Member Reviews
The book is very, very readable, using the tools of alternating times and points of view to start the reader both in the happy past and at the shocking point of the disappearance. Pure curiosity will ensure the pages turn.
My favorite author? Agatha Christie. And a fabulous writer of historical fiction about strong women takes her on? Yes, please.
I love what Marie Benedict did with the mystery of Agatha Christie's disappearance. She is a living, fantastic yet flawed woman here. And I found myself hating her first husband, Archie, a sign of good writing.
Highly recommended.
This was fabulous! I’d heard of her disappearance and this tale fills in the gaps perfectly. A compulsive read.
In 1926, Agatha Christie mysteriously disappeared for 11 days leaving her husband and small daughter behind. England was riveted to the investigation and thousands of citizens joined in the search for the famous author.
Marie Benedict has re-imagined this story as a battle of wills between Christie and her husband Col. Archibald Christie. There are two narratives, that of Mrs. Christie’s starting in the early days of the couple’s courtship and that of Col. Christie’s during the time of the search for his missing wife. Like any good mystery, there are unreliable narrators, misdirection and unexpected plot twists. One of the pleasures of this novel is seeing how Christie’s life and environment is reflected in her books. This is a must read for fans of Agatha Christie as well as readers with an interest in stories set in the years around World War 1 in England.
The mystery of Mrs. Christie
Very good book and a fun read. Benedict effectively bounces from Agatha's meeting and courtship with Christie to their marriage, birth of their daughter and their life together. It's a believable story of the disappearance of Mrs. Christie. The only thing keeping me from a 5 star rating is that some aspects of the disappearance seemed to fit together too neatly. I'll be reading more from this author.
A fun take on the true story mystery about Agatha Christie’s disappearance in 1926. A plausible and empowering explanation.
I have always enjoyed reading Agatha Christie's books and I really enjoyed this one about Agatha herself. It held my attention and kept me turning pages. Just when I thought I had figured out it would take another twist. Very well written. Great for Book club discussions. Highly recommend.
Thoroughly enjoyed this novel about Agatha Christie's mysterious disappearance. Such a fascinating way to peek into the life of the beloved mystery author. Can't wait to share this with our Strong Sense of Place audience.
The mystery surrounding Agatha Christie's disappearance in December 1926 has always intrigued me so I was excited to read Maria Benedict's version of what really happened. The book alternates between two narratives. Agatha begins by detailing the meeting of her husband Archie in 1912, their courtship and their difficult marriage leading up to the point of her disappearance in 1926. The alternating chapters deal with the investigation into her disappearance which focuses on Archie's point of view. While reading the book, I thought it was a solid 3 stars but then that ending. Benedict nailed it in classical Agatha Christie form. Bravo!
Author Marie Benedict has selected Agatha Christie as the latest historic woman to have her story told in The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, coming out in January 2021.
Archibald Christie just had to have Agatha Miller in his life even though she was engaged to someone else. Once married, his feelings for her seemed to slowly diminish until she seemed more of a nuisance to him than someone he loved and coveted. They had married in 1914, had their only child Rosalind in 1919, and the marriage just faded away as he pursued other women.
Although she never discussed it, Agatha Christie went missing in 1926, and her husband was put off because she apparently interrupted a weekend with his lover when the police fetched him because his wife was missing. Her empty wrecked car caused a manhunt to find the mystery writer. She would turn up 11 days later claiming loss of memory when she actually had been creating her best mystery ever.
Marie Benedict has once again beautifully created the story of a famous woman as she did with Mrs. Einstein and Mrs. Churchill. A lawyer who graduated from Boston University Law School, Benedict focused on History and Art History at Boston College as an undergraduate. I wonder who she will next create as she pursues the hidden stories of famous women. Marie Benedict’s subjects don’t always interest me, but her writing draws me in each time.
My review will be posted on Goodreads starting November 8, 2020.
I’d like to thank Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.
Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark and Net Galley for the chance to read and review this book. When my wish was granted to read this book, I was so happy. Marie Benedict is one of my favorite authors and I have read every one of her books. She has such a talent for writing stories about women who led an interesting life, but maybe are not as well known as others. This is the story of Agatha Christie, and her mysterious disappearance. When she met and married Archibald Christie, things were good between them. As the years go by, things begin to change (especially for Mr. Christie). Agatha tries every thing she can to keep him happy, but he wants a divorce and plans to marry a different woman. This is the story of how Agatha handles these big changes. I loved it! I can't wait to read the next exciting book by Marie Benedict! Her books are always the best!
Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “The Mystery of Mrs. Christie” by Marie Benedict, Source Books Landing, 12/29/20
Wow! Marie Benedict, the author of “The Mystery of Mrs. Christie” has written an intriguing, captivating, and thought-provoking novel. The genres for this novel are historical fiction and fiction, with some mystery and suspense. The timeline for this story is around December 1926, when Agatha Christie really went missing for eleven days, and also goes to the past when it pertains to the characters or events. Marie Benedict does an amazing job of vividly describing the characters and the events in this novel. The characters are described as complex and complicated.
Marie Benedict’s novel revolves around Agatha Christie’s eleven missing days, as well as the possible suspect/s, and her relationship with her family and staff. There are different clues that point to the fact that Agatha Christie has disappeared. Was there foul play,? an accident? a murder? a kidnapping?
Why was Agatha Christie’s husband considered a suspect, and what information did he with-hold from the police? How did all the clues be put in place, and how did the mystery writer herself become part of a bigger mystery?
I would highly recommend this memorable and thought-provoking story and thank BookBrowse Books, NetGalley, and Source Book Landing for the opportunity to read an ARC.
A fascinating mystery about Agatha Christie and her relationship with Archie, her husband, that gives great insight into what women of the 1920's were like. Her Mother was a major influence in her relationship, what was best said during that time. And Archie had it all until he over stepped his bounds. What a surprise awaited for him! I really liked how the mystery is written between events and her & him in separate chapters. Such a wonderful book! Very well written Marie Benedict, look forward to reading your other novels! Thank you Net Galley and Book Browse.
How fun, I love cozy mystery though admittedly I have not read any by Agatha Christie, I’ve read and enjoyed many of the authors and mystery tv shows her work inspired. I loved The Other Einstein, and this novel reminded me a lot of that. The author’s ability to push the stories that were previously in the shadows to the fore is quite wonderful!
How did I not know that Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime, was involved in a real-life mystery of her own?! In THE MYSTERY OF MRS. CHRISTIE, the puzzle of Christie’s nine day disappearance and the events leading up to and surrounding this event, is presented with plenty of context, speculation, scandal, and suspense. This work is sure to appeal to history and mystery fans alike!
This is a gripping piece of historical fiction, imagining what might have transpired during the real-life disappearance of Agatha Christie. The story was well developed, although I had trouble aligning the two very different personalities of Mrs. Christie, as told from the points of view of herself and her husband, Archie. An interesting story that I knew nothing about prior to reading the novel. Book clubs will enjoy discussing the “what if’s” that inevitably crop up throughout the book.
Marie Benedict has crafted a very enjoyable fictional account of the brief disappearance of mystery writer Agatha Christie. Both leading characters are fully developed personalities. Husband Archie is depicted as a selfish, villainous man. His wife Agatha emerges as a strong, self-sufficient woman.
Agatha Christie famously disappeared fro her home for nearly two weeks. Told with flashbacks and narrative, this novel depicts one possible explanation. ARC from NetGalley.
I just finished reading The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict. Reading her books is delightful I have discovered since she does a great job bringing famous individuals back to life. In this case it was Agatha Christie. During the famous British mystery author's life she does disappear for about two weeks and Marie Benedict spins this into a mystery of itself.
Another reason I enjoyed the book was because it occurred almost 100 years ago and it was interesting to learn about the roaring twenties. I also enjoyed the snippets of information of how Mrs. Christie developed some of her mystery novels as well as characters.
Finally I enjoyed learning about the life of Agatha Christie. In so many ways women today can relate to the life struggles and disappointments Agatha Christie had to overcome.
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict
Benedict’s novel is an interesting fictionalized take on the well-known disappearance of the mystery writer Agatha Christie in 1926 when her whereabouts were unknown for eleven days. Her car was found abandoned with a bag of clothes inside. Although it was unknown to the press at the time, Mrs. Christie’s husband had just told her that he wanted a divorce in order to marry his mistress. Her vanishing caused a sensation in the papers all across England, the police and public wondering if she had become a victim of foul play in the style of one of her own novels.
The author has organized the story using alternating dual timelines, one encompassing the early years of Christie’s romance, marriage, and writing career, and the other the eleven days of her disappearance. The former timeline chapters tell the story from Mrs. Christie’s point of view, and the latter from the viewpoint of her husband, Archie. For the reader, this makes an interesting juxtaposition between two different interpretations of events. The circumstances, attitudes and emotions which motivate the actions of the characters are well-developed in the chapters dealing with the earlier time frame, and the author’s imagination fills in the gaps in what is known about real-life events.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and I think the dual-timeline approach works well for the most part. The pace moves along well and the characters are believable and well-drawn. There is some dialogue that doesn’t quite ring true for me in light of the speech of that particular social class during that period in England, but this problem may be addressed in the final edition of the book.
All in all, I’d rate the novel as an enjoyable story well worth reading.