I loved this!

I found the development of the storylines engaging and the resolution of the mystery - both Agatha's disappearance and the two deaths.

I didn't expect to like this novel as much as I ended up doing.
I started this book very excited but the first 100 pages were slow and I found the chapters set in Ireland pointless.
However, then the story kicked off and I was completely sucked into the tale. This is so much more than a historical fiction novel about the disappearance of Agatha Christie and it gets better and better the further into the book you get.
This book is completely fictional and not based on the real events that happened with Agatha Christie and her husband and his mistress.
My only complaints about the book are that the parts in Ireland are introduced a bit too early before I cared enough about Nan to be interested in anything that had happened to her in the past but I would definitely recommend sticking with it if you find the first 100 pages not that interesting. I loved the comments on the history of convents and "the disappearing girls" as they are referred to. I also liked the characterisation of Agatha Christie later in the book as she is developed more and the characters that the author created for the story. The mystery and the conclusion are brilliant reminding me of an Agatha Christie book, I won't specify which one as that would be a spoiler.
I am excited to read more by this author in the future.

I loved this, anything related to Agatha Christie interests me. And what better mystery to solve than the mystery of Agatha herself - her well known and reported disappearance. It's fiction of course, no one knows, to this day why Agatha disappeared, but it's a fascinating story and possibly explains why she did it. There's far more to this than just Agatha's disappearance and I wont' spoil it by saying any more, suffice to say it's very, very clever.

In December 1926, world famous author Agatha Christie went missing for 11 days. Nobody knows why.
The Christie Affair is a historical fictional account of what happened during those 11 days told by the mistress of Agatha's husband, Nancy O Dea.
This book turned out to be quiet different to what I thought it was going to be but I loved it. I loved the old fashioned narrative told in a very "Agatha Christie" style of writing. I loved that it had mystery with lots of twists and turns but also that it was a heartbreaking love story. I have lots of customers who I know will love this book. 5 stars

A brilliant imagining of what happened to Agatha Christie hen she went missing for 11days. Narrated by the other woman- Agatha’s husbands mistress, this is a cool story of love, heartache and mystery.

What an engaging book.
An intriguing concept, writing about the well known disappearance of the novelist Agatha Christie but narrated by the mistress of her husband. That description does not do the book the justice it deserves as it covers so much more than those few days.
Throw a very relatable detective into the mix along with a variety of hotel guests and a mystery to solve and it all comes together marvellously.
An original well written book that is worth a read.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy to review.

In the December of 1926, the famous author Agatha Christie went missing from her home for 10 days. There was a massive and very public search for her, however Agatha herself made no comment on the event and neither did she mentioned in her autobiography. This new novel from Nina de Gramont is a fictional re telling of those days, narrated by a character called Nan O’Dea, who is based on the real life mistress and later second wife of Agatha’s husband Archie Christie.

The Christie Affair begins with Archie announcing to Agatha that he wants a divorced so that he can marry Nan. This naturally throws Agatha into a state of distress and it is that evening that she disappears. Archie suggests that Nan should also go away for a few days, to put some distance between herself and all the commotion, and is spending a few days in a rather well known hotel in Harrogate.

Not long after Nan’s arrival, a death occurs at the hotel and a policeman looking for Agatha, Inspector Chiltern, also becomes involved in this side story as well as becoming a main part of the story. We also learn of Nan’s past in Ireland, and her meeting with her first love Finbarr during the time of the first world war.

This book mainly centers around Nan, her past story of sorrow and her current relationship with Archie. I found my sympathies come and go for Nan, with her sad past but also as an accomplish in Agatha’s heartbreak, but found her thoughts on Agatha interesting. I found the whole novel an engaging read with some wonderfully described back drops and settings. I also thought the author did a very good job at explaining the mental state and distresses of her characters.

The names used for some of the minor characters in the book will ring bells and delight Christie fans and I found it a nice touch to include them in the book.

What an imaginative retelling of the disappearance for 11 days in 1926 of Agatha Christie. But even more enthralling is the fact that the story is told by Archie's mistress (not his actual mistress but the one invented for this story) who has a fascinating history of her own. Through two times zones Nan explains her upbringing, her love for Finbarr (her first love), a terrible year in her life and what brought her to set her sights on Agatha Christie's husband, Archie.
Cleverly told, a compelling story.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Nina de Gramont/Pan Macmillan for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

This novel centres around Agatha Christie's famous disappearance which led to one of the largest manhunts ever undertaken and it equals any of the great mysteries written by the grande dame herself. Nina de Gramont has penned a wonderful story of love, murder, revenge and heartbreak and her attention to detail is second to none. The tale moves between Ireland and England, and is narrated by Nan O'Dea, an English woman, mistress to Agatha's husband Archie, who was brutally treated by stalwarts of the Catholic Church during a shameful period in Ireland's history. De Gramont has managed to weave a fantastic reimagination of an event that was heavily reported on but was never fully explained into a contemporary novel that is engaging, full of tension and intrigue and will surely be in the bestsellers list for 2022.

