Reviews

El secreto de Agatha by Marie Benedict

dharma_s's review against another edition

3.0

I love Agatha Christie's works, but I had never known that she had gone missing herself. It was well written except of the overuse of the word "modicum" in the first part.

This portrayed a clear example of a toxic relationship, and was well thought out.

I also love the cover.

kat_reads_horror's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

While I still need to look more into the author's note, I really enjoyed the story of why Agatha Christie disappeared. Very inventive and fascinating writing.  

What happened during the 11 days Agatha Christie went missing? Was she murdered? Was her husband to blame? 

The story is told in flashbacks in Agatha's POV as she explores life as a mother, wife and her successful career as a mystery writer "present day" Archie's POV as her suspected husband. Between the two perspectives you get a winding mystery Agatha would be proud of.

lottie1803's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

jeneenthepharm's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

4.0

nikki7640's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

The way this book was written made it super hard to follow.  I had a hard time telling when I was in the past and when I was in the present.

fairasara's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

bessadams's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: War, Suicide, Grief, and Infidelity

tyler2cl's review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

joanwolf's review against another edition

3.0

I have torn feelings about this book. I enjoyed reading it, but it did get very repetitive and slow about halfway through. The ending was good, it's a good idea, but I felt underwhelmed by it. I almost gave it two stars instead of three, but that felt unfair. I'll probably read more from this author.

vlreid's review against another edition

4.0

A captivating historical fiction account of Agatha Christie and when she went missing for 11 days in 1926. She left her husband and daughter, causing an uproar and extensive manhunt throughout England. Marie Benedict does an excellent job of slowly giving the reader the background -- with dual timelines and dual narrators (both probably unreliable). We are kept guessing throughout the various twists and turns in the book, with a few surprises left for the end. We also get a peek into her life: her overbearing mother, her rival sister, her domineering and philandering husband, her distant daughter, and her love of surfing of all things! Apparently, no one really knows what happened to her during those missing 11 days, but the author provides a fascinating speculation about what may have happened.

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/.