I know it has been a while since I have sat down and put my fingers to the keyboard. It isn’t that I haven’t had tons of things to write about, there just never seems to be enough time to write. Last fall I begin the journey to complete my Master's degree, so school takes precedent over blogging. Since the spring semester ended I have been trying to catch up on one of my greatest joys, reading. I have a very long to-read list and it seems to grow every week.
That being said this first blog for the summer of 2021 will be a review of my latest read, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict.
One of my favorite literary genres is historical fiction and some of the ones I like best are about the lives of real people. As I am reading and after I finish a book I normally spend some time researching them. Growing up I had a vague knowledge of Agatha Christie. I knew that she was British and a mystery writer. I was most familiar with her novel Murder on the Orient Express. I must confess that I have never actually read a book by Agatha Christie and I have only watched one screen adaption of her novels. That being Murder on the Orient Express (the latest version starring Johnny Depp).
I discovered The Mystery of Mrs. Christie completely by accident as I was browsing my local library's collection. As I read the premise for it, I knew that it was a must-read. I was intrigued to learn that Agatha Christie had indeed vanished for 11 days in 1926 and that it was never revealed what happened during those 11 days. It seems that Mrs. Christie kept that mystery close to her heart. This of course is where the fiction comes in. Marie Benedict weaves an amazing story of what happened during those days.
Synopsis
In December 1926, Agatha Christie goes missing. Investigators find her empty car on the edge of a deep, gloomy pond, the only clues some tire tracks nearby and a fur coat left in the car—strange for a frigid night. Her World War I veteran husband and her daughter do not know her whereabouts, and England unleashes an unprecedented manhunt to find the up-and-coming mystery author. Eleven days later, she reappears, just as mysteriously as she disappeared, claiming amnesia and providing no explanations for her time away.
Archie and Agatha
The story moves along two lines, one follows Agatha's husband Archie and begins on the day that her disappearance is discovered. The other story-line begins when the couple first meet and how their relationship progresses, eventually the two story-lines connect. This may have been the reason that it took a little time to get into the story, but after a few chapters I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. I won't reveal too much about either story-line, but let's just say that Archie is the kind of character that leaves you angry and hoping for his downfall. Agatha on the other hand is the one that you sympathize with and root for throughout the entire story.
Final Word
Marie Benedict is an amazing storyteller who brought the mystery of Agatha Christie‘s disappearance to life and made it an irresistible read. I thoroughly enjoyed The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, with its historical figures, mystery, and look into marriages of the time. I highly recommend this book. Due to the fact that I enjoyed Ms. Benedict's storytelling so much, I have decided to give another one of her books a chance. I am currently reading The Only Woman In The Room and I’m looking forward to learning more about the story of Hedy Lamarr.
"That's my two cents worth, whats yours?"
