by Lori Rader-Day
3/5 Stars
Normally I would start off a review with a brief summary of the plot before launching into my thoughts…However, this book’s plot is a bit difficult to describe.
The reason I picked this book up was the description (as most of us do), but I don’t believe the description actually captures the plot well. The plot is described as being a riddle-filled, murder investigation set at Agatha Christie’s home during WWII. In reality, the story follows the household at Greenway when Christie opens up her house to child evacuees and their caretakers. The murder plot is very much a sub-plot (in my opinion) to the day-to-day life of an evacuee, as described primarily by one of the caretakers.
Oh, and Christie is given all of 2 pages of an appearance throughout the 414 page story, which I recognize was the point, since she remains an elusive woman to the characters surrounding her as well.
Don’t get me wrong, the book was well-written and there were moments of intrigue and questions were raised throughout the book, but it didn’t feel cohesive enough for me to stay as engaged as I would’ve liked. The characters were interesting and complex, but the whole novel was lacking the pull of the murder investigation throughout the chapters. Genuinely, I forgot about some of the missing and murdered characters until they were mentioned again in passing several chapters later.
Personally, I would describe this book more as a fictional, realistic look at life from the eyes of those around during the war – we get chapters written from the perspective of the caretakers of the children, the caretakers of the estate, and the children themselves, all of whom have a very different perspective about the goings-on of the war and the murders/missing people.
If you’re after a fast-paced, murder story full of page turning events, this is probably not the book I would recommend. If you’re looking for a book that focuses on personal journeys and self-discovery during WWII with a few mysterious deaths that occur along the way, then this book would be a good choice.
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