Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library
(Mrs. Christie Series)
by Amanda Chapman
About Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library
Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library (Mrs. Christie Series)
Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Greenwich Village in New York City (primarily near Washington Square)
Publisher : Berkley
Publication date : August 26, 2025
Print length : 368 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593818814
ISBN-13 : 978-0593818817
Digital ISBN-13 : 978-0593818831
ASIN : B0DP3R1Q9G
Audiobook ASIN B0DPJK5BPS
Book conservator Tory Van Dyne and a woman claiming to be Agatha Christie on holiday from the Great Beyond join forces to catch a killer in this spirited mystery from Amanda Chapman.
Tory Van Dyne is the most down-to-earth member of a decidedly eccentric old-money New York family. For one thing, as book conservator at Manhattan’s Mystery Guild Library, she actually has a job. Plus, she’s left up-town society behind for a quiet life downtown. So she’s not thrilled when she discovers a woman in the library’s Christie Room who calmly introduces herself as Agatha Christie, politely requests a cocktail, and announces she’s there to help solve a murder— that has not yet happened.
But as soon as Tory determines that this is just a fairly nutty Christie fangirl, her socialite/actress cousin Nicola gets caught up in the suspicious death of her less-than-lovable talent agent. Nic, as always, looks to Tory for help. Tory, in turn, looks to Mrs. Christie. The woman, whoever or whatever she is, clearly knows her stuff when it comes to crime.
Aided by an unlikely band of fellow sleuths —including a snarky librarian, an eleven-year-old computer whiz, and an NYPD detective with terrible taste in suits—Tory and the woman claiming to be her very much deceased literary idol begin to unravel the twists and turns of a murderer’s devious mind. Because, in the immortal words of Miss Jane Marple, “murder is never simple.”
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Tory Van Dyne is a book conservator at Manhattan’s Mystery Guild Library, who, thanks to her old-money New York family, lives in an apartment above the library and its wonderful Christie Room. A room that is not only an architectural replica of Christie’s Greenway library, including reproductions of the “wonderfully eclectic furnishings,” but filled with copies of over 4000 volumes that also fill the Greenway shelves. It is there that Tory finds a woman who claims to be Agatha Christie herself. She asks for a cocktail, and then explains she is there to solve a murder. A murder that has no victim or suspects because it hasn’t happened – yet!
Not sure how to handle her guest, Tory sets out to appease the woman, and then her cousin Nicola, an actress, finds herself embroiled in the investigation of the untimely death of her agent, Howard Calhoun. Mrs. Christie is delighted to help Nicola and Tory uncover the truth. Soon, the three are joined by the Guild’s head librarian, Adrian Gooding, Mairead Butler, a tech-savvy 11-year-old with a cute little Yorkie named Tony (yes, just like Agatha had), and a handsome NYPD detective who needs to find a good tailor, Sebastian Mendez-Cruz, all eager to help solve the case before the body count rises.
The first thing I noticed about this book is that the author, Amanda Chapman, has to be a huge Agatha Christie fan who put in the time to do a lot of research to bring her vision of “What if someone recreated Agatha Christie’s personal library” in New York City and explored the interesting things that could happen there. She hit it out of the park!
Seriously, Agatha, also known as Mrs. Mallowan, on a little vacay just shows up, how would you react? I would be just like Tory and “tread carefully”. Tory hits all the right notes: cautious, friendly, confused, gentle. The woman’s hand was warm; she was drinking cocktails, and she knew all the history. I loved it. The supporting cast is crazy, but it works. An 11-year-old fits right in. The good detective is taken in by Mrs. Mallowan’s charm, knowledge, and the way she works through a set of clues. Librarian Adrian, like Tory, has a lot of questions about the woman, but it also taken in by her and what she offers to the group. All the characters are curious, making them engaging and compelling. I also found the Van Dyne family to be very eccentric and set in their ways. Those weekly mandatory dinners were trying at best, painful at worst.
I loved the setting of the four-story Greek revival townhouse by the park with its library and special rooms: The Agatha Christie Room, the Dashiell Hammett Room, the Edgar Award Winners Room, and the Golden Age Room, on the first two floors, and Tory’s apartment filling the upper two floors. The author’s descriptive details brought the building to life, especially The Christie Room. I felt like I was dropped into an armchair right next to the bar cart with a special classic cocktail in my hand. I could even smell the old books.
There are many moving parts to this mystery, which involves Nicola, two of her friends, and people in their show business world. It was complicated by moving timelines, twisty motives, and unpredictable turns. I enjoyed how they met often in the Christie room to compare notes. Mrs. Christie’s unique mindset, memories, and ability to see things from many different angles helped to move the case forward. Everyone had things to contribute and theories to work through. Mairead flipped open her laptop to take notes and research items on the fly, but had some great ideas, too. I had so much fun just following along with it all that my personal quest to solve the mystery was left at the wayside. I escaped deep into this one and was totally entertained.
The quotes at the start of each chapter were a nice touch.
“I admit,” I said, “that a second murder often cheers things up.” ~Arthur Hastings, The ABC Murders
Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library has set this series off to a fantastic start. Ms. Chapman put in the time and energy to give her readers a contemporary mystery with a classic feel, and is a wonderful tribute to the Queen of Crime. She hits the tone perfectly, adds touches of humor and romance while weaving in Christie history in all the right places. I stayed up late reading this one. I am beyond excited to see where she takes this series. I am adding Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library to my Best Reads of 2025. A must-read for mystery lovers and fans of Dame Agatha.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
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About Amanda Chapman
Amanda Chapman (aka Amy Pershing) is a lifelong mystery lover and wordsmith. Under the name Amy Pershing, she is also the author of the Cape Cod Foodie mysteries. An enthusiastic fan of traditional mysteries and of New York City, she found herself wondering, “What if someone recreated Agatha Christie’s personal library -– even to the furnishings and architecture — in New York City? What would happen in that space?” And thus MRS. CHRISTIE AT THE MYSTERY GUILD LIBRARY — the first in a new series — was born.
Author Links
Website www.amandachapmanauthor.com
Follow Amanda Chapman on Facebook
Follow Amanda Chapman on Instagram
Follow Amanda Chapman on Goodreads
Purchase Links
PenguinRandomHouse – Amazon – B&N – Bookshop.org – Kobo
Written as Amy Pershing
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.” I am also an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.” These funds are often used for gift cards and other giveaways.
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Book looks like a good read would really like to read a print book so I could review