The Christy Affair (Review)

Review of The Christie Affair by Nina De Gramont. Imaginative, clever, and engrossing, this book weaves an intricate tale surrounding an interesting theory about what might have happened when the famed author, Agatha Christie went missing for 11 days. The mystery that surrounds that time in Agatha’s life still remains a mystery to this day and has intrigued the imaginations of readers and writers for decades. It is a highly fictionalized account of Nan O’Dea, the mistress of Agatha’s husband Archie, and is told from her narrative of the events that brought her into the wealthy and elite lives of the Christies and how her tragic and heart wrenching love story was the impetus for all of her actions. Nan O’Dea is a tragic character who lives through trauma at the hands of the Nuns and a menacing Priest at a convent and orphanage in Ireland for wayward women. Nan’s journey is filled with love, friendship, loss, heartache, revenge, and turmoil. How her life intertwines with the lives of Agatha and her husband, Archie, offers intriguing twists to the plot and takes you to an ending that is full of surprise. De Gramont’s language is engaging and her storytelling masterful. I loved this book and it sparked a desire to learn more about the famed Author, Agatha Christie and her famous and unsolved disappearance. Was it all a ruse for publicity or a true act of a desperate woman who sought freedom from prying eyes when she felt her world crumbling beneath her? And what would drive Nan O’Dea to purposefully seek out the Christies? De Gramont creates an enjoyable tale that beautifully connects some factual events with imagination and brings to life the magic that comes with fiction writing.