Death Comes As the End by Agatha Christie

194 pages

Published in 1944, reprinted in 2002

by Minotaur Books

Although best known for her Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries, it may come as a surprise to some readers that Dame Agatha Christie also penned a historical murder mystery set in ancient Egypt. Because of its setting Death Comes As the End is a unique novel amongst Agatha Christie's canon. It is the only historical mystery novel that Agatha Christie ever wrote and it's creation only came about as a result of Dame Agatha's personal passion for archeology (her second husband, Max Mallowan was an archeologist) and thanks to a very persuasive friend who encouraged her to take up the challenge of writing a murder mystery set in 4,000 B.C. Egypt.

 The Plot:

"...A deadly mystery at the heart of a dissonant family in ancient Egypt. Imhotep, wealthy landowner and priest of Thebes, has outraged his sons and daughters by bringing a beautiful concubine into their fold. And the manipulative Nofret has already set about a plan to usurp her rivals' rightful legacies. When her lifeless body is discovered at the foot of a cliff, Imhotep's own flesh and blood become the apparent conspirators in her shocking murder. But vengeance and greed may not be the only motives..." (Summary courtesy of the publisher)

My Thoughts:

I must admit even months later after finishing this read, I still have mixed feelings about Death Comes As the End. On the one hand I can't say that this story was a favorite -- the setting really wasn't my thing -- but on the other hand the setting is so unique amongst Dame Agatha's crime novels that a reader can't help but find it intriguing.

Personally I found the setting (4,000 BC Egypt) a bit of a hang up for the first third to half of the book. As it is an area I am not very familiar with I struggled to keep the characters (especially their names!) and setting straight in my mind, but once this was accomplished I soon discovered I had settled into the story and that was like so many of  Dame Agatha's other novels, a definite page-turner.

As for the mystery itself -- it's less a "detecting" story and more a process of elimination as this plot turns deadly with suspect after suspect falling to the hand of the murderer. In some ways it reminded me of an ancient take on  Dame Agatha's earlier work, And Then There Were None.

Overall I did enjoy Death Comes As the End, but not as much as Dame Agatha's other works. I appreciate the effort she put into writing this novel, as I know it required a great amount of research, time and effort and for this reason I think it is definitely worth the read for any fan of Agatha Christie.

But for the first-time Agatha Christie reader I suggest setting this one aside to read later. Start off with something a little easier. And Then There Were None and Hercule Poirot's Christmas are two similar type stories that are set in 20th century England and thus might be more suted for the novice Christie reader.

Happy sleuthing err.. reading!

Related Links:

• Agatha Christie Reading Challenge Carnival

Other Agatha Christie Reviews:

*Novels published from 1920-1923 see note below.

The Man in the Brown Suit (1924)
The Secret of Chimneys (1925)
The Big Four (1927)
The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928)
The Seven Dials Mystery (1929)
The Murder at the Vicarage (1930)
The Sittaford Mystery (1931)
Peril at End House (1932)
Lord Edgware Dies (1933)
Murder on the Orient Express (1934)
Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (1934)
Three Act Tragedy (1935)
Death in the Clouds (1935)
The A.B.C. Murders (1936)
Murder in Mesopotamia (1936)
Cards on the Table (1936)
Dumb Witness (1937)
Death on the Nile (1937)
Appointment With Death (1938)
Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1938)
Murder Is Easy (1939)
And Then There Were None (1939)
Sad Cypress (1939)
One, Two Buckle My Shoe (1940)
Evil Under the Sun (1941)
N or M? (1941)
The Body in the Library (1942)
Five Little Pigs (1942)
The Moving Finger (1942)

Towards Zero  (1944)

Absent In the Spring by Mary Westmacott (a.k.a. Agatha Christie) (1944)

Agatha Christie, An Autobiography

* Christie's novels written from 1920 (The Mysterious Affair at Styles) through 1923 (Murder on the Links) I read before I began this blog hence no reviews are currently available.

Hot Weather and Good Reads

I don't know about you, but for me when it gets unbearably hot in the late Spring or early Summer I just want to find a cool quiet place and read. One of my favorite reads at these times is of course a good mystery, but often times I find myself reading more "meatier" books during the Summer months... At least reads that I wouldn't normally have time to pick up the rest of the year. It was during the Summer of 2006 that I finally read Gone With the Wind and East of Eden, both books I'd been told for years I *had* to read, but just never got around to until that Summer.

Thanks to Book Club Girl I discovered that the Los Angeles Times has published a Summer Reading Guide for both children and adults. Curious, I stopped over to see what books made the list. Although if asked I probably would have compiled a different list myself I still found it fun to browse through the list of newly released (and soon to be released) books and I've added some to my TBR pile.

