Eleven episodes examine every aspect of Agatha Christie's famous disappearance, seeking - as far as is possible - to penetrate the blank space in the long and brilliant life, which leaves her ever more emblematic of the genre that she defines: the mystery writer who held her own mystery.

Addressing the questions that have never been answered: why, for instance, a week into the eleven days, did Agatha place an advertisement in the personal columns of The Times? and following the clues that still reside, for instance, within the vast quantities of newsprint from the period, this is a short, stylish book. An examination of a myth; a gleaming sliver of biography; an irresistible puzzle that the reader, too, will feel compelled to try and solve.