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The Christie Affair

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Member Reviews

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of the ebook to review. I requested this book knowing it was a historical fiction and I don't tend to gravitate towards this genre. I had expected more from this book but the writing was boring and the characters were flat.

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Not sure if it was the book or me but this wasn't a good read for me. I couldn't get into the story and the writing style wasn't one I enjoyed.

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"We both know you can't tell your own story without exposing someone else's."

In London, a renowned mystery author goes missing for 11 days in December 1926 after an argument with her unfaithful husband, Archibald Christie. This novel is the author's envisioning of the mysterious unresolved event. The story is narrated in the first person who happens to be Nan but alternating timelines from her youth to where she is now, blatantly flaunting herself in the Christie home as an assistance to Archie. His dalliances were not exactly a well-kept secret so when he told her he was spending the weekend away, Agatha had no disillusions that he would be with Miss Nan O'Dea.

Mrs. Christie's disappearance remains up to debate as to what occurred although she was eventually "found" at a day spa hotel not too far from home. The rumors ranged from her having dementia, amnesia, pulling a publicity stunt to wanting to harm herself. The ribbon which ties the story together in this case is Nan O'Dea and how she came to be in the circle of the elite. Her background is filled with as much mystique and mystery as those of the Christie's. It is obvious that Nan both admired and loathed Agatha for her success and marriage to Archie.

"Agatha Christie had a fascination with murder. But she was tenderhearted. She never wanted to kill anyone. Not for a moment. Not even me."

This is Nan's story of ambition and desire to climb over other people in order to obtain her rags to riches ending.

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Many readers know about the time in 1926 when Agatha Christie disappeared for eleven days. There was a nationwide hunt and she was eventually found in a coastal town and insisted she remembered nothing. This is that story but told from another perspective. This is the perspective of Nan O'Dea who is Archie Christie's mistress and second wife. In this telling, Agatha disappeared after Archie informed her that he would be divorcing her and marrying Nan.

Nan grew up between London with a large family of sisters and summers in Ireland at her uncle's farm. There she met the love of her life, Finnbar. They plan to marry but World War I intervenes. When Nan finds herself pregnant, she is taken to an orphanage run by the Catholic Church. There pregnant unmarried girls deliver their babies who are then adopted out. Nan runs away after her daughter is adopted.

In this imagining, a hotel is full of people who become suspects after a newly married couple is murdered . There is Nan and some of her friends from the orphanage. Finnbar is nearby and there is a British policeman called Chilton who is assigned both to the murder and to look for Mrs. Christie. The reader learns why Nan went after Archie and why she won't give him up even to have a life with Finnbar.

I listened to this book and the narrator did an excellent job. When Agatha was speaking, the voice reminded the reader of the upper class English life. When the nuns were speaking, one could imagine the sarcastic smiles they had as they pretended they were there for the best outcome for the girls. Nina de Gramont captures the time and place perfectly. Her imaginative take on the event is one that will remain in the reader's memory long after the last page is read. This novel is recommended for readers of women's fiction.

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When I first picked up this book, I was expecting a Gatsby style story but instead it was about Agatha Christie's disappearance. The POV, Agatha's romantic rival was an interesting choice of perspective and made for a very interesting read. It was also wonderful that there was a murder mystery Agatha Christie style in the subplot, an apparent homage to the infamous mystery writer. Writing was superb.

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2.5 stars

The Christie Affair has been on my TBR for quite a long time. I have always loved Agatha Christie and been fascinated by her real life disappearance. This book is historical fiction and set during the days that Agatha went missing. This is not a true story, just the writers take on what may have happened over those days.

