Tory Van Dyne is a book conservator for the Manhattan’s Mystery Guild Library. The library was created by her great-aunt who passed the baton on to Tory to maintain and help run the library. It also includes a wonderful apartment on the top levels of the library. Once the library closes for the day, Tory likes to spend her evenings sprawled in a chair in the Christie Room - a meticulously recreated replica of Agatha's own Greenway library. On this particular evening, Tory is startled to discover that she is not alone in her favorite reading spot - an older woman has somehow gained access and she claims to be none other than the ghost of Agatha. She's apparently gotten a bit bored in the Great Beyond so she has returned to help Tory solve a rather complex mystery. Which hasn't been committed yet. But first - cocktails! Derived from a favorite book of cocktails in the Christie collection, of course.

Tory, of course, does not believe for an instant that it is the real Agatha Christie. But a knock on the door interrupts her thoughts. Her cousin, Nic, has just witnessed a distressing accident and a shabby but quite handsome detective has delivered her to Tory. But was it really an accident?

With the help of Nic, Detective Cruz, head librarian Adrian, and delightful eleven year old Mairead (rhymes with parade), the Tory and Agatha - er - um - Mrs. Mallowan - help unravel the mystery. In addition to Agatha, Tory has her own personal ghosts to deal with - struggling with survivor's guilt after an incident in her past. The event is hinted at quite a bit but spelled out in more detail as the book progresses and Tory wrestles with her feelings.

This was a delightful mystery with a definite "Golden Age" feel while also adding in a supernatural element and yet managing to maintain it's contemporary setting. I have read a few Christie books here and there - mostly Hercule Poirot. The book made me want to get to know a few of Mrs. Christie's other characters. I did enjoy the different quotes and allusions to the classic Christie books. I look forward to seeing if Mrs. Christie returns for a second mystery!

After Adrian got Tory to knock off the “So-Called” Mrs. Christie business the book got much better! If that would have gone on too much longer I’m not sure I would have been able to finish!

I really liked the premise of this book and the sleuthing team. The main character Tory wasn’t my favorite and someone who is much more into couture fashion would have appreciated all the nods to the fancy clothes that were lost on me.

I will definitely read future Mrs. Christie novels, because I just like her and her Poirot novels.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

A light and fun mystery very much in the spirit of Agatha Christie, and also featuring the literal spirit of the great mystery author.

This functions a lot like a high quality cozy mystery, populated by likable characters, charming sense of place, and subtle humor. The mystery itself gets a touch too convoluted and I didn’t love the solve, though the style of it is very much in line with Christie’s also often convoluted but intricate mysteries.

Mostly though, it’s just a fun whodunit, and I loved the way the author worked the ghost of Agatha into the story, as well as her explanations in the author’s note of how she arrived at the idea.

Agatha Christie is one of my favorite authors. When I was in high school I picked up Curtain and then Body in the Library and was sold. I tried to read as many of her books as I could. I would often grab them at used bookstores while on beach vacations and read them while there. I love a murder mystery in the summertime.

This synopsis stole my heart from the moment I read it - wouldn't it be cool to have the Queen of Mystery appear to you to help you solve a crime?! I thought so. Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library follows timid book conservator Tory as she is thrown into a murder mystery case linked to her cousin Nic. Together they, Mrs. Christie, a detective, a young girl, and her librarian work together to figure it all out and more bodies appear as they go.

Tory was a great MC - she was vulnerable but determined, set in her ways, but also curious. Nic was a great side character, she is often so dramatic and over the top that she created comic relief when needed. Mrs. Christie was herself - she interspersed the dialogue with memories of her life, quotes from her books, thoughts about poisons, and ponderings about whodunit.

The plot - although a murder mystery - felt like a cozy hug. I loved the premise, the solving of the mystery was done so well and it really felt like normal people inserting themselves into an investigation and running with their thoughts. I think that magical realism part was done well - Mrs. Christie appears when she wants to, only in her room, and only really for the duration of the case. The explanation is just that - she is there to help solve a crime from the afterlife because she is bored. Other than that explanations are left to float. And for me this worked.

