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Rating: 
Summary: Revealing the mystery writer's mystery.
Review: Fame and wide acclaim came to Agatha Christie in 1926 when "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was published. In the same year, however, her disappearance and the eleven-day search for her attracted even more attention. Subsequently in interviews and in her own autobiography, Agatha Christie refused to explain or refer to the incident. It was inferred that the breakdown of her first marriage had been one aspect of the mystery, and her reluctance to refer to anything so painful was respected. Since her death, she has been the subject of several biographies. None that I have read, even that of her second husband, Sir Max Mellowan, provides a satisfactory motivation or time table for the eleven missing days in 1926. It seems remarkable that a young writer from the smallest state in Australia should be the one to adequately research the subject and to have access to the best informants. Jared Cade knows Agatha Christie's novels, plays, poetry and short sories well, and demonstrates how insights into this major crisis in Agatha Christie's life reside in them. His theories are sound, his rebuttal of false and misleading explanations is strong, and his judgments - even of Dame Agatha herself - are balanced. Interest in what happened to the world' best-selling author back in 1926 may no longer be strong, but it is good to read something that at last sets the record straight. It is, moreover, a fascinating and focussed biography of someone who tried to keep herself away from public scrutiny. I like the compliment paid to the author by his principal informants, descendants of Agatha Christie's best friend: "This is the only biography that tells Agatha's life as it really was. Your insight into her life and personality is unsurpassed."
Rating:
Summary: Revealing the mystery writer's mystery.
Review: Fame and wide acclaim came to Agatha Christie in 1926 when "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" was published. In the same year, however, her disappearance and the eleven-day search for her attracted even more attention. Subsequently in interviews and in her own autobiography, Agatha Christie refused to explain or refer to the incident. It was inferred that the breakdown of her first marriage had been one aspect of the mystery, and her reluctance to refer to anything so painful was respected. Since her death, she has been the subject of several biographies. None that I have read, even that of her second husband, Sir Max Mellowan, provides a satisfactory motivation or time table for the eleven missing days in 1926. It seems remarkable that a young writer from the smallest state in Australia should be the one to adequately research the subject and to have access to the best informants. Jared Cade knows Agatha Christie's novels, plays, poetry and short sories well, and demonstrates how insights into this major crisis in Agatha Christie's life reside in them. His theories are sound, his rebuttal of false and misleading explanations is strong, and his judgments - even of Dame Agatha herself - are balanced. Interest in what happened to the world' best-selling author back in 1926 may no longer be strong, but it is good to read something that at last sets the record straight. It is, moreover, a fascinating and focussed biography of someone who tried to keep herself away from public scrutiny. I like the compliment paid to the author by his principal informants, descendants of Agatha Christie's best friend: "This is the only biography that tells Agatha's life as it really was. Your insight into her life and personality is unsurpassed."
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read For Agatha Christie Fans!
Review: I bought this book for my fifteen year old son. He enjoyed it so much that I read it too. I've read many books about the life of Agatha Christie but I've never read one more honest and well researched. Although the book does concentrate on the Agatha Christie disappearance in the 1920's it also covers all of her life. You'll learn about her upbringing, her daughter, her friends and her two frustrating and disappointing marriages. This is a not to be missed book!
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read For Agatha Christie Fans!
Review: I bought this book for my fifteen year old son. He enjoyed it so much that I read it too. I've read many books about the life of Agatha Christie but I've never read one more honest and well researched. Although the book does concentrate on the Agatha Christie disappearance in the 1920's it also covers all of her life. You'll learn about her upbringing, her daughter, her friends and her two frustrating and disappointing marriages. This is a not to be missed book!
Rating:
Summary: Revealed at Last
Review: I loved this book and have given several copies to people with great results. It's not only an investigation into the "eleven missing days," it takes great pains to tell the entire story of Agatha Christie's whole life. The way Cade was able to match Christie's work with her various traumas is wonderful, and it's hard to believe that seventy years later anyone can come up with something new about such a famous unsolved mystery, and yet Cade has done exactly that, with the help of Nan Watts' daughter. I wonder what Rosalind Hicks, Agatha Christie's daughter, thinks of this book? It's marvelous. We'll never be able to read, for example, "Verdict" in the same way, knowing it reflects on Max Mallowan, Christie's second husband, and his liaison with his executive assistant Barbara Parker, who became the second Lady Mallowan after Christie's death. How she was able to keep a sense of humor I'll never know. Surprisingly the book makes one feel more, not less, admiration for Christie. Good on you, Jared Cade! Can't wait to see where you turn your hand to next.
Rating: 
Summary: Agatha Christie comes alive
Review: On December 3, 1926 Archie Christie told his wife, Agattha, that he was in love with someone else and wanted a divorce. He then left for a weekend party. Later that evening, Agatha got in her car for a drive. Her car was found off the road with her coat inside but she was no where to be found. It was 11 days before she was found. The official story was that she was suffering from amnesia. But now, family members from someone who knows what really happened have cooperated with telling the true story. It's fascinating, believable and a thoroughly absorbing look into the life of one of our most famous authors.
Rating:
Summary: Agatha Christie comes alive
Review: On December 3, 1926 Archie Christie told his wife, Agattha, that he was in love with someone else and wanted a divorce. He then left for a weekend party. Later that evening, Agatha got in her car for a drive. Her car was found off the road with her coat inside but she was no where to be found. It was 11 days before she was found. The official story was that she was suffering from amnesia. But now, family members from someone who knows what really happened have cooperated with telling the true story. It's fascinating, believable and a thoroughly absorbing look into the life of one of our most famous authors.
Rating:
Summary: Useful reference for Agatha Fans
Review: The book really helps to reveal a closer and deeper examination of Agatha's life, books, as well as her deepiest feelings in her heart... Cade has tried very hard to up root the feelings of Agatha I think... The introduction of Agatha's books especially the ones written under Mary Westmacott is helpful and in great details... Moreover, there are also integrations betwwen the content and Agatha's corresponding feelings and experiences... I do think that the book deserve a look!
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