I have to be honest, I thought this was going to be more about Agatha then it was and I think that may have been part of the reason I didn’t enjoy it as much. A lot of the story was told from the perspective of Agatha’s husbands mistress and I just didn’t care for her and wanted less of her in the story but it was largely from her POV. While her story was tragic and sad, I didn’t really want to know her story. I wanted to know Agatha’s. There are also side stories with Agatha’s husband and other characters we meet during her disappearance (that is all I will say so I don’t spoilt it). In the end, all of the stories do tie together (mostly) and make sense in this fictional telling of events. But some of it was a but far fetched and I just didn’t buy it. I wanted to love this one but sadly I didn’t. I still had to finish tho because I needed to see how it all ended!

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The Christie Affair details the 11 day disappearance of Agatha Christie, from the point of view of her husband's mistress. This was a wonderful and suspenseful historical fiction that sheds light on the standards of that time period, as well as shedding light on a part of history that is mysterious and unknown. The alternating timelines allowed for enough suspense, especially for those not as well versed in Christie's life. Overall, a wonderful look at how marriage, affairs, and life was viewed during this time period.

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This book is messy and, at times, pointless. Too many storylines were happening that are bland and uninteresting. Is so far-fetched and utterly ridiculous.

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I was fascinated by the book but wondered if I would have appreciated it more if I was an Agatha Christie fan.

Nevertheless, de Gramont paints a competently researched world and a compelling lure around a mystery that has baffled fans for decades. Readers of Bryn Turnbull will gobble this up.

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I had the chance to read an advanced reader copy of "The Christie Affair" by Nina de Gramont, and it deeply pains me to say that this historical novel was a profound disappointment.

Set against the backdrop of the enigmatic Agatha Christie's life, the novel promised an intriguing blend of historical fiction and mystery. However, the execution fell short on multiple fronts.

The characters lacked depth and complexity, and their actions often felt contrived. The narrative failed to capture the essence of Agatha Christie, and the portrayal of her iconic character, Hercule Poirot, was nothing short of lackluster.

The plot meandered and lacked a cohesive structure, leaving the reader feeling disjointed and disconnected from the storyline. The historical and literary elements that could have added depth to the novel were underutilized, leaving the narrative feeling superficial.

Overall, "The Christie Affair" fails to do justice to its promising premise and the iconic Agatha Christie. The novel's shortcomings in character development and storytelling left me thoroughly unimpressed.

I would like to express my gratitude to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy, although my experience with this book was far from satisfactory.

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The Christie Affair provides a fictional take on a historical event, where Agatha Christie disappears for many days before reappearing. I found the story to be more engaging than I expected, although I found it a bit slow at times. The story is told from the perspective of the mistress, Nan, when Archie Christie asks Agatha Christie for a divorce. The story jumps back and forth between Nan's early life and her present day, although I personally found the former more interesting.
I would recommend The Christie Affair to anyone who likes historical fiction, romance or mystery. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

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If you’re looking for a book about Agatha Christie’s disappearance, this is not the book for you. The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont really has little to do with Agatha. It centers on Mr. Christie’s mistress and her perspective. As such, she bears little responsibility for her actions and is a thoroughly unlikable main character. Had I known this was the book’s slant, I wouldn’t have requested it via NetGalley. I find it annoying when books are deceptively titled/blurbed in such a way as to mislead readers, and this book is a perfect example. Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

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I love a good mystery mixed in with some historical facts!

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont is about a time that I didn't even know had happened. The story is narrated by Nan O'Dea, who was the mistress of Archie Christie, husband of Agatha Christie. I love a good Agatha Christie mystery, so right away I was intrigued to learn more about her life.

When Agatha learned about her husband's mistress, she ended up missing for eleven days, in which everyone assumed she had killed herself.

The story goes back and forth about Nan's childhood and how she ended up where she did, but it intertwines with Agatha's disappearance as an adult. I was "Team Agatha," of course, but I enjoyed how the author wrote the story.

If you enjoy some historical fiction (based loosely on facts), mixed in with a mystery, you will enjoy this book. I gave it four out of five stars.

I was given this book for my honest review.

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Was able to complete this one after having it on my e-reader for way too long!