Overall, if you are a fan of Mrs. Christie, you will likely enjoy this book. It is a slower cozy read, but it is full of her vibe and facts about her and her life that I think you will enjoy. Super cute.

Thank you, @AmandaChapman_Author and @BerkleyPub for the free book. #Berkley #BerkleyPartner #BerkleyBookstagram

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 360
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: August 26, 2025

A mysterious woman who looks, acts, and goes by the same name as the woman who writes as Agatha Christie suddenly appears at the Mystery Guild Library in Manhattan. Agatha Christiephile and book conservator Tory Van Dyne is more than delighted to entertain her company, especially when someone in her circle is murdered followed by a string of poisonings.

This was a delightful cozy mystery. I assume if you’re a Christie fan, you’d enjoy it even more. Admittedly, I’ve never actually read one of her books before, but I did enjoy this modern-day mystery. I especially liked the open-minded and charming NYPD Detective Mendez-Cruz.

MRS. CHRISTIE AT THE MYSTERY GUILD LIBRARY by Amanda Chapman is the first book in a fun and unique new cozy murder mystery series featuring the “Queen of Crime” herself, apparently on something of a holiday from the Pearly Gates. As Mrs. Christie, book restoration specialist Tory Van Dyne, and Tory’s cousin and Broadway ingenue Nicola search for answers, Mrs. Christie’s formidable powers of observation and reasoning pave the way to the final resolution.

The book unfolds in the first-person perspective of Tory Van Dyne, and her narrative is both spirited and liberally laced with humor and numerous references to Agatha Christie and other mystery authors. For me, it was the perfect blending of character quotes from the many Christie novels and Tory’s thought-filled identification that I most enjoyed and had me mentally making a list of Christie titles to revisit in the future. I loved the New York City / Greenwich Village setting and the thought of a recreated Christie library in a private home and look forward to more stories there in the future.

I recommend MRS. CHRISTIE AT THE MYSTERY GUILD LIBRARY to cozy mystery fans, especially those with a soft spot for the work of the “Queen of Crime” herself.

Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman was delightful. It’s filled with chapter headings and quotes from Agatha Christie novels. I loved Tory Van Dyne and her friends. Most of all I loved Agatha Christie and eleven-year-old Maired Butler.

Tory Van Dyne is a book conservator at New York’s Mystery Guild Library. She’s part of an eccentric Old New York family, and she inherited the house overlooking Greenwich Villages’s Washington Square Park from her grandmother, who understood Tory’s fears and need for a quiet environment. The bottom two floors house the library while Tory lives in the top two floors. Tory’s favorite room is the Agatha Christie Room, a close replica of Christie’s personal library in Greenway House in Devon, England. That room is Tory’s refuge until the day she finds a woman there who claims to be Mrs. Max Mallowan, Agatha Christie. She says she’s there to help Tory solve a murder mystery.

Tory doesn’t want to admit Mrs. Mallowan might be a ghost. Instead, she guesses she’s an eccentric patron of the library who stayed there after the library closed. But, when Tory’s cousin, Nic, an actress, shows up in tears, claiming her theatrical agent’s dog, Bertram, was poisoned, Mrs. Mallowan seems to recognize the poison.

Nic is relieved, and her agent seems to accept the resulting story of the accidental poisoning. But, when the agent is pushed in front of a subway train by an unknown assailant, Nic is a wreck. Detective Sebastian Mendez-Cruz delivers Nic to Tory’s doorstep, and becomes one of the group that assembles in the Agatha Christie Room, along with the librarian, and a precocious eleven-year-old, Maired, who reminds Tory of herself as a child, fascinated by books and mysteries.

