A flapper-esque woman in pearls on the cover. A 1920s disappearance. A work of historical fiction based on the life of mystery icon, Agatha Christie. I’ll be honest: the cover, and the jacket-flap summary, won me over. However, ‘The Christie Affair’ by Nina de Gramont turned out to be something different than I initially expected.

This novel is a character-driven, slow-burning tale. While the story’s hook is to explore the whereabouts of Christie during her famous two-week disappearance with no explanation, the bulk of the story revolves around a supposed reason for her disappearance: her husband’s mistress, Nan.

As the story unfolds, it sets a stage with distinctive characters clearly in the spotlight. The two primary women, Nan and Agatha, seem to have few things in common on the surface, but they are connected in surprising ways. Agatha’s husband, Archie, is a truly love-to-hate-him character, reminiscent of Tom Buchanan from ‘The Great Gatsby’. The inspector on the case of Agatha’s disappearance, Chiltern, gives strong nods to Christie’s famous detective, Hercule Poirot. Lastly, Finbarr, a tragic, war-torn, childhood love of Nan’s, adds complexity and uncertainty to the whole.

The setting and style of the story are very believably 1920s, reminiscent of works written during that time. Even more impressive is how the style of ‘The Christie Affair’ mimics the work of Agatha Christie herself. This lineup of memorable characters, while initially only mildly interconnected, becomes closely tangled as one mystery unfolds into many more—ultimately leading to the revelation of unexpected connections, motives, crimes, and resolutions. Interestingly, and perhaps appropriately, Christie’s character is more background to the main actions of the story. Her disappearance focuses more on internal resolutions, showcased by her furious writing throughout. The reader will be much more caught up in the mysteries surrounding the true main character, Nan.

Ultimately, this book is more than it seems; it’s not just a cozy mystery, or a fabulous homage to Agatha Christie, but also a portrait of how we all, to some degree, write the mysteries we present to, or hide from, the world.

I give The Christie Affair 4/5 quills!

Have you read The Christie Affair? What did you think? (Personally, it made me want to add some Agatha Christie books to my Good Reads list!)

P.S. Yes, it’s me! I’m still here! I’ve been freelancing blogging so much for other people over the past couple of years, but I’m back to my personal blog to keep in touch with writing (and reading) that I do for my own self. I am not calling it a “2024 resolution”…despite the fact that this review comes on 1/1/2024 along with the desire to read and review one book a week this year. I’m not calling it that. Regardless, I hope it will turn out that way. Anyway, I anticipate this blog being more book-centric this year. Thanks for being here!