What is the importance of literature in the novel, The Agathas?

Literature is presented as a guidebook for life in the novel, just like literature is presented as a guidebook for the structure of the novel itself. The novel is a YA Mystery, but it is heavily influenced by the work of Agatha Christie. The plot contains several tropes and situations that are lifted straight out of one of her novels, such as Coach Donovan’s secret identity: “‘This is becoming more and more like an Agatha Christie novel by the minute! Like, so many of her books have people who use hidden identities to get away with murder.’ I start counting on my fingers. ‘Let’s see, there’s A Murder Is Announced, Murder on the Orient Express, Murder in Mesopotamia...” (295). Here, we see Alice musing about the similarities between the case and all of Agatha Christie’s books. In this, the novel reveals itself to be hyper self-aware of its predecessors.