As Nic’s friends and fellow actresses die of poisoning, it seems that Agatha Christie is steering the case in the right direction. She also seems to steer the shy Tory towards Detective Mendez-Cruz.

Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library is a delightful cozy mystery that capitalizes on books and Agatha Christie’s knowledge. I hope it’s the first of many to feature the amateur sleuth and Tory Van Dyne.

If you like a light mystery and/or a book about a disparate collection of misfits coming together to form a cohesive group, you should love this warm and cosy book. Although you don't have to be a fan of Agatha Christie to appreciate it, if you are, that will definitely enhance your overall enjoyment. Every chapter begins with a quote from one of her books, and quotes are generously sprinkled throughout the chapters as well. You don't have to worry about missing any or trying to determine which book they are from either, because the title of the book is clearly stated right after each quote, but not in an obtrusive way, more in a fun way in which characters are always catching each other quoting Christie books.

The mystery itself, which involves the poisoning of a dog, followed by two murders and an attempted murder, is interesting enough. There are some unique twists worthy of Agatha Christie herself, plus the requisite surprise ending. Thus, if you are interested in books like Agatha Christie's but with a slightly lighter tone, you should particularly relish this book and this new series.

I requested Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library by Amanda Chapman, but it just wasn’t for me. I’m not really an Agatha Christie fan to begin with, and this book leaned too much into that style. I ended up DNF’ing it because it just didn’t click.

I am currently in the middle of a reading project that was decades in the planning. I discovered Agatha Christie's writing during the summer when I was 9 years old. I happened on a garage sale in my neighborhood and there was a box set of Hercule Poirot novels. Six of them. I biked home and begged my mom for the $4 to buy the books. I did extra chores the rest of the summer to pay her back, and spent a lot of evenings laying across my bed reading the exploits of Poirot. I was hooked.

I started trying to get copies of all of her books because I wanted to read them all. But, I lived in a very small town with no bookstore and a very limited library. No used bookshop either. So little by little I gathered titles when I could get to a bookstore or found copies at garage sales or received them at holidays. I kept a list in my purse of all the titles I already owned, adding more as I had lucky finds.

Then life got in the way. And for years, my collection of paperbacks moved from dorm room, to apartment, to house, to another house, to other states......and I never got to read more than a couple of them. Then the internet revolutionized how we gather information....I no longer had to work so hard to get a complete list of Agatha's writing. And....my kids grew up.

I now had time to actually read my books!

Over the past few years, I've been reading her mystery writing in publication order. I take my time. I stop and look up references, history, the poisons mentioned. And I watch each movie or television episode based on each story, and listen to any audio dramas -- any adaptations I can find (even a French television show based on her stories). I'm having fun!

Just about halfway through.

Now that I said all that -- the minute I read the blurb about this book by Amanda Chapman, I just had to read it!!

And I'm so glad I did! This story was just so charming, fun and entertaining to read!! Agatha Christie has been my favorite author for almost 50 years now. And I'm reading my way through all of her lovely mystery stories. The thought of a library in New York at a posh address with a recreation of her library in her vacation home in England was divine. Add in the ghost of Agatha showing up to help solve a mystery? Heaven!!

I'm not sure what I would do if the ghost of Agatha Christie showed up to inform me she was going to assist me in amateur sleuthing. Most likely after an initial scream, I would be so excited to meet her (even with her being rather life challenged, so to speak), I would just roll with it like the main character in this book did.

I loved every word of this book! I totally binge read this entire story over Labor Day Weekend. I couldn't put it down once I started, except to sleep for awhile. I had a silly smile on my face the entire time!

And, it looks like this is the start to a series!! I can't wait for the next book!!

