On the heels of her divorce, Agatha Christie is in need of a change. An old British Intelligence Officer friend asks for her help in determining whether the death of Gertrude Bell, famed archeologist and explorer, was a suicide, an accident or murder, sending Christie off to Iran and an archeological excavation that could be under a terrible curse. Going undercover, infiltrating the motley crew at the dig site while keeping her real reason for being there a secret, Christie attempts to make sense of the complicated existing relationships and tensions while trying to solve one alleged murder and prevent another one (or more!) from occurring.
Providing a fascinating glimpse into the lives of real people doing actual excavation work in the city of Ur in 1928, Death in a Desert Land is Andrew Wilson's third book in this series, following A Talent for Murder and A Different Kind of Evil, yet can be read as a standalone mystery. An intriguing cast of characters provides insight into the hierarchical roles, racial and gender prejudices and established modes of 1920s behavior, while the desert landscape is almost a character in its own right, by turns menacing and beautiful.
While there is no doubt Christie will find the answers, the quick pace of the plot, the severe environment and general mood of the circumstances--on top of Christie's sensitivity to heat (including both the sun and the potential attentions of a male photographer at the dig)--creates a dramatic tension that quickly builds to a satisfying conclusion. --BrocheAroe Fabian, owner, River Dog Book Co., Beaver Dam, Wis.