Reviews

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont

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kms0037's review against another edition

3.0

This book was a struggle for me to finish. I think I was more excited about the synopsis than I was the entire book. I felt like there were 100 pages at the beginning that were so slow and forgetful. I didn’t feel like they were necessary and it didn’t really add much to the story that you couldn’t put into a chapter or two. I also got confused when the writing perspectives swapped because it wasn’t clear that the perspectives were changing. It didn’t feel connected to the story at all and then in the end the ending felt anticlimactic for all the buildup.

Also, the narrator can kick rocks. Her story was weird.

alexareads27's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

2.0

I had the instinct to DNF this book around 100 pages in and I wish I did. The only thing that kept me going was that it was a gift from a friend and purchased at Rare Bird bookstore in Edinburgh.

The tie to Agatha Christie’s 11 day disappearance weighed the plot down and by the end it felt like a cash-grab to get people to buy the book. This was confirmed for me when in the acknowledgements the author writes that it was her agent who suggested that she write a book about Christie’s disappearance.

The premise of the book being from the perspective of her husband’s mistress was really interesting and I think Nan’s story could have been a good standalone novel. Combining it with Agatha’s made it seem overly complicated and far-fetched. Especially considering the book is written from Nan’s perspective and speaks about the experiences and events of other characters that she couldn’t have known. The author uses the idea of lucid dreaming to get around that but not effectively enough for me.

What really made me dislike the novel was the twist at the end of act two, which I saw coming but really didn’t want to see coming. I did appreciate the act three twist but not enough to compensate for the rest.

I enjoyed learning about Magdalen laundries and convents in Ireland.

Content Warnings

belinda72373's review against another edition

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3.0

Very slow moving book

blopez99's review against another edition

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2.0

10 hour audiobook that could've been 6 and got the same point across. Nothing interesting happened until over halfway in, but I had to force myself to keep going because it's the book club book this month