Amanda Chapman is now one of my favorite mystery authors! This book was full twists and in the most elegant way possible. I absolutely love mystery books that take place in the city and the author made New York particularly Greenwich Village, a supporting character in the book. I also loved the bookbinder occupation. I can’t say enough good things about this book 5 stars. I’m waiting with bated breath for the author’s next book.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Tory Van Dyne is a book conservator at Manhattan’s Mystery Guild Library, who, thanks to her old-money New York family, lives in an apartment above the library and its wonderful Christie Room. A room that is not only an architectural replica of Christie’s Greenway library, including reproductions of the “wonderfully eclectic furnishings,” but filled with copies of over 4000 volumes that also fill the Greenway shelves. It is there that Tory finds a woman who claims to be Agatha Christie herself. She asks for a cocktail, and then explains she is there to solve a murder. A murder that has no victim or suspects because it hasn’t happened – yet!

Not sure how to handle her guest, Tory sets out to appease the woman, and then her cousin Nicola, an actress, finds herself embroiled in the investigation of the untimely death of her agent, Howard Calhoun. Mrs. Christie is delighted to help Nicola and Tory uncover the truth. Soon, the three are joined by the Guild’s head librarian, Adrian Gooding, Mairead Butler, a tech-savvy 11-year-old with a cute little Yorkie named Tony (yes, just like Agatha had), and a handsome NYPD detective who needs to find a good tailor, Sebastian Mendez-Cruz, all eager to help solve the case before the body count rises.

The first thing I noticed about this book is that the author, Amanda Chapman, has to be a huge Agatha Christie fan who put in the time to do a lot of research to bring her vision of “What if someone recreated Agatha Christie’s personal library” in New York City and explored the interesting things that could happen there. She hit it out of the park!

Seriously, Agatha, also known as Mrs. Mallowan, on a little vacay just shows up, how would you react? I would be just like Tory and “tread carefully”. Tory hits all the right notes: cautious, friendly, confused, gentle. The woman’s hand was warm; she was drinking cocktails, and she knew all the history. I loved it. The supporting cast is crazy, but it works. An 11-year-old fits right in. The good detective is taken in by Mrs. Mallowan’s charm, knowledge, and the way she works through a set of clues. Librarian Adrian, like Tory, has a lot of questions about the woman, but it also taken in by her and what she offers to the group. All the characters are curious, making them engaging and compelling. I also found the Van Dyne family to be very eccentric and set in their ways. Those weekly mandatory dinners were trying at best, painful at worst.

I loved the setting of the four-story Greek revival townhouse by the park with its library and special rooms: The Agatha Christie Room, the Dashiell Hammett Room, the Edgar Award Winners Room, and the Golden Age Room, on the first two floors, and Tory’s apartment filling the upper two floors. The author’s descriptive details brought the building to life, especially The Christie Room. I felt like I was dropped into an armchair right next to the bar cart with a special classic cocktail in my hand. I could even smell the old books.

There are many moving parts to this mystery, which involves Nicola, two of her friends, and people in their show business world. It was complicated by moving timelines, twisty motives, and unpredictable turns. I enjoyed how they met often in the Christie room to compare notes. Mrs. Christie’s unique mindset, memories, and ability to see things from many different angles helped to move the case forward. Everyone had things to contribute and theories to work through. Mairead flipped open her laptop to take notes and research items on the fly, but had some great ideas, too. I had so much fun just following along with it all that my personal quest to solve the mystery was left at the wayside. I escaped deep into this one and was totally entertained.

The quotes at the start of each chapter were a nice touch.

“I admit,” I said, “that a second murder often cheers things up.” ~Arthur Hastings, The ABC Murders

Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library has set this series off to a fantastic start. Ms. Chapman put in the time and energy to give her readers a contemporary mystery with a classic feel, and is a wonderful tribute to the Queen of Crime. She hits the tone perfectly, adds touches of humor and romance while weaving in Christie history in all the right places. I stayed up late reading this one. I am beyond excited to see where she takes this series. I am adding Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library to my Best Reads of 2025. A must-read for mystery lovers and fans of Dame Agatha.

