The real triumph of the novel is that it not only satisfies readers with a plausible and engaging theory of what might have happened during those 11 days, but also offers up a fascinating study of two complex women and their unlikely kinship, as Nan’s dark secret is unravelled. Remarkably, Nina de Gramont did not need to delve into the imaginary world for these tidbits-the then Home Secretary William Joynson-Hicks did put pressure on police to find the writer, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle really did seek the help of a clairvoyant to find Agatha using one of her gloves as a guide. Over the course of the novel, we come to understand Nan’s purpose in setting her sights on the enigmatic novelist and her husband, and even rooting for our unlikely heroine as she sets out on her quest for justice.Īlong the way, we are met with a series of unexpected twists and turns that Christie herself would be proud of, and a string of extraordinary cameos from some of the most prolific figures of the day. The result is a plot which jumps between the “present” days of the missing person investigation in 1926, and Nan’s own history-from her tough East End upbringing, her escape to the Irish countryside, and the heartbreak she endures in the aftermath of the Great War.
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