On December 4, 1926, the queen of detective novels, Dame Agatha Christie, disappeared for 11 days, and like a plot of her own novels, despite a nationwide hunt no trace of her was found, till she reappeared on her own. However, right till her death on January 12, 1976, she never revealed what had happened or where she had been during those 11days, always maintaining that she did not remember and it must have been a case of temporary amnesia. In her autobiography there is no mention of the incident.

A disappearance like that especially of a leading detective story writer naturally gave rise to a storm of speculations and theories. So much so that even the famous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, got involved in the search. It also was a fertile ground for fictionalisation, especially after her passing away. Nina de Gramont does exactly that in her book. She weaves an intricate web around the disappearance that could well be one of the mystery novels of the first lady of crime fiction.

Agatha Christie had disappeared for those 11days when she was going through a personal crisis. Her marriage to her first husband Col Archibald Christie was breaking down with the Colonel wanting a divorce to marry his mistress. Nina de Gramont weaves her story from the unique point of view of the mistress. She skilfully weaves different strands of the story, going back and forward in time. Though in the first part of the novel it is a bit slow, Gramont brings all the strands together in the second half and the pace picks up till we have an end with all the classic surprise and denouement of a mystery thriller. In the process she not only paints a warm human persona for the celebrated author but also the usually maligned mistress.

A must for all mystery novel aficionados, and especially Agatha Christie fans.