I am fascinated by Agatha Christie but not just her timeless, twisty novels. Her real life is even more exciting and I was delighted to hear about a novel that explores the 11 days that Agatha went missing in the wake of discovering her husband’s affair. I was even more delighted to be accepted for a copy of it!

London, 1925. Within a wealthy middle class world of parties and sporting events, Nan O’Dea becomes Archie Christie’s mistress. Archie’s wife is a famous, well-loved author, who Nan is a huge fan of. So why is she so ready to commit the ultimate betrayal against a woman she so admires? What part does Nan O’Dea play in the disappearance of Agatha Christie?

We get the story from Nan’s point of view and I thought this was a really interesting decision. It’s a viewpoint that has largely gone unheard and perhaps a viewpoint that many of us didn’t know we needed. Of course, Agatha’s disappearance could have come straight out of her own novels and watching Nan get caught up in a real life Christie story is so much fun.

The relationship between Agatha and Nan is such a joy to follow. At the start, there is an undeniable tension due to Agatha knowing exactly what Nan and Archie are up to. However, Nan can’t shake her fascination and fangirl feelings towards Agatha. As the novel slowly unravels, we learn more about what’s really happening in the subtext of their interactions and I adored how that happened.

Nan is a very unique Christie fan because of course, she is also an insider to Agatha’s personal life. She knows Archie incredibly intimately and can easily imagine exactly what it’s like to be his wife. She also recognises the need for someone completely different to him and in this, she has a lot in common with the woman she is betraying.

Large chunks of the book explore Nan’s youth in Ireland and the time she spent in a convent as an unwed mother. She goes through unimaginable heartache while there and de Gramont does a wonderful job of showing the reader how bleak these places were for such young, vulnerable girls. It has clearly been researched spectacularly well and it threw a new, warm light over Nan and her story.

There are a lot of Agatha Christie facts and trivia in the book but these parts are sewn expertly into the narrative. They are just pieces of real information that could have jarred the flow of the story but de Gramont has somehow hidden the seams perfectly. It’s written so well and for that reason alone, every Christie fan should consider giving it a read -even if you know everything there is to know about her.

The Christie Affair is a unique, addictive story of revenge, heartache and romance. Just like a Christie novel, it’s intricately plotted and incredibly clever. I was still guessing the details right up until the denouement. I cried and cheered numerous times and was utterly captivated by this beautiful version of a real life mystery.

1926 and female novelist Agatha Christie is shocked when her husband Archie tells her that he is leaving her for his mistress Nan. Agatha disappears for 11 days but the story is more complicated than just a trip to Harrogate. Nan has secrets of her own and a determination to see justice for the past.
This is a terrific book in which the true story of the disappearance of Agatha Christie is developed in a fictional context to become a mystery of Christie-esque proportions as well as a tale of obsessive love. I loved the way the two tales interwove and my only quibble is that the double murder was handled so lightly as to almost seem of little consequence. A real masterpiece of fiction writing.

This story is supposedly about when Agatha Christie went missing for 11 days in 1925. She always said that she didn't remember.
We do know that her husband had had an affair and Agatha had just found out about it. The twist is that the narrative is by Nan, the mistress, and this works surprisingly well.
Interwoven with the disappearance we hear Nan's story which is heartbreaking and explains how she came to be in the Christies' circle.
Told in the gentle style of those times, I liked it better than I thought that I would.

This is a well-written literary take on the time Agatha Christie went missing in 1925. Or is it?

It's written from the viewpoint of Christie's husband's mistress - Nan. Nan shares a first name with the real mistress of the time (but I presume nothing else) and starts off in a difficult position - how to make readers like her when she's sleeping with Christie's husband. But over time, she does succeed.

How does the story fare along the way? It gets going when Agatha goes missing and Nan hides away in a hotel to avoid any adverse publicity. A murder happens, Nan thinks about her past, and the present just won't go away.

As mentioned, the writing is nice - it's has a literary feel but is light enough to keep on reading even when you're tired. It's sad, but it's not weighed down by sadness. And it made me think. But it's Nan's story, really. Christie is a vehicle to get to Nan's past and the reasons for her choices in the prison. Nothing to do with Agatha at all. Yes, there's a murder, but I was sort of 'so what' by that point.

I think Nan's story could've been told without her - any woman with a child, whose husband was having an affair, could've done.

I'm glad I read it, but people looking for something a bit more Christie-ish might find themselves still longing by the final pages.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy for review.

This novel follows the disappearance for Agatha Christie through the eyes of Agatha’s husband’s mistress Nan.
I was all set to hate Nan for the pain she caused Agatha but de Gramont does such a good job of showing Nan as so sympathetic that I simply couldn’t.
I loved reading all about Nans childhood summers in Ireland and her love with Finbarr. The abuse and tragedy she faces in lowland when she’s older is so heart wrenching.
There’s also a mystery in this story which was very engaging and felt fitting for a book starring Agatha Christie.
I will think about this story for a long time, a really enjoyable and at times very upsetting historical journey.

Thankyou so much to Pan Macmillian via Netgalley for letting me read an arc of this book.

