352 pages
Biographies and Memoirs
Pub date: 06 October 2026
Four stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟
My thoughts:
I had heard of this author but had never read anything by her. However, I was drawn to this title because of my fondness for the novels of Agatha Christie.
In these pages, readers learn a great deal about Christie, the person, and about her many novels. At the same time, readers learn what led the author to this project and are given insight into her life, thoughts and those around her.
Rentzenbrink found comfort in reading the books and approaching them in order. She also enjoyed the order of the worlds described in Christie’s works, the vivid sense of past times and their connection to her present, and the sense of resolutions in which the world is put to rights.
Those who have enjoyed novels by this author and those who love the works of Agatha Christie will find this book to be interesting and engaging. They will hope that Christie does indeed bring the author the cure that she sought.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for this title. All opinions are my own.
Description:
from the publisher
A good mystery isn’t just entertainment; it’s a tonic for life’s hardships
Like so many of us living through the upheaval of the last five years, journalist and Sunday Times bestselling writer Cathy Rentzenbrink found that to keep her spirits up, she needed a project to throw herself into—something to keep her from the daily assault that is the always-on nature of modern life. When she found herself drawn to revisiting the work of Agatha Christie, she knew she had found her subject.
The literary legend of Agatha Christie extends beyond the quality of her books, the popularity of her characters, and the wide range of adaptations that her work has inspired. As Cathy devoured anew the powerful, clever, relevant stories of Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, she began to see parallels not just between the books’ lessons and the times we were living through but between the comfort and purpose Christie’s writing gave her during similarly tumultuous times and the balm of her books for readers today.
The more she read, the more Cathy admired Agatha Christie and the more the she became convinced that the enduring and sustaining appeal of her work was a kind of skeleton key to unlock better ways to heal and to cope with adversity, no matter what topsy-turvy period of history we’re living through. For aficionados and newbies alike, this charming, endearing book about books reminds us that stories can feed our souls.
From the author’s website:
Cathy Rentzenbrink first fell in love with the books of Agatha Christie at the age of nine, when her grandmother introduced her to them and paid her 10p for every Agatha mystery she finished. An avid reader ever since, Cathy went on to work as a bookseller at Waterstones and as the Books Editor at The Bookseller, before becoming the Sunday Times top ten bestselling author of The Last Act of Love and many other titles. When she was facing the end of her marriage around her 50th birthday, Cathy sought relief in Agatha’s books once more, and found them giving her the emotional glue she needed. She remains a staunch fan of any mug with an Agatha Christie quote on it.
Joyce's mystery and fiction book reviews with some non-fiction too! 