I cannot get my head around this book at all. Considering it's called "The Christie Affair" there isn't a huge amount of Agatha in it. Protagonist Nan is clearly intended to be based on Nancy Neele, though I can't imagine the second Mrs Christie's relatives are overly enamoured with the portrait presented of her here. If the author had simply built a book from the storyline around Nan, then I imagine it would have been a decent read. As it stands, the link to Agatha Christie feels tenuous at best and downright disrespectful at worst. Clearly this book wasn't for me.

This book gave me very mixed feelings. There were lots of parts that I liked, Nan's backstory being the main one. Whilst I didn't warm to Nan straightaway I did become invested in her story and wanted to see how it unfolded. I had my suspicions that her feelings towards Archie weren't genuine so was keen to unravel that mystery. The main thing I didn't like was the Agatha part. I felt this had been added as a convenience and Agatha could of been any woman losing her husband to Nan. There was a lot of characters too which I found I lost track of and whilst everything was tied up in the end I still found my head spinning from the revelations. An intriguing book but not as good as I had hoped unfortunately.

This book tells the imagined story of what happened when Agatha Christie mysteriously disappeared for 10 days. It includes the heartbreaking tale of unmarried women in Ireland during the twenties, and their treatment by the nuns who took them in. The characters are warm and lovingly depicted. I really enjoyed this book and felt quite sad to have finished it.

The mysterious disappearance of Agatha Christie for 11 days in 1926 is well known, but Agatha never discussed what happened. Perhaps she wanted to escape her husband and his affair? Or she was depressed following her mother’s death? Or just wanted some space to write her next book! We will probably never know the truth.

This book tells a fictional account of what could have happened to Agatha Christie in those 11 days, and is told by her husband’s mistress with the fictional name of Nan O’Dea although Some of the storyline is based on what we know, for example much of the story is set in an hotel in Harrogate, albeit with a fictional name and not The Old Swan. We also know her husband did have a mistress and had asked for a divorce.

In Agatha Christie style, we have affairs, disappearances, unexplained deaths which could be murder, romance and a very twisty storyline with many layers and surprises!

Nan had a very interesting but very sad story to tell of her own life and although I initially disliked her for stealing Agatha’s husband I did warm to her as her story unfolded.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this highly anticipated read.

Due out January 2022

I really enjoyed this read - I’m wasn’t sure where it was going for most of the story, it seemed vaguely directionless but it was mellow and comforting. Despite the back story Nan was throughly unlikeable but the story still worked.

Despite what sounds like a less than glowing reference I definitely enjoyed it and would certainly recommend.

I have to say I was disappointed with this book, it meandered all over the place not knowing quite what niche it would like to be in. At times I was confused between the main female characters who seemed to overlap but I think this was deliberate and worked for a while. Had it just focussed on the disappearance of Agatha Christie then perhaps it would have held my interest but the Irish mother and baby story was just too much. The ensuing love stories and angst were particularly unbelievable, every theme does not have to be in one book!

3.5 stars

I wasn’t sure how to review this one without giving too many spoilers away.
As an intriguing mystery I enjoyed Nan’s story but felt I’d have liked more of Agatha. The history of Nan’s life in Ireland and the characters she’d met were a great recap of her earlier experiences and explained to some extent her future actions.
The recreating of Agatha’s missing days is creative and cleverly written with much space given to everyone around her, I especially liked the Inspector Chilton character.

This novel by Nina de Gramont intrigued me. I have read other books by authors who have written about the ''disappearing days'' of Agatha Christie and aware of information & stories about Agatha but this is a first for me to read about Archie's ''other woman'', Nan O'Dea. I found Nan's descriptions of her early life moving and emotional. For me, this is a story within a story. Gramont's writing is witty and descriptive. I enjoyed the book.

I would recommend this novel.

I give a 4 star rating.

I WANT TO THANK NETGALLEY FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ADVANCED COPY OF THIS BOOK FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

The Christie Affair is a fictional reimagining of the 11 day disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926 with a twist – it’s told largely from the perspective of her husband’s mistress, Nan O’Dea.

I was a little disappointed to not get Agatha’s own side of the story, as it would have been fascinating to delve into her reasons for hiding and what may have happened during the time period that she claims she ‘can’t remember’.

Nan was a mixed bag of a character – not particularly likeable and often hypocritical, but the author also made her sympathetic by allowing the reader to explore her backstory which I found to be one of the most gripping elements of the story. The harsh recollections of life as a pregnant girl in a convent in Ireland, the treatment of the girls by others at the time and the longer term effects of her experiences were profoundly sad.

The Christie Affair brings a variety of elements together: the mystery of Agatha’s disappearance, an element of romance and even a good old fashioned Christie-style murder mystery.

I did find the intertwined stories a little wandering and hard to follow, however, as the narrative jumps fairly quickly from one person to the next (Nan, Agatha, Detective Chilton and even Agatha’s husband Archie) but with Nan inserting her views on what she thinks these people thought, felt and experienced.

I’m a hardcore Agatha Christie fan so perhaps that has coloured my view – I didn’t love it but overall this story does offer a fun mystery for historical fiction enthusiasts.

I loved this, especially Nan’s voice. The Ireland scenes were especially well written, absolutely gripping and terrifying. The only thing I will say is that Agatha’s own chapters (told through Nan) were nowhere near as strong, and despite her being the key character driving the plot, I wasn’t as invested. But overall, a brilliant read.

Super enjoyable story filling in those famous missing days of Christie.
Gramont does a fantastic job of making you like the supposed bad guy.
Fleshed the whole thing out with plenty of drama.
Definitely a name to watch.

