• Storyline
  • Narration
4.3
The Christie Affair Book Cover The Christie Affair
Nina De Gramont
Historical Fiction
Pan MacMillan
February 1, 2022
Audiobook, Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback
320

'AN ABSOLUTE MARVEL.' Kristin Hannah, bestselling author of Firefly Lane and The Four Winds In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared for 11 days. Only I know the truth of her disappearance. I'm no Hercule Poirot. I'm her husband's mistress. Agatha Christie's world is one of glamorous society parties, country house weekends, and growing literary fame. Nan O'Dea's world is something very different. Her attempts to escape a tough London upbringing during the Great War led to a life in Ireland marred by a hidden tragedy. After fighting her way back to England, she's set her sights on Agatha. Because Agatha Christie has something Nan wants. And it's not just her husband. Despite their differences, the two women will become the most unlikely of allies. And during the mysterious eleven days that Agatha goes missing, they will unravel a dark secret that only Nan holds the key to . . . The Christie Affair is a stunning novel that reimagines the unexplained eleven-day disappearance of Agatha Christie in 1926, which captivated the world. PRAISE FOR THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR 'A novel that literally out-Christies Agatha. An exciting, moving and delightful read.' Janice Hallett, bestselling author of The Appeal 'This is a book which has it all.' Elizabeth Macneal, bestselling author of The Doll Factory 'Elegant, ingenious and hugely enjoyable.' AJ Pearce, bestselling author of Dear Mrs Bird and Yours, Cheerfully

I’m not even certain where to start with this review. This book has left me completely baffled to the point that I am not fully certain what just happened. We very quickly learn that our narrator, Nan O’Dea is having an affair with Agatha Christie’s husband, hence the name of the book. The concept of a book being about an affair from the mistress’s point of view is interesting, but from the very beginning you get the impression that there is more to than just an affair. Nan seems weirdly interested in Agatha’s life and it’s not for the reason you think.

There is just so much going on in this book. The first half is unbelievably depressing to the point that I debated not going on. Nan’s backstory broke my heart and made me want to scream “I hate men!!!” from the top of a mountain somewhere. Nevertheless, I just had to know what was going to happen. With each new chapter, I felt like I knew less and less what this book was about. I think I said “WTF” about 25 times throughout the whole book because of how all over the place it felt. It went from the affair to Agatha’s disappearance (which both really happened) to this long, odd string of events that took place inside a hotel.

The way that Nan’s backstory was tied back into Agatha Christie’s life made my head spin. It was a truly fascinating story, but I felt like there was too much going on. I’m doing everything within my power not to spoil anything, so all I’ll say is that if the book had just been about the affair and why Nan did what she did, and left out everything with the hotel, I would have liked it better. That part just seemed like a huge sidetrack from the main story that really confused me. I also wanted to hit Nan over the head several times, but tragic characters are some of my favorites.

Though I had some serious doubts, I did actually enjoy this book in the end. I felt like I had no idea what was going on until the very end, but I believe that was on purpose. I do highly suggest looking into the trigger warnings, because there is some seriously dark stuff in this book, but I didn’t feel like it was in a disturbing or over the top way. It was just a sad, complex story with an odd ending that makes me wish I had someone to talk about it with.

Narration

Lucy Scott did a fantastic job with this narration! She had so many different accents for each of the characters, and it really felt like each person got their own voice. She also did a wonderful job with the emotions in the books. I could feel everything the characters were saying. This is truly one of my favorite kinds of narration! Scott really acted out each of the parts and it made listening to the story that much better.