The Christie Curse (Book Collector Mystery, #1)

In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared—making headlines across the world—only to show up eleven days later at a spa under an assumed name. During those eleven days, did she have time to write a play?

Jordan Kelly needs a new job and a new place to live. She’s back in Harrison Falls, New York, living with her not so law-abiding uncles, in debt thanks to a credit card–stealing ex and pending grad school loans.

Enter the perfect job, a research position that includes room and board, which will allow her to spend her days hunting down rare mysteries for an avid book collector. There’s just one problem: her employer, Vera Van Alst—the most hated citizen of Harrison Falls.

Jordan’s first assignment is to track down a rumored Agatha Christie play. It seems easy enough, but Jordan soon finds out that her predecessor was killed while looking for it, and there is still someone out there willing to murder to keep the play out of Vera’s hands. Jordan’s new job is good…but is it worth her life?  

• ISBN10: 042525528X
• ISBN13: 9780425255285
• Publish Date: 5 March 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Berkley Publishing Corporation,U.S.
• Format: Paperback (US Mass Market)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425255285

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

This book was a 5 star read until about 2/3 of the way through. I remember just about everything I read, so take this next bit with a grain of salt if you don't agree. About 2/3 of the way through the book, Jordan starts on the introspection, internal dialogue and "let's make a list of the suspects" that goes on for a bit and my attention was lost. I understand that these are devices for keeping the reader in the story by summarising what's taken place so far, a "refresher", if you will, but since it's all still clear in my head, use of these devices allows my attention to wander, I get bored, and I tend to put the book down and walk away. Or I skim through all the "boring bits".

Up until that point, and once I got past it, however, this book is excellent! A first person POV that's a narration - you're not really inside Jordan's head, because you don't have to suffer through her angst, or her deepest emotions. The Christie Curse reminded me of Christie's or Sayer's writing style and I enjoyed it immensely. This book is more about the mystery than it is about the characters. For 80% of the book, the action was fast paced and well-written. The plot itself was really, really well crafted - The murderer was never even on my radar and the twist at the end was really clever.

Overall, this book is a fantastic introduction to a new series that left me wanting more. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.