I have always been intrigued by Agatha Christie and her 11 day disappearance. I've read so many books about her and her life and her husband that I didn't really think I needed to read any more -- enter the mistress and her point of view!

Wow, twists, turns and pure craziness.

Pick it up for a great beach read.

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I have read both recent books (this and Marie Benedict’s) about Agatha Christie’s 11 day disappearance. My book club chose to review this book and I led the discussion.. Being an AC fan, I had never heard of her disappearance and found the research fascinating. Our club had a lively discussion on AC’s motives for disappearing and why she never spoke of it. I found de Gramont’s novel rather far-fetched and unbelievable and didn’t care for the mistress all that much, even though this became a book about her. But overall, a good read that allowed for a great discussion.. i asked our members to offer a story at the end of the meeting stating: what would make you disappear, where would you go, how would you get there, and who would you tell.. we got some great answers.

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The Christie Affair was an interesting blend of historical fiction, mystery, relationships (I hesitate to say romance) and maybe a bit of revenge. In 1925, Nan O’Dea became Archie Christie’s mistress, luring him away from his devoted and well-known wife, Agatha Christie. In December of 1926, when Agatha finds this out, she slips away from a party and disappears for eleven days. Where did she go? What does she find out? Why did she leave? Her disappearance sparked a manhunt and when she is found, much is left as a mystery. This is speculation as to what might have happened.

The story is narrated by Nancy Neele, or Miss Nan O'Dea in the book, the mistress of Agatha's husband, Archie. I found that the story focused more on her story, than Agatha's, but it gave context as to what might have happened and what Agatha might have discovered. As we learn of Miss O'Dea's past, as much as I felt for her, I still did not like this devious woman. The descriptive writing gave me quite a picture of that time in 1919. We also meet the police doing the investigation in 1926 and the fact that Agatha Christie had not done anything wrong, so when she is initially discovered, her identity and location are not immediately revealed. Overall, this was an entertaining and descriptive story with a few twists. There were a lot of unlikable characters and imagining on the part of the author.

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A reimagining of the events that surround the mysterious disappearance of the famous mystery writer Agatha Christie, which is still a mystery that the author never discussed. Great character development particularly of the mistress Nan--and it's a bit different that the Benedict book, which I also enjoyed reading. Fascinating story about the author's life; it makes me wonder if the "disappearance" wasn't her way of punishing her husband for his dalliance and her own humiliation by the affair.

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Such an intriguing book, which is historical fiction and keeps you interested from start to end. It was a mystery and suspense and characters that I found myself fascinated by throughout the book.

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The Christie Affair is historical fiction. It is told from the point of Nan O’Dea; she is a fictional character and is based on Archie Christies second wife.
The story is more about Nan than that of Agatha Christie, but it does speak of her life and disappearance, albeit fictional tales. Although there are several timelines, I did find it kept pace. This was an enjoyable murder mystery.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for providing an advanced reader copy.

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Ms. de Gramont has written a clever tale to explain the disappearance of Agatha Christie for 11 days in 1926. After her husband, Archie, asks Agatha for a divorce so he can marry his lover, Nan, Agatha is distraught. That is all we know until Agatha is found 11 days later. This twist on the story is interesting.
Nan and Archie become involved. However, Nan's true love is Finbarr, and she was pregnant by him at age 19. She goes to see Fin but he is sick with influenza, and his father takes her to an Irish convent where she can have her child. The nun takes her baby, Genevieve, for adoption against Nan's will.
Agatha wants to stop the divorce, and runs off. She meets up with Insp. Chilton in a manor house when he comes to investigate her disappearance. Nan is at the same location. Two deaths occur at the hotel in the town, and people believe the wife died of a broken heart after her husband died.
Seems the story of all the characters is intertwined. This is a neat little mystery with an interesting theory of what actually happened to Agatha Christie. Enjoyable.

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