see coming and the writing was beautiful and very easy to read! Such a compelling, fun read!

I was really looking forward to this book and I’m happy to say that it didn’t disappoint. This is a fictionalised account of what happened during the days when Agatha Christie disappeared. It follows Agatha, but mainly Nan – the woman having an affair with Agatha’s husband Archie. There is also another mystery element in the novel and I loved seeing how it all played out. I was expecting the novel to be more about Agatha but it was actually really interesting following Nan for the main part and seeing how she came to be in the situation she finds herself in. I found this such an engrossing novel and one that I was thinking about during the times when I wasn’t reading it. I definitely recommend it.

The year is 1926, Agatha Christie is making a name for herself in the writing world and becoming quite famous. She is married to Archie and has a daughter, Teddy. Archie has a study but Agatha has to write wherever she can within the house. She suspects that Archie is having an affair with his secretary, Nan O’Dea. One lunchtime, Agatha asks Nan to lunch at a respectable restaurant and they share small talk until lunch is over. Agatha buys lunch, her treat. When they leave the restaurant, Agatha tells Nan that she doesn’t love Archie and to leave him to someone who does. Nan is inflamed by this and can’t find any words to reply with, she is that irate. Instead she goes to see Archie and tells him but, also, to check he is still leaving Agatha, as planned.

That evening Agatha dresses up in something Archie likes so she can seduce him which works and they sleep together although Archie has an ulterior plan. The next morning, he is up, has a bath and ready for work early. She wakes to an empty bed and isn’t happy, so storms out to find he has a small suitcase packed at his feet as he is away for the weekend staying with friends which goes down even less well with Agatha. He leaves the house arguing with her, with neither of them having a thought for their daughter Teddy.

Agatha disappeared later that day after writing a letter to her husband, which she left for him to read upon his return.

I really enjoyed reading this book which was told from the point of view of Nan O’Shea and very intriguing. It was like a mystery itself. The story was well told and covered the majority of Agatha’s disappearance, considering she was a well known face, she did well to stay hidden for so long. Well worth a read.