Tory is a book conservator at the Mystery Guild Library in Manhattan who has become a recluse due to a past trauma. She discovers a woman in the library’s Christie Room (a recreation of Christie's real library in England), who introduces herself as the Grand Dame of Mysteries, requests a cocktail, and announces she’s there to help solve a murder! Christie says that she’s bored in the hereafter and needs the excitement of a good mystery to liven things up. Luckily for Christie, she has arrived at the perfect time. Tory’s cousin Nic, an aspiring actress, witnesses her agent, Howard Calhoun, pushed in front of an oncoming subway train. After another murder and a few attempted murders, Tory realizes that Howard’s death was no accident, and assembles her own sleuthing squad to help crack the case. Besides the Mrs. So-Called Christie, Tory has a few other quirky, less than perfect characters helping her, including a hunky NYPD detective, a librarian, and an 11 year-old computer wiz.
Being a tremendous Agatha Christie fan, I knew that this was a must read by just seeing the title! I admit that I had a little trepidation selecting this book to read as I’m not predisposed towards books that deal with the supernatural. I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about the potential ghost of Agatha Christie. After finishing this book, I have to admit that I found it heart-warming and endearing. The author has included plenty of goodies for Christie fans including clever uses of poison, locked door murders, red herrings, and quotes from Christie’s books. I hope that Christie’s ghost reappears to solve some more murders.
Reviewed by Christina Crocker
August 26, 2025
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