Agatha Christie: the queen of mystery. She wrote dozens of mystery novels beloved by millions – but the author herself also had an intriguing, adventurous life. In Agatha: The Real Life of Agatha Christie authors Anne Martinetti, Guillaume Lebeau, and Alexander Franc have collaborated to present an exciting biography in the format of an engaging graphic novel. The book opens by dropping you into a (still-unsolved) mystery: for eleven days in 1926, Agatha disappeared, leading to investigations, claims of publicity-seeking, physical and even psychic searches. Eventually Agatha turned up, but never explained her disappearance.

 “But who should be poisoned? By whom? When? How? Why? There are so many questions I don’t have answers for yet.”

From there, the book flashes back to Agatha’s early life, then follows her through two marriages, the birth of her daughter, and the writing of many many novels and plays. All this is kept lively with the addition, in this comic, of the apparently inescapable Hercule Poirot, one of Christie’s most beloved and infuriating characters. He continues to pop up throughout Christie’s life, acting as a psychic foil for her many adventures.– he is as real and fully present as any of the other players in Christie’s life, for good and ill!

The drawings are colorful and entertaining, and the narrative covers all the important episodes in Christie’s life with drama and flair, and an eye to the humorous as well. Readers will leave with a feeling of familiarity with this literary giant, and an renewed appreciation for her work which will make them love her mysteries more than ever.

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