The Mystery of Mrs. Christie

 The Mystery of Mrs. Christie (2020) by Marie Benedict is an ambitious undertaking. In December 1926, the up and coming mystery novelist Agatha Christie goes missing for eleven days. Her car is found abandoned near a cliff with her suitcase and fur coat in the seat. England and the mystery world were focused on the author's fate for nearly two weeks. No trace of her is found until she is discovered at a hotel in Harrogate, registered under the last name of her husband's lover--as Mrs. Neele. Though many theories have been put forward to explain Christie's disappearance--from amnesia and/or a fugue state brought on by Archie Christie's request for a divorce to a publicity stunt to advertise her latest book to wanting to embarrass her husband and his lover--Christie refused to talk about that period of her life and the real story was never told.

Benedict gives us a fictional account of what might have happened. It seems quite logical that an author who devised some of the most interesting and surprising plots in Golden Age detective novels might devise a similarly twisty surprise for her erring husband. I quite enjoyed the basic premise and story. But I'm not fond of the dual timeline in this case and I definitely am not a fan of the present tense story-telling of the sections devoted to Archie's actions post-Agatha's disappearance. That portion of the narrative seems very stilted--perhaps that's meant to mirror Archie's manner with Agatha in the latter years of their marriage. But it didn't make for smooth reading. ★★★ and 1/2

First line: The letter flutters on the desk, almost keeping time with the footsteps thundering across the floor.

...it occurred to me that we are all unreliable narrators of our own lives, crafting stories about ourselves that omit unsavory truths and highlight our invented identities. (p. 168)

Last line: But I promise myself--and them--now that I have authored an authentic self into existence, I will write a perfect ending.