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    The Christie Curse
    The Christie Curse
    The Christie Curse
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Christie Curse

    Written by Victoria Abbott

    Narrated by Carla Mercer-Meyer

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Jordan Kelly needs a new job and a new place to live. She's back in Harrison Falls, New York, living with her not so law-abiding uncles, in debt thanks to a credit card-stealing ex and pending grad school loans.

    Enter the perfect job, a research position that includes room and board, which will allow her to spend her days hunting down rare mysteries for an avid book collector. There's just one problem: her employer, Vera Van Alst-the most hated citizen of Harrison Falls.

    Jordan's first assignment is to track down a rumored Agatha Christie play. It seems easy enough, but Jordan soon finds out that her predecessor was killed while looking for it, and there is still someone out there willing to murder to keep the play out of Vera's hands. Jordan's new job is good...but is it worth her life?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateApr 15, 2014
    ISBN9781494570996
    The Christie Curse

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    Reviews for The Christie Curse

    3.5/5

    28 ratings21 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The is a delightful start to a new series which is full of interesting characters and classic mystery authors. A better combination is hard to imagine. The mystery is well plotted, the writing has an easy flow, and the setting is just a constant source of entertainment. I recommend this book for anyone who has an appetite for charming mysteries in quirky settings.
    • 4/5
      'The Christie Curse' by Victoria Abbott was an enjoyable cozy. I have never found that cozy mysteries are too difficult to solve quickly. What makes them good, for me anyway, are the characters. Can you get attached to them? Are they interesting? Do they 'work'? An ad brings Jordan to the Van Alst household. She is employed to find a manuscript of an Agatha Christie play, rumored to possibly be for sale. This is the first book in the 'book collector series' and when I think about other 'first in the series' books I have to say that I thought it was better than 'A is for Alibi'. The characters - all of them - were great. I immediately had to go check out the second book to see if Jordan would remain in the employ of Vera. The answer is yes, and I feel the need to stop typing so I can start the second book!
    • 4/5
      Very quirky characters, likeable heroine. Search for an unpublished Christie play leads to death and missing money. Very good surprise ending.
    • 3/5
      The first in the Book Collector Mystery series. It revolves around a missing or possibly nonexistent Agatha Christie play. Well written and a good read for those times when a light mystery is wanted.
    • 4/5
      This is a charming. new series with a spunky heroine and a wonderful cast of supporting characters. Jordan Kelly comes from a family of criminals but has resolved to stick to the legit life. To pay for her education, she takes a job with a strange and reclusive wealthy woman who wants her to find an unknown Agatha Christie play. The twists and turns that follow are worthy of Christie.
    • 4/5
      Because I'd read book three, The Wolfe Widow, first, I was spoiled for some of the suspects and surprises in The Christie Curse. Didn't matter. Instead, I got to quietly chortle while I waited for heroine Jordan Bingham to find out what I already knew.Jordie's last boyfriend turned out to be the kind of scum who has left her broke and in credit card debt. She needs a job if she's to get back to graduate school. The job she's trying get would be working for book collector Vera Van Alst, the most hated woman in their hometown of Harrison Falls, New York.Vera wanted to hire a man, but Jordan talks her into a trial. While part of what Jordan said about her qualifications is true, she knows very little about Agatha Christie. Good thing her best friend, nurse Tiff (Tiffany) is working in Canada at the moment. With no social life, Jordan can devote her nights to learning about the Grand Dame of Mystery.One of the mysteries is if the item Vera wishes to collect even exists. It's another good thing that Jordan is the first member of her family to go straight. Her mother's brothers, especially Micky and Lucky Kelley, have contacts and specialized knowledge they've passed on to their late, cherished sister's only child. Uncles Bill, Connie, Danny, Paddy, and Tiny have lesser roles, ranging from cameos to just being mentioned. They make better bodyguards than the real police do when someone Jordan meets gets attacked.This is a definite cozy with wit, charm, and information about Christie. Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe and Dorothy Sayers get their names dropped, too. Notes:It's in chapter 5 that we learn that Vera Van Alst has 20,000 books (lucky!). There's a comment about the Sayers in her collection that surprises me, depending upon whether the 'she' to whom Jordan is referring is Vera or bookseller Karen Smith.See chapter 12 for why Vera Van Alst is the most hated woman in town.Cat lovers: The Siamese on the cover is no cheat! Why is it that Jordan's lock isn't keeping her quarters cat free? Why is the cat a darling purrball sometimes and an attacker of ankles at other times? Jordan thinks the cat is a psycho.Dog lovers: you'll get to meet Walter the pug, who will muscle the cat off the covers of books two and three.Recipe lovers: You'll find Signora Panetone's Mushroom Risotto, Signora Panetone's Traditional Tuscan Tomato and Bread Salad (Panzanella), and Signora Panetone's Creamy Polenta with Garlic and Cheese at the end of the book.