With grateful thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest opinion.
Being a massive fan of Agatha christie was delighted to get an early copy.
I this book told from a different perspective I was kind of let down, as I personally think this more about Nan than Agatha only my opinion and it kind of dragged at bits then other parts were so informative and really enjoyed that quite a mixed bag really .

What really happened to Agatha Christie, when she disappeared for twelve days before Christmas in 1926? Narrated by Nan O’Dea, the lover of Archie Christie, this is a highly entertaining imagining of the famous mystery. From the outset she reveals herself both as a fascinating character – “A long time ago, in another country, I nearly killed a woman” - and as an unreliable narrator, relating what happened at events where she was not present from what she has been told by others and filling in the gaps with her imagination. However the story is as much that of Nan’s past as the days of Agatha Christie’s deliberate absence, and is constructed with as many coincidences and intrigues as any whodunit. One of four daughters of a down to earth London mother and a hardworking Catholic Irish father, Nan’s experience of summers in rural Ireland and relationships formed there, as well as the unforeseen fate of her eldest sister are the factors that shape the narrative and provide the motivation for the events that ensue. Set against a backdrop of paternalism where women struggle to revert to the status quo of the period prior to the Great War where appearances have to be maintained, this is a thoroughly entertaining read, both mystery and love story, and it certainly kept the pages turning for this reader. As my library's oldest readers are eleven years old, this is not suitable for our library, but I will certainly be talking about this book in my book group.

I've spent the weekend reading this wonderful story of murder, mystery, revenge, love and loss. I really enjoyed it from beginning to end. The disappearance of Agatha Christie is a mystery on it's own but add in a mistress named Nan O'dea and the story rockets to a whole new level. Agatha and Nan are two very different women who want the same man being Agatha's husband Archie. It's emotionally moving and some parts are very sad, especially what Nan and her friends went through at the Convent. It's full of secrets, lost loves, murder and redemption. When all the secrets are revealed at the end and the story reaches it conclusion I could finally take a breath and savour the amazing ending. I loved getting to know all the characters and the mystery surrounding Agatha and where she went was told beautifully. .To be honest I did not want it to end, I could of carried on reading because the plot and characters were phenomenal. This will be a bestseller without a shadow of a doubt.

I adore Agatha Christie so fell upon this and was really looking forward to reading. It's a factional account of what happened during the days of Agatha's disappearance. It did not disappoint. So well written and the characters were beautifully rendered. A must read for any AC fans!

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fictional story of the disappearance of Agatha Christie. I was so excited about the premise of this book as it is a mystery that does really fascinate me. It is also a mystery that frustrates me as I know we will never find out the truth. I thought that this would be a really fun take on the mystery but unfortunately it wasn’t.

The story covered much heavier topics than I was expecting. It didn’t always keep my attention and I felt it jumped from one character to another without warning. At times I thought I was reading about Nan (the mistress) but it was actually Agatha and vice versa. Although I am certain that the events covered in the more hard hitting parts of the book did happen, I felt it wasn’t really believable within the context of this story.

3.5 stars

‘Please call me Agatha’ entreats Mrs Christie to Nan O’Dea, her husband Archie’s mistress and she’s far too well bred to call Nan out for the betrayal. When Archie tells Agatha he is leaving her for Nan, could this have been the catalyst for Agatha’s disappearance between 3rd and 14th December 1926? What are the reasons given? Memory loss - a sort of fugue state following crashing her car? A nervous breakdown following the death of her mother? A publicity stunt? Embarrassment over the ‘affair at Styles’? Who knows. This novel imagines a very creative scenario seen through the eyes of Nan O’Dea.

First, the positives..... well, it’s creative! Nan is a believer in lucid dreaming and that’s what the book feels like, so I guess you can say it’s well imagined and as it’s from Nan’s perspective it suits that. . It’s definitely well written, the author is clearly very talented and stylistically it effectively matches the 1920’s time period. As the plot progresses it has the feel of a Christie novel and has all the elements of it such as a mystery (obviously!), a detective, revenge and a bit of romance chucked in for good measure! Some of the characterisation is good, Nan, Agatha and Archie though I think it’s fair to say that he doesn’t come out of it well. He’s best dumped frankly!

However, I don’t want Nan’s story which is what we mostly get, I want Agatha’s. The story is very complex, it deviates and becomes scattergun taking a very meandering path and at times it’s hard to follow why we are where we are! I don’t like the narration much either or Nan for that matter and that gets muddling as Nan’s life before 1926 get intertwined with events of December 1926. As it’s from Nan’s perspective how can she know or presume to know things about Agatha? She’s not her friend and everything she knows is via Archie. Hmmm. How can she know what’s in Agatha’s head which is what I hope for.

Overall I so want to love this book as the great authors disappearance has fascinated people for nearly a century but I just like parts of it. We’ll never know the truth and maybe we shouldn’t as it’s Agatha’s business not ours. If you want a different take on the events in Harrogate over those eleven days then this book may well be for you.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Pan McMillan/Mantle for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Interesting take on what happened to Agatha Christie when she disappeared. A couple of twists and murders. If you love Agatha Christie books you will enjoy this story.

DNF.

It really didn't work for me. Agatha Christie is one of my favourite personalities and her autobiography one of my favourite books. I am no fan of her husband Archie but here he seemed too cruel? I just couldn't connect with the book.

I love this book. It was smart, funny, and full of rich, vivid characters that stayed with me long after I had finished reading it. I would highly recommend it and, indeed, will be buying it for all of my friends as soon as I can.