by Nina de Gramont
Overall: The only thing I love more than historical fiction is “Golden Age” detective fiction, so The Christie Affair had a huge head start with me. Based on the true story of Agatha Christie’s mysterious 11-day disappearance early in her writing career in 1926, this book is told from the perspective of Nan O’Dea, the younger woman embroiled in an affair with Agatha’s husband Archie Christie. Nan has a mysterious past, which she gradually imparts to the reader. We also get a murder-suicide (or is it a double murder?) at the hotel where Nan stays during Agatha’s disappearance, as well as a wonderfully sympathetic detective in Inspector Chilton. He’s supposed to be looking for Agatha, like every other policeman in Britain, and (as in so many detective novels) is in the right place at the right time to investigate the second mystery as well.
Likes: I enjoyed the interlocking stories (there are two – or maybe three?) and the changes in perspective. Since Nan is the narrator, she’s imagining what Agatha might be doing or thinking at various points – a clever plot device that works beautifully to allow de Gramont to invent whatever she’d like for Agatha’s part of the story. A lot of research went into this book and there are period details galore, which warms my history-loving heart. And I didn’t completely figure out the solution to the hotel mystery, hooray! I love a book that keeps me guessing.
Dislikes: Loads of people like perfect romantic leads, but I am not one of them. Consequently Finbarr, Nan’s first love, rubbed me the wrong way. He’s perfectly handsome, perfectly sympathetic to Nan, able to conjure up hotel rooms and empty cottages, loves dogs… I could go on. Yes, this story is told completely by Nan, but I didn’t buy it that after all that happened to her, she would still be so starry-eyed that he appears faultless to her. I also guessed Nan’s ulterior motive pretty quickly, so that portion of the story dragged a little for me.
FYI: This book contains scenes of sexual violence, sudden death, suicide, difficult childbirth, and stillbirth. If you find reading about clerical abuse or places like the Magdalen laundries in Ireland difficult, this might not be the book for you.
Liz Helfrich 