    • 5/5
      This is a fun book. Being an Agatha Christie fan just makes it more fun. Jordan is hired by a reclusive woman who is trying to find a mysterious, supposedly never seen before, Christie play. Jordan soon finds out that she isn't the first person hired for this job, and she also discovers that the earlier hire was killed. Is it a coincidence or are the two things related? Lots of Christie lore, some great characters and you have a really good book. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. Young woman gets a job as a researcher for a difficult, wealthy, older woman in a wheelchair with an extensive library of valuable books. She hired to find an unpublished Agatha Christie play written during a time in Christie’s life when she had disappeared for 11 days. Jordan soon learns that the previous researcher died under mysterious circumstances. It’s not long before others who are connected are assaulted.
    • 4/5
      Jordan Bingham has a passel of uncles, the Kelly boys, her mother’s brothers. They have not always been on the right side of the law, and have no use for the police, but Jordan has decided to stay on the straight and narrow. She gets a new job with a reclusive woman, Vera VanAlst, who appears to be hated by just about everyone in Harrison Falls, New York. Ms. VanAlst wants Jordan to locate a manuscript of a purported play by Agatha Christie to add to her extensive book collection. The last person Vera hired for the task died in a tragic accident before he finished the job. The first thing Jordan wants to do is to establish just whether or not such a manuscript exists. She’s doing just that when a book dealer with whom she had spoken to is savagely beaten and left for dead. The more Jordan learns, the more she believes there’s something fishy going on … and that one of the fishiest is her boss. The Christie Curse is a lovely cozy with a great heroine, interesting secondary characters, and none of the romance that usually accompanies such mysteries – at least not yet. This is a first in a new series and I look forward to reading more.
    • 2/5
      Jordan Bingham needs a job, and so applies to be a researcher for Vera Van Alst, whom, for some reason, everyone in town hates. I'm guessing it's because her family's shoe factory closed and people lost their jobs, but blaming her seemed pretty ridiculous since she had nothing to do with it. That's no different than if a store shuts down and the employees lose their job they start blaming the ten-year-old daughter who couldn't be culpable no matter what.The second thing is we're given to understand that her uncles are thieves, because they own an "antiques" store. Okay...are there really antiques or 'antiques'? Did they steal everything (which could be spotted by someone and/or traced), did they receive stolen goods? We're never told anything, so it's rather hard to make a judgment of any kind on this.Then, the murder takes place before Jordan gets the job, before the book begins. So we don't know anything except the victim was young (28) and worked as the researcher before Jordan. So why would she want to solve his murder? Shouldn't she just be trying to find an Agatha Christie play, if it exists? In fact, there was very little about Dame Christie at all.Yes, there was conflict, since another person was attacked, but the book never seemed to draw me in, since there was more conversation and less of anything that was interesting. In fact, the best thing about the book was Sal. (I don't know; maybe because I live in Las Vegas, but hey...). Anyway, I just didn't find this book intriguing enough to continue with the series.
    • 5/5