Mrs Christie
Tory Van Dyne was a rare book conservator at NY’s Mystery Guild Library. The library had been started by her grandmother and Tory lived in an apartment above the library. The Mystery Guild library included the Christie Room which was a replica of Agatha Christie’s library in Greenway House, her holiday home in Devon, England.
One morning Tory discovered a woman claiming to be Agatha Christie returned from dead sitting in the Christie Room.The older woman said she had come to help Tory solve a murder mystery. Shortly thereafter a friend of Tory’s was pushed onto the tracks of a NYC subway and killed. Mrs. Christie reappeared and helped Tory and her friends, a librarian at the library, an 11 year old computer whiz and a NYC police detective solve this and a few other crimes surrounding the murder.
This is a cozy mystery. It takes place in historic Greenwich Village in NYC. Tory, the main character, is a member of a wealthy, eccentric NYC family and some of her friends and family tend to be eccentric as well. Throughout the book are quotations from some of Christie’s 66 mysteries.
I enjoyed the book mostly because of the references to NYC and also the eccentrics of the characters.
I received this SRC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is like if Finlay Donovan found herself in Only Murderers in the Building mixed with the paranormal element of an old lady back from the dead. I adored it!

Need a puzzle to solve to see summer out? Something with just enough unreality to feel low-stakes and just enough emotional reality to make investing in it worth your time?

Berkley Books' Prime Crime imprint gotcha covered with Amanda Chapman's first offering.

I expected to be politely dismissive of this first in a proposed series by Amy Pershing's alter ego. I haven't read her other cozy series. I don't think I will because there's cozy, then there's so cozy you can't breathe, like an oppressively crowded Victorian living room. That's Cape Cod to me, where her other series is set.

I'll take Manhattan.

It's fun to find the call-outs to Christie's works scattered around, and it's fun...to my surprise...to have Dame Agatha just appear out of nowhere to work with Tory on solving what they <i>know</i> is a murder but are having trouble convincing others has that feel to it. For that matter how Tory becomes convinced that Dame Agatha is who she says she is gets handled the same way: tough and disbelieving attitude at first, then it just is part of reality in the story. In my own experience that's exactly how the unthinkable, the unbelievable, gets trojan-horsed into becoming the way things are. It's very much helped along in this narrative by the fact that Dame Agatha is only seen inside the library setting, not out wandering the Village.

It did not escape my notice that the first-person narrator, Tory, has the unbelievably cush life she has because she's a nepo baby. It's not really made much of, just presented as fact. There's no real pushback, but the situation isn't set up to draw attention to itself...Tory's a woman with a life and a style not available without lucky draws in the birth lottery.

That's all so very cozy as a backdrop. It is meant to offer the reader maximum comfort as rents in the fabric of society get repaired and ma'at is restored as it must be in a series mystery. A concern I felt going in was that the Christie-facing bits would really *require* the reader to know already what that particular story referred to was about, or the reference would fall flat; not at all the case. I found the varying levels of familiarity with Dame Agatha's works never impacted my understanding of the plot in any negative way. It offered a frisson of fun when I got it, but nothing was lost when /i didn't see the story connection for myself because that was dealt with in dialogue.

Tory, as the main character and the first-person narrator, will of necessity need to appeal to you for the read to work.
<blockquote>Later, when I'd had a chance to process our little encounter, I realized it made a kind of weird sense that if my guest was indeed Agatha Christie (<i>which I did not believe for a minute</i>), and if she had indeed decided to visit New York City some fifty years after she'd been airlifted to the Great Beyond (<i>which I also did not believe for a minute</i>), she might indeed choose New York's Mystery Guild Library as a home base.</blockquote>
Not quite the first words in the book, but darn close. This is what you're getting, so if you don't like it already, then horseman, pass by.

Me, I'm all in. And the next one, too. Fair enough play, a fun narrative voice, a premise silly enough to make me smile but never played for laughs at anyone...if only I'd liked the love interest I'd be raving!

