Death in a Desert Land: A Novel (Agatha Christie Book 3)

A sub-genre of mystery novels are what I call “name-dropper” mysteries: historical mysteries in which the detective, and/or other characters in the story, are real historical figures. Done well, they can be a delight, giving a reader the feeling of really being able to spend time with these interesting people as well as providing a gripping murder-puzzle to solve. Authors who do not do them well either don’t expend the effort to develop the historical figures as characters, assuming that putting in the names is enough and the readers will fill in the rest, or they fail to give the characters an interesting case to solve. Wilson’s book, the second in a series featuring famed mystery writer Agatha Christie as the detective, shows neither of these failings.The book begins by referring to another fascinating real woman, Gertrude Bell (1868-1926), whose extensive travels in and knowledge of the Middle East let her play an important part in British diplomacy there during the World War I era. Davison, the intelligence author whom Christie assisted in the first book, has found evidence that Bell’s death might have been murder rather than either accident or suicide, as had been previously supposed, and that the death may be linked to famous archaeologist Leonard Woolley, who is excavating the ancient city of Ur along with his wife, Katharine, and other helpers. He suggests that Christie, who has an archaeological background of her own, visit the Woolleys at the Ur site to investigate the link, and she does so. The Woolleys, too, are historical characters.My only complaint about the book is that the Gertrude Bell angle, which was part of what drew me to the novel, seemed something of a bait-and-switch: references to it disappear for long stretches as Christie becomes involved with a more current murder, that of a young American woman visiting the Ur dig with her family. Wilson more than makes up for that, however, with his development of the characters (real and fictional) at the dig and their complex relationships. The mercurial and enigmatic Katharine—is she killer or potential victim?—is particularly vivid. Wilson also does an excellent job of making Christie feel like a real person, bringing in bits of her past history that shape her emotional reactions to the people and events at the dig. The desert landscape is rendered beautifully, too. The denouement does a fine job of blending fiction and fact, with one of its most startling aspects being actually based on historical record (or at least contemporary speculation), as Wilson explains in an afterword. I recommend this book to any fan of this kind of historical mystery, as well as to fans of Christie’s writings, and I will look forward to reading other books in this series.

The combination of Agatha Christie, archaeology, ancient civilizations, and the Middle East is irresistable to me, so my perspective on this book may be skewed. But Death in a Desert Land was the perfect summer-afternoon read on my front terrace, and I recommend it for the following reasons.First, Wilson gets the tone right; I felt as if I were reading a Christie novel. He also gets the desert right; I'll be back again in the MIddle East this fall and can't wait to be surrounded by sand, climbing in and out of archaeological sites. Next, the book reminds me of the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters; I miss that (late) author a lot, and the dig superintendent in Death in a Desert Land could be a twin to the super in the Peabody mysteries.My one complaint is that I suspected the villian at the 30-percent mark. But the read is pleasant and engaging enough to overlook that. I'll be buying the next book in this series.Recommended.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Andrew Wilson’s mystery series with Dame Agatha Christie as heroine/sleuth! This third book does not disappoint. He has clearly done his research about our favorite classic mystery author and deftly sprinkles in those details throughout the novels. After some disappointing TV films speculating about Agatha’s infamous disappearance, his take on that real-life mystery in Book 1 was a refreshing treat. It hooked me on the series, and I’m eagerly waiting for Book 4. If you love Agatha Christie like I do, then this series will make you smile and love the Queen of Crime even more. It will also fill the void when you’ve run out of novels, short stories, and plays written by Christie herself. Enjoy!

I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it.

Wonderful book. Combined murder with archeology. I couldn't put it down.

