Mystery/Suspense

*If you are new here, WELCOME! For The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, I provide your book club with a brief summary, a food ideas, and discussion questions in that order!

If you’re a fan of Agatha Christie, you probably know that in 1926 Mrs. Christie went missing for 11 days. When she surfaced, she claimed to have no memory of what happened during that time and to this day it remains a mystery.

That is until Marie Benedict hypothesized perhaps the most logical reason for Mrs. Christie’s disappearance in her latest novel The Mystery of Mrs. Christie.

While I was skeptical that Benedict could offer a plausible story for Mrs. Christie’s disappearance after all these years, I’m happy to tell you that she does! And she keeps the reader’s attention through the entire story.

Told from Agatha’s and her husband’s (Archie) perspective, the novel explores the time leading up to the disappearance, the missing days, and the reunion.

I love reading books that explore the lives of authors and this was no different. I especially loved learning more about Agatha Christie’s beginnings and it made me want to read more of her works.

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*If you are new here, WELCOME! For Elizabeth is Missing, I provide your book club with a brief summary and discussion questions in that order!

If you haven’t checked out the previous post in the series where I share my thoughts on Elizabeth is Missing and a fun activity idea for your book club, check out that post HERE.

You can also check out the second post in the series where I share several great food ideas for your book club based on the book HERE.

In this post, I’ll review the premise of Elizabeth is Missing and share book club discussion questions that are sure to get your book club talking!

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*If you are new here, WELCOME! For Elizabeth is Missing, I provide your book club with a brief summary, fun activity ideas, and more!

Has someone you loved battled dementia? If so, you are not alone.

Over 5 million Americans alone have Alzheimer’s. It’s a frightening disease. One many of us don’t like to think about.

And, if you’ve been a caregiver to someone with dementia, you know that the role of caregiver is extremely difficult and often frustrating.

Perhaps you read The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks and related to Noah and Allie’s later-in-life story, but have you read any other books where the characters deal with Alzheimer’s or dementia? Other popular dementia books include Still Alice and The Things We Keep. Both good choices, but let’s talk a little about the featured book, Elizabeth is Missing.

Elizabeth is Missing is a novel about a woman, Maud, who suffers from dementia and believes her best friend, Elizabeth, is missing. The novel is structured like a mystery/suspense and Maud’s current thoughts are often garbled with past memories of the brief period when her sister, Sukey, goes missing after WWII.

Told by Maud, an unreliable narrator due to dementia, it’s a fascinating and empathy-cultivating look into what someone with memory loss endures every single day.

And, if you’ve been in the role of caregiver, you’ll also understand and appreciate Maud’s daughter Helen as she tries to navigate the tricky road of keeping Maud safe while Maud investigates the mystery.

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