      First Line: If I hadn't been desperate for a job and a new place to live, I might have made a run for it as soon as I got a good look at that sour face.Jordan Kelly is in debt, thanks to school loans and a thieving ex-boyfriend. She needs a place to live, and she needs a job. NOW. When she learns of a position available that provides room and board while she spends her days tracking down rare books for a passionate collector, she can't believe her good fortune. But yes, there's a catch: Jordan will be working for Vera Van Alst-- the most hated person in Harrison Falls, New York. Jordan's first assignment is to track down an Agatha Christie play. Supposedly written in eleven days while the famous author went missing, people aren't even certain that the play exists. The assignment is made even more difficult when Jordan learns that her predecessor met his untimely end while searching for it. This job is good, but with someone out there willing to kill to keep the play out of Vera's hands, Jordan's got to wonder if her new employment is worth losing her life over.This is the first installment of the Book Collector cozy mystery series written by mother-daughter writing team Mary Jane and Victoria Maffini. It didn't take me many pages at all before I knew these two have a winner on their hands. Not only does the reader have the opportunity to learn about books, authors and book collecting, there's also a wonderful cast of characters to get acquainted with, and many, many moments filled with laughter. The sense of humor in this book is absolutely delicious!Jordan Kelly is just the sort of smart yet hapless heroine that readers can fall in love with. Her life is not only complicated by her thieving ex and those student loans, she has uncles who aren't always on the right side of the law. Their unlawful knowledge can come in handy in certain circumstances, but at other times those uncles can make life difficult. Then there's Jordan's new boss, Vera Van Alst, whose five facial expressions include "scowl, glower, sneer, utter boredom, and reverence, although reverence was reserved for books in her collection." Don't stand in this woman's way because Vera would just as soon run over you with her wheelchair than look at you. The vast Van Alst mansion is a bit worse for wear (except for the pristine, state-of-the-art room that houses Vera's book collection), but Jordan loves her rooms-- even though she lives in "a house that's ruled by a bipolar cat that can walk through walls." I have to admit that Jordan and the cat made me laugh. A lot. Simply because it took her so long to figure out what was going on.If you're in the mood to enjoy a good mystery with a cast of characters that will keep a grin plastered on your face, get your hands on The Christie Curse. I'm already impatiently waiting for Book Collector #2 (The Sayers Swindle).
    • 4/5
      The Christie Curse (2013) (Book Coll #1) by Victoria Abbott. This mother/daughter writing duo now have several mysteries out, but this is the first and the only one I have read. I was slightly disappointed in that the book had very little to do with Agatha Christie or the mystery surrounding her disappearance for more than a week. Once I got past that I let myself enjoy what turned out to be a nice mystery that introduced what seem to be a rather large cast on on-going characters.Jordan Bingham has tentatively secured herself a position working for the richest, and most hated, woman in town. Jordan is to continue the search for a rumored play that Miss Christie may have written during her “missing” time. The play would be worth a fortune, enough to kill someone over, which is what happened to the young man who was Jordan’s predecessor.We get introduced to Jordan’s Irish clan of uncles, five or six of them, possibly more in the future, who are on the shady side of the law in their upstate New York town. Miss Van Alst, her new employer, is a picture of the angry spinster, now confined to a wheelchair after a horrible accident. There are a couple of police officers added in to either act as angel or demon to Jordan, but which is which is left to the reader for most of the book. A small crop of temporary participants fill out the cast, adding interest and insight, and a body or two to be attacked, to give the story more oomph.But the real treat is Jordan herself. Smart, funny, inventive and fearless/reckless enough to get into major trouble and almost always to get herself back out. Think Stephanie Plum but with more reliance on the brains it took to get her degree and less on her cuteness to get help from the men who throw themselves at her. And in this book the men don’t yet act like puppy dogs vying for a piece of meat.This is a good start to what might be a great series. It is a bit of a shame that the plot veered away from Christie so quickly leaving us with a sort of standard “cute girl” detective story like so many cozy mysteries. Standard, but well written.
    • 3/5
      Jordan Bingham was reared by her uncles who are not completely on the up and up when it comes to law and order. She returns to her hometown of Harrison Falls, New York, taking a job with Vera VanAlst who wishes her to locate and purchase a previously unknown play by Agatha Christie which may or may not exist. The previous person in the job met his death under suspicious circumstances, and Jordan grows increasingly convinced he was murdered. When an attempt is made on another person's life, she is convinced of it. The biggest weakness of this book involves the interaction of Jordan with the police. It's too "fake." I'm not sure I'll continue reading or listening to the series. I listened to this one which was narrated by Carla Mercer-Meyer. She did an acceptable job.
    • 5/5
      The Christie Curse is the first book in the A Book Collector Mystery series by Victoria Abbott(Victoria and Mary Jane Maffini.

