In 1925, Miss Nan O’Dea infiltrated the wealthy, rarefied world of author Agatha Christie and her husband, Archie. In every way, she became a part of their life––first, both Christies. Then, just Archie. Soon, Nan became Archie’s mistress, luring him away from his devoted wife, desperate to marry him. Nan’s plot didn’t begin the day she met Archie and Agatha.
It began decades before, in Ireland, when Nan was a young girl. She and the man she loved were a star-crossed couple who were destined to be together––until the Great War, a pandemic, and shameful secrets tore them apart. Then acts of unspeakable cruelty kept them separated.
What drives someone to murder? What will someone do in the name of love? What kind of crime can someone never forgive? Nina de Gramont’s brilliant, unforgettable novel explores these questions and more.
Advanced Praise for The Christie Affair
“This story is all about murder and lies and love and discovery. I loved it so much. I could not put it down. I read it in one sitting.” – Reese Witherspoon
A New York Times Bestseller
Goodreads Most Anticipated List 2022
“Sizzles from its first sentence.” – The Wall Street Journal
“The Christie Affair is an ingenious new psychological suspense novel… richly imagined; inventive and, occasionally, poignant; and about as true-to-life as Christie’s own tales.” —The Washington Post
“Historical kinda-fiction, a thriller wrapped in romance, mystery, and some fascinating conjecture.” –Goodreads
“Ingeniously plotted…gorgeously written” –Shelf Awareness
“A reimagining of Agatha Christie’s famous 11-day disappearance, adding a murder mystery worthy of the dame herself… The story unfolds in a series of carefully placed vignettes you may find yourself reading and rereading, partly to get the details straight, partly to fully savor the well-turned phrases and the dry humor, partly so the book won’t have to end, damn it. Devilishly clever, elegantly composed and structured―simply splendid.” —Kirkus (Starred Review)
“The author weaves a clever, highly original, mesmerizing tale filled with strange and unexpected turns and concludes it in an unexpected but wholly satisfying manner. With its superb writing, strong characterizations, and wonderfully imaginative plot, this is a must-read.” —Booklist (Starred Review)
“A superior thriller…gripping.” –-Publishers Weekly
“A meta delight for fans of crime writing, The Christie Affair is a fictional murder mystery woven around the real-life disappearance of Agatha Christie. This enduring conundrum from 1926 is not so much fictionalized as creatively reimagined. Whether you know much about what happened then or not, you’ll find this delicious whodunit totally irresistible.” –CrimeReads
“The Christie Affair deserves all the hype it’s gotten… [It is De Gramont’s] most mature and polished work to date, with rounded characters and a smooth-running, steel-trap plot that the author of “The Mousetrap” could admire. Actual historical detail ― Sir Arthur Conan Doyle hiring a psychic to locate Agatha ― are mixed with authorial invention into a smooth, tasty puree. Lovers of mystery, romance and literary fiction should be equally pleased.” —StarNews
“Refreshingly thoughtful and inventive.” —Airmail
My Review:
The Christie Affair is set in 1925. The author, Nina de Gramont does such a spectacular job of portraying that period of time. She really gets inside the characters heads and I felt that I really related to both of them. Agatha is none other than a fictional version of the real-life Agatha Christie. Nan, is a young woman who has wiggled her way into the very middle of Agatha’s marriage with Archie and is actively working to tear them apart.
The only problem? Agatha still loves Archie despite his cheating. And while Nan is cunning, so is Agatha. The Christie Affair is the tale of how both women try to outwit the other and learn that ultimately there are things in life that are worth every sacrifice.
This one comes with so much praise! It’s a Reese’s Book Club Pick, a New York Times Bestseller and has rave reviews from The Wall Street Journal, Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly. As a book publicist myself, this book is a publisher’s dream.
I found the story very compelling, but for me, it ebbed and flowed a bit. I’d hit a super interesting part and couldn’t put it down, then I’d have trouble getting though a couple pages. I didn’t rate it quite as high as many others, but I suspect it has something to do with the fact that I haven’t read Agatha Christie and wasn’t aware of her disappearance. I think if you had a special interest, this book would knock your socks off.
Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out now. Get your copy!
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