I chose this as I am a fan of Agatha Christie. The books I have read by her I have adored and I have always been interested in her life and what inspired some of her stories.

This story is a fictional account about the time Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days in 1926. There have been many theories as to where she went and why she left. The Christie Affair however, is the story old by Christie's husband’s mistress!
I love the fact that to help find Agatha Christie, they get Detective writers like Arthur Conan Doyle to help search for her, thinking they will know more than the police. I also like the fact the mistress doesn't like any of Christie's novels. This really made me laugh, the fact she mentions this and makes sure we know she at least tried to read them (unlike Christie's husband).

Along side this is the heart breaking story of Nan when she is younger and pregnant in Ireland. She is sent to a Convent, where the nuns would beat them, make them work, the father who went there would sometimes rape the girls. She had to spend her pregnancy there and then her child would be taken off her and put up for adoption. This side of the novel is sad and horrifying as this is what would have happened to her. The author has done her research into this, to get the description there and just how drawn into the story you are, you feel so much for the girls there. It's scary to think how many women went threw this (Magdaline Laudreies as well did things like this) and how much Convents got away with.

A story of murder, mystery, revenge, love and loss.
A story full of secrets, lost loves, redemption and of course Murder.

It had a real Agatha Christie esk writing style - the pace, supporting characters and plot.

This is a brilliant book for fans of Agatha Christie. You really feel sorry for her and warm towards Christie, she's not done anything wrong and the reason she's missing for so long I believe is to get her head around what's happened as she does truly love her husband.
If you know a lot about Christie or you have read up on the background of the real Nan O’Dea, Nancy Neele may not work for you.
I myself read this as fictional which was inspired by true events. It created an interesting story and that was what kept me reading and why I would recommend.

If you know your literature, if you know your Agatha Christie then you know in the mid 1920s the famous author disappeared for 11 days. No one knows the truth, no one knows what happened and why, until this book.

The person that knows the truth isn’t even Agatha herself, it is Nan O’Dea.

Who is this woman?

She is the woman that Archibald Christie went on to marry after he divorced Agatha, that makes her the mistress at the time of the disappearance.

Told from Nan’s point of view we not just learn about her life and upbringing but also what really happened in those missing days and how both their lives crossed over. Nan is convinced that Agatha has something of hers and it is not Agatha’s husband, he merely seems to be a pawn into getting what Nan really wants.

As the book moves backwards and forward, it takes a while to the change in pace and we are almost being told by the narrator that actually what she is saying is what happened and we are not to question any of it. Once you accept this ‘voice’ of the book you are swept away on this mystery, the red herrings and the possible plot twists and the fact that this book is based on real life people becomes irrelevant.

Nan’s back story warranted a book all of its own, and jarred slightly with the mystery element of the book, but again I think you have to forgive these styles if you are to simply enjoy the book for what it was.

For fans of Christie, this book gives you an idea of what may have happened. But if you know your Christie well and you know the background of the real Nan O’Dea, Nancy Neele in reality then maybe this won’t work for you. For me it was fiction, fiction that took fact and manipulated it into an interesting story and that was the draw that kept me reading and why I would recommend.

Agatha Christie's disappearance of several days in 1926 has proved fruitful ground for speculation, with various writers and filmmakers (and an episode of Doctor Who) offering their takes on what might have happened. (It probably didn't involve a giant wasp.) It's always seemed most likely to me that Agatha, having learned of her husband's plan to leave her for another woman, simply crept off, understandably, to lick her wounds in private. (She herself claimed an episode of amnesia, which seems highly implausible.)

Anyway, Nina de Gramont here uses the fact of the disappearance as starting point for a story which is clearly fiction (names are changed, characters invented). The main character is not in fact Agatha but her husband Archie's lover Nan O'Dea, who, despite the similarity in their first names, is clearly not her real-life counterpart Nancy Neele. Young Nan seems an initially unsympathetic character, setting out to snag Archie by any means necessary and with little regard for his distraught wife. As the story progresses, though, we learn more about Nan's motivations and her past.

Oh, and while the nationwide search for the missing Agatha goes on, there's a murder - or maybe two - in a Yorkshire hotel, or is it murder at all? Inspector Frank Chilton, roped in to help in the search, happens to be on the spot... and might find out more than he bargained for.

The Christie Affair wasn't quite what I expected, but I did enjoy it - the story is very well written and the characters engaging, even if some of their actions are a little far-fetched. It's also an interesting insight into an aspect of social history which is, shamefully, really not that far in the past.

Christie aficionados will also spot references to future books, in which she apparently drew on this experience for inspiration.

Many thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As a Christie fan, I was looking forward to reading this book. I wasn't disappointed. A very dignified fictionalised account of Agatha's disappearance. Recommended.

I was really intrigued to read this book but it sadly did not go the way I thought it would as it was more about Nan than Agatha!

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

As an avid Christie fan I loved the concept of this book! The writing was effortless and instantly transported you into the golden era following Nan's alleged role in the infamous disappearance of Agatha Christie. Some of the backstory was a little lengthy and detracted from the mystery during those missing days but overall this was a fun frolic of a read!