You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
wjreadsbooks 's review for:
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie
by Marie Benedict
Before I had read The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, I actually didn't know that much about famed mystery author Agatha Christie's personal life or that she had disappeared for eleven days causing a widespread manhunt for the missing lady. Marie Benedict takes on the mystery of her disappearance and re-imagines a possible explanation for it.
It definitely took me a couple of attempts to get into the story simply because it begins rather slowly, 1912 where Agatha Miller meets a young naval officer, Archibald Christie, and accepts a dance from him despite his rather impertinent attitude. Then it flashes forward to 1926, where Archibald is interrupted at a social gathering with his friends and is informed that his wife had disappeared. The story continues in this manner and I actually found it to be a rather distracting plot device, as it takes away the urgency of the "present day" mystery to ruminate on the Christies' past relationship. It might've worked better if the past was segmented in Part I while the current events are Part II, as the pacing might've felt a little less awkward.
Setting that aside, I actually did find the plot to be quite engaging, especially since Archibald is clearly hiding something. Agatha seems to have left behind a mysterious letter that he reads and burns, instead of turning it over to the police. He has to constantly remind himself of how a devoted, worried husband should behave in this scenario. He has also gone to great lengths to prevent the police from digging too much into his family's affairs. And it is also clear that their marriage has not been a happy one, despite Agatha's professional success and the money that it has brought to their family.
The Mystery of Mrs Christie isn't exactly unpredictable, especially since the blurb already mentions that her husband has been unfaithful to her. However, where the story succeeds is in its unreliable narration.
Spoiler
Turning it into a Gone Girl style disappearance.It definitely took me a couple of attempts to get into the story simply because it begins rather slowly, 1912 where Agatha Miller meets a young naval officer, Archibald Christie, and accepts a dance from him despite his rather impertinent attitude. Then it flashes forward to 1926, where Archibald is interrupted at a social gathering with his friends and is informed that his wife had disappeared. The story continues in this manner and I actually found it to be a rather distracting plot device, as it takes away the urgency of the "present day" mystery to ruminate on the Christies' past relationship. It might've worked better if the past was segmented in Part I while the current events are Part II, as the pacing might've felt a little less awkward.
Setting that aside, I actually did find the plot to be quite engaging, especially since Archibald is clearly hiding something. Agatha seems to have left behind a mysterious letter that he reads and burns, instead of turning it over to the police. He has to constantly remind himself of how a devoted, worried husband should behave in this scenario. He has also gone to great lengths to prevent the police from digging too much into his family's affairs. And it is also clear that their marriage has not been a happy one, despite Agatha's professional success and the money that it has brought to their family.
The Mystery of Mrs Christie isn't exactly unpredictable, especially since the blurb already mentions that her husband has been unfaithful to her.