Abandoned by her husband Archibald, who left her for a secretary, shortly after the death of her mother, Agatha Christie disappeared for around 11 days in December 1926. Police, mediums, the famous Arthur Conan Doyle, everyone was looking for her all over England. After she was found, she confessed of being unaware where she was, a psychological effect of double trauma and sudden shock.
In the vein of a late trend in historical fiction, Nina de Gramont built a story that focuses on the lover, a peripheral figure that received a voice of her own. The Christie Affair may only talk about Agatha, the famous and beloved one, and this only from the voice of Nan, the forgotten one, revealing a different story, with a motivation - no matter how wrong - and an equally important traumatic episode of the children stolen by the Irish Catholic Church from unmarried mothers. This sitution touched between 60,000 and 80,000 and lasted until late 1990s.
In between the back and forth from Nan´s story and Agatha´s wheareabouts after her disappearance, there is also a sweet crime twists that almost woke me up when the pace was too slow and not sure where it was leading to.
The writing is very engaging, focused on ambiance and psyhological details and a rich historical background, covering the Irish episode, but also the trauma of the post War I soldiers. The characters are talking to the reader with an authentic refined voice.
I was interested in the book as was looking for some new authors and topics outside my immediate area of interest, but the reading dragged for a week, with an interest that varied from low to adverse - as I took the Nan characters too personally. As my next reads are historical fiction, this book just opened my voracious reading appetite for more nuances and fictional perspectives.
Rating: 3 stars
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