Agatha Christie travels to the ancient city of Ur in “Death in a Desert Land,” latest in Andrew Wilson’s fictional accounting of her exploits as a “secret operative” and all-around detective.The dead individual is known from the very page -- Gertrude Bell. Who is not a fictional character, but was indeed a real historical personage, famous for her archeological exploits and influence on British Middle East policy in the early 20th century. Is this an anti-climactic let down, then? Well, we know who, but not why. We know how quite quickly. (There is indeed a mystery behind Gertrude Bell’s death, which is explained in the extensive Author’s Note at the end of the book which gives more information about the real historical figures that appear in this book. Don’t read it too early!)Letters are found from Miss Bell, in which she writes she is afraid for her life. Well, how can a famous mystery writer overlook something like this? She can’t and neither could Andrew Wilson, and so off Mrs. Christie goes, first to Baghdad. Here, she meets the photographer for the dug – was this a chance meeting? Mr. Harry Miller – what is his story? Can he be trusted? Probably not. This is a mystery book, after all.Possibly involved in the case is Katharine Woolley, wife of Leonard Woolley, the archeologist in charge of the dug at Ur. Mrs. Woolley did not like Gertrude Bell, not many people did, apparently. She was too brash, too opinionated, and looked down her nose at too many people. Not very feminine, either. There’s also a mystery behind the death of Katharine Woolley’s first husband. Is there a link to Gertrude Bell somehow?There’s an animal’s death in this book – that should be mentioned.A young woman is killed -- and Mrs. Woolley is discovered standing over her. She doesn’t remember a thing. Open and shut case, it seems. But Mrs. C doesn’t think so. Our Mrs. Christie begins to think there’s something else at play here. Poor Miss Bell is beginning to take a back seat.And all the while Mrs. Christie must fight off feelings of attraction to one of the men on the site. A tangled web, indeed. He could be the murderer.The author has the fictional Agatha Christie think back to the plots of “her” books – luckily enough two of the most famous ones had already been published – to use as ideas as to what is going on; bluffs; a setup; or what? The books furnish her with the ability to carry on with investigating “real life” as she did in the writing. Fiction within fiction!Davison (friend to Agatha, prominent in earlier books in the series), from the beginning of the book arrives, with a “policeman” in tow. The three of them concoct a ploy, a drawing room scene(!) where everyone’s assembled, during a sandstorm. Then of course it’s time to set the trap. The author certainly does know how to use every single character to tell a story. There is terror and fear here, too, both within (waiting for a murderer to strike again) and without (the sandstorm). And definitely the characters are diverse, just as in a real Agatha Christie novel.I figured out who the killer was almost from the beginning, and was not disappointed. I just felt that some of what was done was silly (when you find out who the murderer is, think back to one early scene with the eventual killer and perhaps you’ll understand what I mean). I had to mark the story down for doing that.In the end, both cases are solved, according to Mrs. Christie. And what has happened is that Mr. Wilson has put an amazing twist on it – he solved one case of murder while pretty much ignoring the one he started with – because it usually is isn’t possible to solve a “real” historical mystery – insert name of Jack the Ripper here. And in the course of doing that has given us some astounding facts about some really interesting (real) people. Read “Death in a Desert Land” and see if you don’t agree with me.Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for a copy of this book, in exchange for this review.

I really enjoyed this third book in the series about Agatha Christie. It reminded me of the mystery she wrote with Hercule poirot but with a very different twist to it. I look forward to the next book in the series.

It is really hard to describe such a great book in just a few words. As an Agatha Christie fan, I always enjoy the creativity of Andrew Wilson and his amazing plots.Agatha is both a writer and a character in the novel so while learning about her own life, the reader is transported to Ur where Christie tries to solve another crime. I have also read te previous two books "A Talent for Murder" and "A Different Kind of Evil" and I am looking forward the fourth one coming next year.

I love the fact that he (Mr Wilson) weaves a story in an amongst actual facts about Agatha Christie's life. Plus the novels read like a Christie novel and evoke such great imagery.

Very similar to another book that covers this period in Agatha Christie's life, but that didn't stop me enjoy this one and the others in this series. Looking forward to the next one.

I cant believe this is not written by Agatha Christie. It is so her style. A great mystery read.