Death in a Desert Land

Starred review from May 27, 2019
In 1928, John Davison, a British intelligence operative, persuades Agatha Christie to look into a suspicious death, in Wilson’s ingenious third whodunit featuring the mystery writer (after 2018’s A Different Kind of Evil). In 1926, Gertrude Bell, a “famous adventurer and Arabist,” died of barbiturate poisoning in Baghdad, an apparent suicide. Davison tells Christie that one of Bell’s former servants recently came across letters that she wrote to her father, but never sent. In them, Bell expresses fear for her life and states that if she died from something other than a terminal illness, her murderer should be sought at Ur, a major archaeological site she visited. Christie arrives at Ur to find a poisonous atmosphere centering on Katherine Woolley, whose husband is in charge of the dig. Woolley, whose sanity is in doubt, was at odds with Bell during their time together. The bludgeoning death of someone connected to the excavations puts Christie on the sleuthing trail. Wilson cleverly riffs on one of Christie’s own novels en route to a crafty and satisfying solution. Wilson strikes gold again. Agent: Clare Alexander, Aitken Alexander Assoc.

June 7, 2019

Wilson's third "Agatha Christie" entry (after A Different Kind of Evil) sees the famous writer traveling to an archaeological dig at Ur at the request of the British Secret Intelligence Service, tasked with finding out if the well-known adventurer Gertrude Bell was murdered. After a close call with a thief in Baghdad and a coincidental rescue by the dig's photographer, Agatha arrives at Ur and meets the crew assembled there. Leonard Woolley and his wife, Katherine, are hosts to a priest; a secretary; an architect, and his nephew; an ultrareligious American millionaire, his wife, and flirtatious daughter. Each of these individuals has quirks, but none as great as Katherine, whose behavior verges on madness. As Agatha pursues her investigation, secrets and intrigues are uncovered. A shocking murder leads her to discover both the identity of the murderer and answers to Bell's death. VERDICT As with the beloved Agatha Christie novels, a large cast of characters and many red herrings keep readers guessing. A strong sense of place and a thoughtful protagonist add interest. For readers of classic mysteries and, of course, Christie's legions of fans.--Terry Lucas, Shelter Island P.L., NY

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2019
Agatha Christie is packed off to Mesopotamia, where she narrowly misses meeting her future husband, Max Mallowan, and solves an exceptionally intricate mystery. It's 1928. Two years after noted adventurer and Arabist Gertrude Bell got a fatal dose of barbiturates in Baghdad, the discovery of a pair of unmailed letters to her father reveals her fear that she was going to be murdered. Instead of going public with the news, Davison, of the Secret Intelligence Service, thinks it more prudent to send his friend, mystery writer Agatha Christie, to the excavation at Ur, the last place where Gertrude worked as head of antiquities in Iraq, to mingle and make discreet inquiries. Arriving at Ur after being rescued from a street thief by site photographer Harry Miller, Agatha quickly meets its principals--director Leonard Woolley, secretary Cynthia Jones, architect Lawrence McRae and his troubled nephew, Cecil, and a visiting family, railroad baron Hubert Archer, his wife, Ruth, and their daughter, Sarah--all except for the queen of the dig, Leonard's wife, Katharine, "a Jekyll and Hyde character" subject to sudden moods and indispositions, who emerges only later. Shortly afterward, Tom, the stray cat Katharine's adopted and loved, is killed, with every indication that his mistress was responsible. Things turn much uglier when Tom is followed in death by a human victim, and again all the evidence points to Katharine. With the authorities at least a day away, Agatha (A Different Kind of Evil, 2018, etc.) is unwillingly thrust into the spotlight as a detective in spite of herself. Although it takes many more pages and subplots and red herrings, she comes up trumps in the end. The archaeological dig as the old dark house of period thrillers, with so much ingenuity lavished on the hyperextended finale that everyone will find something to treasure before the curtain comes down. An epilogue reveals that a surprising number of incidents and characters are drawn from history.

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June 1, 2019
Fans of Agatha Christie and Sophie Hannah will welcome this latest in Wilson's series starring Christie as an amateur sleuth. The already-famous mystery author's expertise is called upon by the British government when the death of an English archaeologist in Iraq looks like murder. Upon arrival in Ur, Christie finds that a woman she had been warned against is subject to delusions and hallucinations; she seems a likely culprit, but there's hardly time to investigate before there's a fresh crime to solve. Christie must use all her wiles to discover which of the characters inhabiting the colonial outpost could be a killer, with the possibilities closely mirroring suspects found in Christie's original works?an earnest clergyman; a dashing gentleman whom Agatha is drawn toward; and a grating American family whose nouveau riches fund the archaeology that forms a backdrop to the proceedings. From sandstorms to patriarchal dismissiveness toward Iraqis, the setting is effectively portrayed; the enjoyably exasperating characters involved in this well-executed mystery are a treat, too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)