This is the most entertaining and clever mystery I have read in a long time, with quirky, charming characters with depth and backstory, a glorious New York City setting, the insight of Agatha Christie, and an author who clearly knows her stuff when it comes to mysteries.

I really enjoyed this book! It was clever, charming, and completely transported me into the world of the Mystery Guild Library in New York City. Tory Van Dyne is such a relatable protagonist—introverted, thoughtful, and a little unsure of herself—but watching her navigate the chaos of a mysterious woman claiming to be Agatha Christie was delightful.

The story is cozy yet clever, and Chapman does a wonderful job blending a love of books with a murder mystery that’s more playful than dark. The library setting felt so real, and the way Christie’s legacy is woven into the story gave it a unique charm. I especially loved the interactions between Tory and the mysterious “Mrs. Christie”—their skepticism, banter, and collaboration kept me turning pages.

If you love mysteries, bookish settings, or just a story with heart and wit, this is a fun one. It’s not a traditional Christie, but it’s a creative homage that’s light, engaging, and easy to get lost in. I would happily recommend this to anyone who enjoys clever, cozy mysteries with a literary twist.

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley and the author for the arc!

This little cozy mystery is so much fun! The synopsis of bringing Mrs. Christie back from “Eternity” to help solve “one last mystery” is brilliant & being an Agatha Christie fan, I was hoping that this would deliver. No worries! I thought it was well done from start to finish! The pages just flew as I immersed myself into this clever little story!

Sometimes unlikeable characters can ruin the whole thing for ya, no matter how good the premise or the plot, but not in this case! I loved ‘em all! They were quirky & charming in their own way & each brought unique strengths to this amateur sleuthing table! The author does a fantastic job with Mrs. Christie’s character herself. Exactly how I picture her to be … attentive, thoughtful, mysterious, witty, smart & at times a little funny!

Looks like this may be the start of a new series featuring visitations from Mrs. Christie as she aids the Mystery Guild Library gang in whodunnits! I hope so!

MRS. CHRISTIE AT THE MYSTERY GUILD LIBRARY by Amanda Chapman is my new favorite book of the year. It is a very cleverly written mystery and features an appearance by Agatha Christie as she returns from "eternity" to solve a murder in current day New York City. Her fellow sleuths include Tory Van Dyne, a young book conservator who is coming to terms with her own past trauma. Tory's voice (and the self-reflections to which readers are privy) is fun, observant, and somewhat self-deprecating. She is a very appealing character as is her ditzy actress cousin, Nicola ("exactly what you would imagine a grown-up Eloise would be like"). There is also her steadfast co-worker (Adrian Gooding), an 11-year-old neighbor from Ireland (Mairead – like parade), and Detective Sebastian Mendez-Cruz, all of whom contribute to solving the intricate, puzzling mystery with its multiple suspects and unexpected twists. Sebastian (a "man with the eyes of a sad saint") provides a slowly building romantic interest which adds to the humor, but the best part of this novel is the way in which Chapman skillfully incorporates quotes from numerous works by Christie. Several are included as chapter introductions, but the author often had me smiling at the many others which are inserted almost seamlessly in the witty dialogue. MRS. CHRISTIE AT THE MYSTERY GUILD LIBRARY received a starred review from Library Journal ("a real treat for any Christie fan") and Publishers Weekly ("Uncovering a killer, it turns out, can be just as fun in the Big Apple as it is in St. Mary Mead."). Highly recommended.

In her Author's Note, Amanda Chapman recommends reading Lucy Worsleys biography and John Curran's Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks, saying of Agatha Christie, "I imagined I could almost hear her voice in my head as I began to write -- a bit reserved but warm, quietly confident and often very, very funny."

Cozy mystery debut features a reappearance of Agatha Christie in a recreation of her library in the elite New York society. A fun tale to introduce the next generation of mystery readers to classic Christie through plenty of quotes and call backs. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an advanced copy for a honest review.