The Christie Curse by Victoria Abbott

The Christie Curse by Victoria Abbott ISBN-13: 9780425255285 Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Released: March 5, 2013

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
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?


My Review:
The Christie Curse is a cozy mystery. It was a clue-based, puzzle mystery. There were so many people who acted suspiciously and such a muddle of clues that I never did settle on a suspected whodunit. Yet the whole mystery made sense when it was unraveled.

The heroine is a street-smart gal with family who is a bit shady, but she wants an honest job. She's savvy enough to realize that the play might be more fraud than fact, and she has the connections to check that out. She's one of the few cozy heroines that didn't surprise me when she decided to break into a house (though she did have permission...sort of).

I liked the humor of the situations she found herself in. I also liked that Jordan had a conscience and felt bad when she misjudged someone or she had to ask insensitive questions.

There was suspense from the physical danger and the relationship tensions of the job. And what cozy is complete without pets--in this case, cats and a dog wove their way through the story.

There was some explicit bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable, clever novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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