      Jordan Bingham would love to have a job and move out on her own. She loves her uncles and they would do, anything for niece. Still it would be nice to be out doing for herself for once. So with her recent Masters in English and a love for the classics she applies for the position of researcher. Soon Jordan finds out that the eccentric recluse, Vera Van Alst, research is to center around a reported play written by Agatha Christie about her disappearance in 1926. Jordan will be replacing Alex Fine who met with an untimely death by being pushed in front of a New York City subway, supposedly in search of the missing play. Jordan finds it strange that she cannot find any notes of work that Alex had already done.

      One of the first things Jordan does is attend a book fair and tries to get some information on the existence of the manuscript. Jordan soon hears from Karen Smith, one of the booksellers, asking Jordan to meet her back at the fair. Upon arriving back Jordan finds Karen severely beaten and left to die. Jordan returns to the book fair the next day to find the out the young lady who runs the concession stand across from the site where the beating took place has also been attacked. Then when she finds out that the first policeman on the scene at both incidents was the same one that keeps shadowing here, she to really get concerned and moves into the search for the killer mode.

      It's time to get the help of her not so law abiding uncles. Not that they are bad criminals, but are well known around the police station. With the help of some of their don't ask friends, they are able to help. Plus they have an assortment of vehicles to help Jordan move around unnoticed.

      Her Uncle Mick and Lucky are real characters and great addition to the book. Mick owns Michael's Fine Antiques, but more than likely there is more dealing in antiques than in the buying and selling of same. They are true gourmets and Jordan enjoys stopping by for Franks and beans or maybe some macaroni and cheese. There might even be a possible romantic interest in the form of Lance, Jordan's go to librarian.

      I really enjoyed this beginning of a new series and look forward seeing what delicious meals Signora Panetone will be cooking and I wonder what the next rare book Van Alst will have Jordan to search for.
    • 3/5
      Jordan Bingham has been dumped by her boyfriend who left her with a bundle of debt so she needs to find a job when she returns to her hometown. With her qualifications she's perfect for the job Vera Van Alst has advertised but Miss Vera wanted a man. Jordan convinces her to be given a trial period. Miss Vera wants to find and purchase a "lost" play by Agatha Christie. As Jordan starts her research, she discovers that there are dangers lurking. When one of her contacts is severely beaten, left for dead, she realizes that the search may turn deadly.The characters are so much fun from crabby old Miss Vera to Fiammetta the cook to Sal the area Godfather - can't wait to revisit Harrison Falls!
    • 5/5
      I love cozy mysteries, especially if books, libraries, cats or food is involved. So this first in the series was wonderfully fun for me. I couldn't wait to read the next titles in the series and I wasn't disappointed with them. Jordan Bingham's life is so far outside my personal experience but I felt like the author was able to describe the character's feelings and responses so that I could understand why she did things the way she did. And why she put up with her unique employer, Vera Can Alst. The twists and turns kept pulling me into the story and I hated to see the story end. Which is why I quickly read through the next few titles in the series that were already available and waited a bit impatiently for the last ones to be published. I enjoy books that take me out of myself for a few hours and lets me live in an alternate reality. This one did it for me.
    • 4/5
      This was a fun entry to a cozy mystery series. I continue to come across cozies that feature librarians, curators, researchers and whatnot so when I read that this one was about a look in at the apparently deadly world of book collecting, I was in.

      The mystery of the validity of the existence of a play Agatha Christie penned during her eleven days "missing" drew me right in. With her predecessor having been killed and Cozy Corpse book shop owner, Karen Smith bludgeoned and left for dead, Jordan has no choice but to investigate because it seems anyone on the trail of this manuscript is a target and she could be next.

      While I sort of found all the uncles charming for helping out Jordan, I must admit that I don't tend to find larceny charming so that was a little bit of a detraction. The story still had quite a lot to recommend it. Vera Van Alst was a dour piece of work but I'm thinking she'll be less prickly in the future. Her single-mindedness at obtaining works for her collection was obsessive in the extreme especially when the bodies start to pile up. I'm hoping further in the series, Tiffy can get time away from her job in Alberta to visit or maybe Jordan can take a trip north. Their BFF dynamic was well done. I feel like there's a love triangle setting up between Jordan, librarian Lance and Officer Dekker. I like both guys as presented but I'm a chronic hater of the lurve triangle so... we'll see.

      In all things to the good, I was pretty sure about who was doing the killing but really only because it was the one person, Jordan never checked on or suspected. The second player in the plan was one I'd suspected but didn't think I was correct after a series of events. When all was revealed, the ties were plausible and I thought well done. This was quite the page turner and to my surprise ended with a trio of recipes from Signora Fiametta Panetone, Vera's very attendant cook. Seriously, I loved every recount of what the signora served and her insistence that her charges eat. The woman was relentless in a completely endearing way. I enjoyed the read, now I want to make the food.

