Review of "They Came to Baghdad"

They Came to Baghdad

by Agatha Christie

Accustomed as I am to thinking of all of Agatha Christie's novels being set in the Gilded Age or the Roaring '20s, I was astonished at first to find out that this one takes place in the thoroughly war-weary Europe of 1951.  (Indeed, I had no idea until I read the blurb at the end that Agatha Christie and I only missed being in the world at the same time by one year.  Elvis and I only missed each other by TWO WEEKS, and I've always felt rather cheated about it, even though he does annoy me mightily.  Sorry--I digress.)

The basic idea here is that a large, disparate cast of characters--primarily, a rather silly young woman--find themselves entangled in international intrigues.  Although this is only the second Agatha Christie book I've ever read, I have to say that I don't think this one is typical Christie fare, so devoted fans might be disappointed in it.  It focuses so heavily on the evil, pointless futility of war that it almost turns into a sermon near the end.

That said, however, I have to admit that I liked this book, though I really didn't expect to at first, because the heroine got on my nerves.  I've never had much use for people who habitually lie just to liven up their everyday, hum-drum lives, and Victoria Jones is the queen of the recreational liars.  However, the author quickly taught me how useful that character "flaw" can be to a woman who accidentally finds herself embroiled in espionage!

I did manage to figure out who was "behind it all" before Victoria did, which is always my main criterion for whether or not I "succeeded" in reading a mystery novel, but I think I really should have figured it out even before I did.  This book was a fascinating glimpse into Agatha Christie's mind, into the view of the Cold War world.  I'd be interested in reading her diaries or letters from the time, to find out what she was thinking as she crafted the plot.  Either way, I enjoyed it, and at least the heroine didn't do many of the stupid things that so annoy me in a lot of other books.  She's bright and very quick at thinking on her feet, even if she isn't fond of veracity.

Review of "And Then There Were None"

Creepy!  Oooo, creepy, creepy stuff.  Believe it or not, this is the first Agatha Christie novel I've ever read in my 34 years of life, and now I finally see what all the fuss was about!  Before I read this, I imagined that Agatha Christie herself must have been a sort of pink-wearing, cat-loving, tea-pouring old British lady, and therefore her mysteries wouldn't be made of very stern stuff, either.  Now, I am firmly convinced that Stephen King wishes he had half the sick, twisted mind that this tough old bird had.

And Then There Were None is THE original pick-'em-off murder story, upon which Clue (both movie and boardgame) and a lot of other light-hearted nonsense has been based.  There was nothing light-hearted about this book.  10 people are lured to an island under false pretenses, bumped off one by one, and slowly go insane as they get more and more distrustful of each other.  Before it was over, I had practically considered everyone from the butler to the dining room table a suspect, and still didn't see the ending coming.  A word of warning, by-the-way; if you are at all of a nervous disposition, don't read this book late at night.  First of all, once you're about half-way through it, you won't be able to put it down and go to bed, because you'll have a desperate need to find out what the Hell is going on?!?!?!  And secondly, I finished this right before finally going to bed at an unholy hour, and the highly predictable dream dripping with homicide inevitably ensued.

I cannot give this book a full five-star rating for only one reason; after the amazing build-up of suspense and terror during the slow execution of the house guests, no ending on earth could have truly satisfied my fevered brain, and this one did not fail to disappoint.  I mean, the identity of the perpetrator certainly surprised me, but the way in which the ending was constructed felt very anti-climactic after all that lead-in time.  Still, this book is thrilling and horrifying, replete with lunatics and nut-jobs, just as any good murder mystery should be, (at least, it should if you're a long-time fan of Midsomer Murders, like me).