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meezan's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, by Marie Benedict, is a work of fiction, but it is based on the real-life 11-day disappearance of Agatha Christie. The chapters alternate between two time periods. The first time period begins when Agatha first meets Archibold Christie, the man she later married. The second time period begins on the first day of Agatha's disappearance. The two time periods eventually come together. Part one is the bulk of the book, with part two providing a possible explanation for her disappearance.
I had never heard of Agatha Christie's mysterious disappearance until I heard people talking about this book. It sounded interesting, so I decided to read it. It took me a few chapters to really get into it, but once I did, I was fully invested and curious to know how it would all unfold. I enjoyed the format with the two alternating time periods eventually coming together. The explanation in part 2 was intriguing and it made sense as one possible explanation for her disappearance.
If you are planning to read this book, I highly recommend you read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd first. The reason for this is that in chapter 31 of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie there is a major spoiler for The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. This simply wasn't necessary. The book would have been fine without this spoiler. I have not read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, but I've seen a movie adaptation and I was thankfully already familiar with the spoiler.
Overall, though, this is an enjoyable read. Knowing how it ended, I can easily see myself re-reading it with a different perspective. I don't often re-read books, so the fact that The Mystery of Mrs. Christie is worthy of a second read is saying something. I will also be checking out some other books written by Marie Benedict because I really enjoyed her writing style in this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
gwen87's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
There are things to like about this book - it is well researched and the characterisation is done quickly and effectively (key, given that there are only really an couple of characters with minor players floating in the background). But it really needed a bit of editing. The writing itself isn't great, and the repetition of adjectives got quite annoying. At times it felt like the author was trying to persuade us that she had done her research by throwing facts in as part of narration. It also contains a major spoiler for one of Christie's most significant novels (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd) which felt really out of keeping with the spirit of a book about the queen of plot twists.
I listened to this as an audiobook. The narrator was fine, but her constant mispronunciation of Berkshire (and Harrogate) was deeply irritating!
I listened to this as an audiobook. The narrator was fine, but her constant mispronunciation of Berkshire (and Harrogate) was deeply irritating!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
giraffestickers's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-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? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, and Car accident
stephbakerbooks's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.5
This book is Gone Girl—except without the mystery, without any thrills, without complex, developed characters, and without a coherent plot.
And I did not like Gone Girl...
I do like Agatha Christie and the books of hers that I've read (though beware, this book will spoil a few of her books...), so I was interested in this story. And I watched the movie Agatha and the Truth of Murder on Netflix a few months ago, which also gives a fictional explanation for her eleven-day disappearance, and enjoyed it.
But this book was so boring. There is barely a plot, and the mystery is obvious from the beginning. I didn't like any of the characters, and they don't get any development or any real deep-dive into their actions. The ending gives us an info-dump to explain everything that happened previously—a lot of telling and not showing. And then it just ended and I was left thinking, "What was the point of this book?"
It's only saving grace was that it was short.
And I did not like Gone Girl...
I do like Agatha Christie and the books of hers that I've read (though beware, this book will spoil a few of her books...), so I was interested in this story. And I watched the movie Agatha and the Truth of Murder on Netflix a few months ago, which also gives a fictional explanation for her eleven-day disappearance, and enjoyed it.
But this book was so boring. There is barely a plot, and the mystery is obvious from the beginning. I didn't like any of the characters, and they don't get any development or any real deep-dive into their actions. The ending gives us an info-dump to explain everything that happened previously—a lot of telling and not showing. And then it just ended and I was left thinking, "What was the point of this book?"
It's only saving grace was that it was short.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Infidelity
Minor: Domestic abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
livvie98's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was my second book by Marie Benedict, and while enjoyable, I didn't like it as much as The Only Woman In The Room.
I'm a huge Agatha Christie fan, and being so, was very excited for a glimpse into the real life mystery of her disappearance. And while it's certainly an intriguing premise, no real explanation can actually be gathered, seeing as she never revealed what happened during that period of time. Compared to Benedict's other books, I feel like there was less new things for me to learn about Agatha and her life, compared to how much I learned about Hedy Lamarr in The Only Woman In The Room. I understand the scenes in these novels are all fictional, however, I love the usage of them to convey the real events that happened in the lives of women in history. This novel just didn't provide me with the history and new insight I feel I gathered previously from her other works, understandably so, since the majority of this was speculative.
Unfortunately, I found the characters hard to relate to and connect with, but that may have just been me. It was, I thought, a fast paced and quick read that kept me interested until the end.
Spoiler Warning: This book does mention several of her novels and spoils completely my favorite book of hers, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. If you haven't read that one yet, please read that before reading this book because it will be entirely ruined.
I'm a huge Agatha Christie fan, and being so, was very excited for a glimpse into the real life mystery of her disappearance. And while it's certainly an intriguing premise, no real explanation can actually be gathered, seeing as she never revealed what happened during that period of time. Compared to Benedict's other books, I feel like there was less new things for me to learn about Agatha and her life, compared to how much I learned about Hedy Lamarr in The Only Woman In The Room. I understand the scenes in these novels are all fictional, however, I love the usage of them to convey the real events that happened in the lives of women in history. This novel just didn't provide me with the history and new insight I feel I gathered previously from her other works, understandably so, since the majority of this was speculative.
Unfortunately, I found the characters hard to relate to and connect with, but that may have just been me. It was, I thought, a fast paced and quick read that kept me interested until the end.
Spoiler Warning: This book does mention several of her novels and spoils completely my favorite book of hers, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. If you haven't read that one yet, please read that before reading this book because it will be entirely ruined.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse