Customer Reviews

Murder In Mesopotamia: A Hercule Poirot Mystery

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Oftentimes, in Agatha Christie's novels, the crimes are always based from something that has happened a long time ago, i.e. 'past sins cast long shadows'. And more often than not, money has always been the central cause of the murders. In this novel, Christie only obeys the first statement. Even the motif is rather outlandish and cruel.

The setting is somewhere in the digs of outer Baghdad (obviously she drew these from her experiences with her second husband Max Mallowan, who was an archaeologist) in a quarters for archaeologists. Due to her unstable mental conditions (seeing faces at her window where no one could have stood and peered in), Dr Eric Lidner looks for a companion-nurse for his wife, Louise. He found Amy Leatheran who became Louise's confidante and one day she tells Amy that someone was after her, probably her first husband whom she thought had died. After that outburst Louise refused to talk about it anymore until one day when his husband found Louise's dead body in a locked room, in front of the whole achaeology team. Nurse Leatheran later finds herself as a suspect when Poirot arrives, but later became his sidekick.

Plot-wise, this is one of Agatha Christie's best. The stroyline is also richly layered, with various people who have different crimes of their own which unwittingly made them suspects. This is a wonderful read, as it was with the rest of the Queen's stories.

since his trip to the Middle East seems to keep him working.

This 1935 novel is set in Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) at an archeological dig, a setting that Christie came to know quite well after her marriage to an archeologist. A nurse, Amy Leatheran, has been engaged to care for the wife of the leader of an archeological expedition. She was told that the woman was suffering from 'nerves' only and that there was no real problem. Unfortunately for the patient her concerns turned out to be not imaginary after all, she was murdered. Hercule Poirot who was traveling through the area was brought into the case and of course solved the mystery.

MURDER IN MESPOTAMIA is part of a series of book that covers Poirot's Middle Eastern 'holiday' (APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH and MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS also chronicle this trip). It is unusual in that the story is narrated by Amy Leatheran who also acts as Poirot's assistant when he enters the story about 1/3 of the way through the story.

Although this is fairly laid out, as all of Christie's works, and has an intriguing and clever plot I found it difficult to really get into this one. Many of the characters were rather one dimensional and not very interesting. Still one of Christie's lesser works is still better than most other writer's best efforts.

Agatha Christie is my favorite author of all time (and I'm only 14 years old), and this book is one of my favorites of hers.

Nurse Amy Leatheran is hired by American archaeologist Dr. Eric Leidner, on an expedition in Mesopotamia, to look after his anxious wife, Louise. One day Louise confesses to Nurse Leatheran that she has been receiving threatening letters warning her away from romantic relations with other men, purported to be from her first husband, now supposed to be dead. The next day she is found bludgeoned in her bedroom. According to the natives, no stranger entered the courtyard, so the killer must be one of the expedition staff. Who sent the letters (and possibly killed her)? Her first husband? His younger brother? Her current husband, Dr. Leidner? Another archaeologist on the team? Dr. Leidner's assistant? Or even Nurse Leatheran? Luckily for the local police, Hercule Poirot is on his way to Baghdad and just might stop in...

The motive and the M.O. were simple, compared to some of Christie's later novels, and it was, as I said above, wonderfully planned. A murder carried out while giving the murderer an alibi at the same time...

The influence of Christie's travels with her archaeologist husband, Sir Max Mallowan, is prominently displayed here. (I liked the television movie adaptation with David Suchet, but that's just me - I love the whole series. Hastings was included, and the scenery and music were wonderful.)

All in all, an excellent read by one of the greatest authors of all time (and a decent TV movie, if you'd like to check it out.) :-)

Christie sets this engaging mystery at an archaeological dig. Narrator Amy Leatheran, a nurse sent to care for Louise Leidner, doesn't believe her charge's tales of being in danger -at least, not until Louise is found dead. Who killed her? Her late ex-husband, who may not be dead after all? His brother? Another archaeologist who was in love with her? Once Poirot begins to investigate, most of those present on the dig turn out to have motives, or possible motives.

Hercule Poirot solves the mystery, which is well-done, but the interplay between the characters is equally engaging. Christie was fabulous at seeing, and describing, the social interactions between people. One of my favorite Christies and highly recommended.

I read this book for the first time yesterday, and it immediately became one of my favorites. It takes place on a dig somewhere outside of Bagdad. It is told my Amy Leatheran, a nurse who is asked to be a companion to one of the people at the site. The tone and manner of this narrator makes for a fun read. I also liked the perceptions of a young, independent woman, as we don't normally see that in Christie's works. We see Hercule Poirot as a more minor character, which is interesting to me.

Murder in Mesopotamia may not be as famous as some of Agatha Christie's other works but it is an excellent book none the less. Featuring Hercule Poirot, the story is set in Mesopotamia (i.e. Iraq) at an archaeological dig. Christie's husband, Max Mallowan, was a noted British archaeologist and she spent a great deal of time with him in Iraq. Her familiarity with and affection for her subject matter is clear and infuses the story. The book itself is classic Christie- well-plotted, crisp dialogue, great characters, lots of red herrings and a satisfying conclusion which, as usual, left me stumped. Great fun to read. Highly recommended.

Murder among the pottery with the incomparable Hercule Poirot, who just happens to be in the area, solving the murder with impeccable logic. Colorful characters (including the return of a dead husband)and a good story line make this a one sitting read.

Murder in Mesopotamia is one of the better mysteries written by Agatha Christie. There are many suspects, including Dr. Lidner, Nurse Leatherman, Miss Johnson, Mr. Coleman, Mr. Richard Carey, Mr. Mercado, Mrs. Mercado, Miss Matilan and Super Intendent Matilan.

This story revolves around Louise Lidner, who is killed. This mystery is interesting because it is not what it seems. As Hercule Poirot states, "It is so straight forward." You really get to know every character. One of them whom you grow attatched to and was mentioned above, is murdered. Definitely read "Murder in Mesopotamia."

The people who decry this book as not being as good as some of her others are misplaced in their views. This is definitely another of her masterpieces. Her best Poirot books are those set in this kind of territory (I.e. Murder On the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, Appointment with Death, Murder, and this one.) because the setting really enhances the plot.

The way this book is narrated is rather different from some of the other books. Told from the perspective of the nurse who looked after the victim before she died, it is very engaging and the prose brings a very human element to the book, and the feelings and emotions of being caught up in a murder, in which everyone becomes a suspect. It works very well.

There are some great characters in this one. Some eccentric, some you grow to love, some you are indifferent to. None that you actively dislike. All intriguing.

The way the story unfolds is materful, and the methods for murder are, when finally revealed, ingenius. You would enver think of it in a million years, even thought it really is staring you in the face. Also, this books holds the top place in the "most vile deaths in an Agatha Christie novel" category. Anne Johnson's instrument of demise is, to be blunt, quite horrible. I felt sick at the thought of it. (And the way it was depicted in a recent television adaptation in the UK was quite vile. But powerful, and packs a great punch.)

An incredibly strong, yet simple, plot, is what makes this book stand out amongst her others. It has power, and is emotional and intense. The method of murder is quite brilliant. The solution, whilst not packing a great surprise as some of her more unlikely novels do, nonetheless rings true. (It would be incredibly hard to have made the identity of the killer a real surprise...all the characters seemed to be viable suspects, and wouldn't pack a great surprise if it was revealed to be them.)

This stands among "Towards Zero" "Murder is Easy" "Appointment With Death" "Death on the Nile" "Death Comes as the end" "And Then there Were None" and "Murder on the Orient Express" as one of her very very best books.

Although I enjoyed the setting of Murder in Mesopotamia (an archaeological dig), I found this book to be rather hackneyed and commonplace, definitely not up to Agatha Christie's standards. Somehow the characters seemed to be 2 dimensional...the only character who interested me was the young man who reminded the narrator of a Wodehouse character. In fact, after reading this book, I sallied forth to the library and checked out a book by P.G. Wodehouse, just so I could see what Ms. Christie was talking about. I highly recommend the works of Mr. Wodehouse, but not Murder in Mesopotamia. While I admit that the identity of the killer surprised me, by the time the murderer was unmasked, I was indifferent to the whole case. If you want to read a great Agatha Christie, read Death Comes as the End or And Then There Were None or Hallowe'en Party....they're all much better than Murder in Mesopotamia.