Available as Hardback
10 September 2026
A moving memoir and thrilling journey about the mystery at the heart of the Queen of Crime’s life, from bestselling Cathy Rentzenbrink
‘Joyous’ MATT HAIG
‘I want to press it into the hands of everyone I love’ DAISY BUCHANAN
‘Beautiful, moving, surprising’ PHILIPPA PERRY
‘Hugely readable’ OLIVER BURKEMAN
‘A gorgeous, immersive read’ SAMANTHA ELLIS
One Christmas, Cathy Rentzenbrink finds herself drained by life’s upheavals. In need of comfort and escape, she turns to her first literary love: Agatha Christie.
As Cathy delves into Agatha’s novels and her mysterious disappearance in 1926, she discovers more than she expected. Beyond the hidden jewels, detectives and thrilling escapes on trains and automobiles, Cathy unearths an adventurer and innovator who hid – within the pages of her own books – the secrets of how she survived a personal crisis and started life again. With the Queen of Crime at her side, Cathy soon begins finding answers to questions she hadn’t even realised she was asking.
A literary detective story and a memoir of finding hope in reading, this journey into the heart of the most successful writer of the 20th century is the perfect tonic for anyone in search of life-affirming resilience, and proof that if ever you’re lonely, tired and in need of solace, getting in the bath with an Agatha Christie is always an excellent idea.
“Agatha turns out to be the ultimate life coach in this joyous amalgam of a read. An easy book to befriend”
Matt Haig
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“Beautiful, warm and clever. I want to press it into the hands of everyone I love”
Daisy Buchanan
“One of those books that felt like an old friend, from the very first page. So honest, and funny and somehow … kind. It made me want to read a little Christie, it made me want to read all of Rentzenbrink. I’ll return to it again and again”
Meg Mason
“Beautiful, moving, surprising. Feels like an intimate friend; the sort of book you want to reread because it is such good company”
Philippa Perry
“A hugely readable and illuminating memoir that’s ultimately about something we could all benefit from, these days: the power of the imagination to help us navigate tumultuous times”
Oliver Burkeman
Cathy Rentzenbrink
Cathy Rentzenbrink is the Sunday Times top ten bestselling author of The Last Act of Love, Dear Reader, How to Feel Better, Everyone Is Still Alive and Ordinary Time. She is a renowned book reviewer and literary festival panellist and host. Prior to writing her own books, Cathy was a passionate bookseller at Waterstones, working in seven different branches before becoming Publisher Relations Manager for the group. After that she became Project Director at literacy charity Quick Reads, then Books Editor at the Bookseller. She runs the Curtis Brown memoir-writing course and the highly popular online ‘Sunday Sessions’.
@CatRentzenbrink | cathyreadsbooks.com