The novel, The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont is a thrilling mystery of how the world's most famous book author, Agatha Christie went missing in 1925. The story is told from Nan O’Dea’s perspective. Nan O’Dea finds herself connected to Agatha in ways she doesn’t even fully understand, other than the obvious relation in how Nan is Agatha’s husband's mistress. The husband, Archie Christie, supposedly has been out of love with his wife for two years or more. Archie and Agatha were one of the many love stories that took place during the Great War. AC and AC were a great match so much so that Agatha left her original fiance to marry Archie. They wed one of the times he visited home before going back to war. They had one little girl, named Teddy Christie. Agatha has always been known as calm, self-controlled, strong, patient, and clever. This pleased Archie and kept him fulfilled for a long time, until he saw Nan. Nan positioned herself in the best way for him to notice her and once he did, he started having an affair with her. Archie easily fell in love with Nan from the way she held herself and her manipulative way of saying whatever he wanted to hear from his mistress. Nan figured it wasn’t her job to be his wife, that was Agathas. Agatha knew of their affair, it was noticeable to her but she understood she couldn’t do anything to stop it. Nan did what she could to make Archie think that she loved him back but she didn’t actually feel love towards him. Nan always knew Archie was a terrible husband but she had her mind set on marrying him and having stability with him as her partner. When Archie told Agatha that he wanted a divorce, his face showed that his love for her had vanished to where he couldn’t care less for her. Agatha was shocked because the night before they had just been intimate with each other and Archie carried himself as if he loved her like no one else could. Agatha was broken and continued to plead for their marriage to stay intact. Archie coldly walked out the door as if it was any other day he left their house, while Agatha sobbed and ran after him. Later that night, Agatha went missing. Police departments all over England were hired to search for Agatha and find her, whether her body was dead or alive. Around this time, very little murder or crime took place, so the author’s disappearance turned into a frenzy. The Christie Affair not only focuses on Agatha's lost appearance but also on Nan’s life and what has led her to feeling content in stealing someone else’s husband. Agatha Christie had just then been experiencing hard things in her overall privileged life, but Nan has been facing hardships since a very young age. Nan was raised in England but she spent her summers in Ireland with her uncle, aunt, and cousin. She met Finbarr there, who started out as a friend to her but ended up being much more. When the first war started, Finbarr was sent to fight for his country. It occurred that Nan was in love with a war soldier herself and they planned to marry. Finbarr was her only true love and her feelings for him would never die. Nan didn’t realize that Finbarr got her pregnant until he was back fighting in the war. Months later he came back to Ireland to be married to Nan, but had caught the life ending flu that had created a mass pandemic. Finbarrs parents refused to take care of Nan and instead sent her to a convent in the area. The convent nuns worked her pregnant body very hard and she was treated terribly there. She constantly waited for Finbarr to come to the convent and demand her release once he was well. Only she knows what really took place at the convent and in the following years. Eleven days after Agatha's disappearance, she was either found or voluntarily came back to her England home. Either way, she was alive and she never spoke of where she went or what happened while she was gone. Where did Agatha go? How did Nan seem to know everything that took place? What exactly did Nan endure at the convent? Does Nan end up with Finbarr again or does she spend the rest of her life as the new Mrs. Christie? Many things are unknown but it's true that Nan becomes reconnected to Finbarr even if it's just periodically and at some point she marries Archie. Agatha later moved on and was married to a younger guy. She had a successful life by becoming even more popular with her mystery novels and having more children. Agatha never spoke of the incidents that occurred during her escape from the world because telling it would also tell Nan's story. Despite all that took place, Agatha and Nan were friends. Does Nan get the happy ending she actually seems to deserve or does she get the ending she's been planning for so many years? A few other murders take place throughout the novel as well, connecting Agatha's writing to the story she became a part of. The Christie Affair is a very complex read that is filled with exciting entertainment on every page. Each chapter discusses things such as Agatha going missing, what Nan has been through in the past, or little clues to what their lives presently look like. I really enjoyed reading this book and it's one of my new favorites. I definitely recommend others to read this one! It gives readers a view on why people make certain choices that could seriously hurt their peers. Every person goes through hardships that change them and regrets that form from mistakes, some more than others. There are many twists and unexpected plot details that are brought into this story. I suggest one should pay close attention when reading The Christie Affair. Also, beware that there are a few mature moments in this novel but nothing descriptive. Anyone who loves reading something well written and enticing should start The Christie Affair.
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