      There's good humor weaved throughout and some memorable quotes. Three of my favorites:

      "I thought I appreciated books, but this was an alter to the book gods. It was hard not to be impressed. I didn't know what had the most impact: the rosewood shelving, the rolling library ladders, the mezzanine floor with the ornate spiral wrought-iron staircases at each end, the carved moldings, the scent of well-loved books, or the silky Aubusson rugs in a soft faded palette of rose, sage and aqua."- pg. 20

      "I felt I was sitting in the midst of some surreal movie. Postwar Italian perhpas, only with more food and less sex."- pg 54

      "I didn't have the best night's sleep. It was full of limping strangers, cats with keys, postmen wearing fright wigs and Miss Jane Marple hanging upside down like a bat."- pg 147

      I'm definitely continuing with this series and look forward to the next.
    • 4/5
      This book was a 5 star read until about 2/3 of the way through. I remember just about everything I read, so take this next bit with a grain of salt if you don't agree. About 2/3 of the way through the book, Jordan starts on the introspection, internal dialogue and "let's make a list of the suspects" that goes on for a bit and my attention was lost. I understand that these are devices for keeping the reader in the story by summarising what's taken place so far, a "refresher", if you will, but since it's all still clear in my head, use of these devices allows my attention to wander, I get bored, and I tend to put the book down and walk away. Or I skim through all the "boring bits".

      Up until that point, and once I got past it, however, this book is excellent! A first person POV that's a narration - you're not really inside Jordan's head, because you don't have to suffer through her angst, or her deepest emotions. The Christie Curse reminded me of Christie's or Sayer's writing style and I enjoyed it immensely. This book is more about the mystery than it is about the characters. For 80% of the book, the action was fast paced and well-written. The plot itself was really, really well crafted - The murderer was never even on my radar and the twist at the end was really clever.

      Overall, this book is a fantastic introduction to a new series that left me wanting more. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series.
    • 3/5
      A new fun series. Great characters and great atmosphere. Will read more.
    • 4/5
      I don't usually care for cozies but I really enjoyed this one. It features Jordan Kelly...a book researcher and the only one in her family without a criminal background. We meet...but don't love or admire in any way...Vera Van Alst. Vera is known to be rude and overbearing. Perhaps she has reason as an automobile accident has confined her to a wheelchair...or it could be that she is just rude, overbearing and obnoxious. The real ruler of the house is the cat...also not always lovable...but hey...it's a cat. All of the characters are well drawn and colorful. It was just plain entertaining and fun. A great start to this series and I will look for more.
    • 3/5
      I brought this book because of the link to Agatha Christie and while this new series shows promise, it was more like a fat-free potato chip than a Ruffles with sour cream dip. That is to say, I enjoyed it to a degree, but I'm not dying to have more! Many of the characters seemed one-dimensional and even though everything was tied up neatly in the end - I can't say that I found the conclusion satisfying. The relationships between the characters also didn't add up a lot of the time. Several times I found myself thinking that this just wasn't the way normal people would interact. I did enjoy the main character, although her behavior was sometimes confusing. And even though at first I wasn't sure about the whole backstory of her uncles' criminal tendencies, I found that I quite enjoyed learning more about her upbringing by them and their individual personalities. The author managed to convey the warmth and love they felt for their niece, as well as her appreciation and love for them. The uncles also managed to bring some much needed humor to the story. If you are a fan of Christie and are looking for a cozy tie-in, I can't recommend this book. The main character seems to know less than nothing about Christie, so much of the book is devoted to her research of the author. Seasoned Christie fans will learn nothing new. I can't help but think of the recent book, "The Sherlockian." Definitely not a cozy, but a true mystery, it is a book that will have you eagerly searching out all the secondary resources listed at the end, dying to learn more. I realize that my expectations of this cozy were much higher than usual, and this is because of the author's choice to invoke one of our greatest mystery writers. I imagine that many readers like myself picked up this book because of the Christie tie-in. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I purchased this book because it was recommended to me by Amazon based on my purchase history. All this is to say, if you choose to write a mystery based upon a play purportedly written by the most successful mystery writer of all time (in terms of sales, if nothing else), then your story had better be pretty darned good. This book wasn't. That's not to say it was all bad. If this is the work of a first time author, it definitely shows promise. However, Abbott is no Christie!