So what about you? What will you be reading this Summer? Check out the Times' Summer Reading Guide and be sure to let me know if any of the books inspire you to pick up something to read the next time it's blazing hot and you are looking for a quiet way to pass the time.

Happy reading and stay cool!

P.S. Don't forget to stop by Facebook and "Like" A Library is a Hospital For the Mind Blog's page. This is a another way to track blog posts and little snippets of information I post regularly.

What's On My Nightstand: May 2011

Another month drawing to an end and I am happy to report I read all three of the books I mentioned in my April Nightstand post! Ah, these little accomplishments in life sometimes make everything seem less stressful.

It's been an extremely busy spring for my family and I. What I expected to be a quiet February through May ended up packed with house-sitting, a family funeral, long-distance travels, home improvement projects, pushing forward in a new business venture my husband started in 2010, child-rearing, and some definite changes in my career. (I'm working more as a consultant than an employee, which means more flexibility come 2012... which is a good thing considering we'll be starting the new year with an addition to our family).

Some how through it all I've managed to keep reading, which for me is important. I want to keep an outlet for my creativity amongst life's general business, even if the business means I don't have always have time to write.

As for reading... I have a very short list for June, but I'm sure as was the case with May I will find additional books to read and will share my thoughts as soon as I can.

For now my nightstand line-up includes:

The Passion of the Western Mind by Richard Tarnas. This was chosen by my book club. We will be reading and discussing just section one of the book, "The Greek World View," for our next meeting.

 

In addition we are all to read at least one Greek play, Antigone by Sophocles. If time and humor allows I may also read The Histories by Herodotus or another Greek play, but we shall see. Greek literature is a weak area in my reading repertoire and I'm not sure how I'll do.





 If time allows I also plan to do some "fun-fluff" reading including:

The Penderwicks of Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall. This is the third in the Penderwick's series and is hot off the presses this month.

Taken At the Flood by Agatha Christie, the next in my personal Agatha Christie reading challenge.

From there... who knows. There is always some book I have heard of or seen and can't wait to read. In the meantime be sure to check back on a weekly basis as I endeavor to get back into a weekly posting of reviews.

For those of you who have your own nightstand list for June be sure to stop by 5 Minutes for Books and link up your own Nightstand list.

Happy reading!

Crooked Adam by D. E. Stevenson

256 pages
Published in 1942, reprinted in 1970
by Holt, Rinehart & Winston


When it comes to books I love a good spy thriller and Crooked Adam by D. E. Stevenson is just that. Departing from her typical novel format that consists of romance, quaint English and Scottish neighborhoods, and the occasional family drama, Crooked Adam is set in Scotland during the early years of World War II and is a tale of espionage with a very unlikely hero; a young man called "Crooked Adam."

It is because of his limp that Adam was found unfit to join the King's military and must endure the war from the classroom of a boy's school. And it is because of this limp that Adam despairs he will never do anything to help his country... Until one day he discovers the war has come to his school's back yard when he uncovers a plot to steal a scientific invention that -- if built to full-scale -- could change the way the RAF defends the United Kingdom from enemy aircraft.

"Crooked Adam" may be an unlikely hero, but he is definitely the man for the job as he takes on the role of amateur detective and helps capture and close down the spy ring.

I thoroughly enjoyed Crooked Adam. The story is fast paced and kept me turning page after page to see what would happen next. In addition, there is a good amount of description and the dialogue is both interesting and witty. Although the ending might be a little predictable I still found the overall plot an excellent mix of mystery, adventure and romance and all-in-all another gem by D. E. Stevenson

For the reader looking for a different type of spy thriller I definitely recommend Crooked Adam. The only disappointment is that Crooked Adam is out of print. Used copies are available online, but prices are rather high ranging from $15-75 per book, which is why I opted for the ILL option. For those lucky enough, many libraries still carry a number of D. E. Stevenson's books and if your own library doesn't, you might be able to obtain a copy through their ILL program.

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Related Links: 


Happy Birthday D. E. Stevenson
Other D. E. Stevenson books reviewed

The Sherlockian by Graham Moore

350 pages

Published 2010 by Twelve, a Hachette Book Group
New York, NY

When I learned that first time author, Graham Moore had written a novel entwining Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle with a modern setting I was definitely intrigued and I was certainly expecting something along the lines of "mystery reader balm" -- you know the type of novel where a mystery is set, but it's driven by additional mysteries contained within other mystery novels. In the end I quickly learned The Sherlockian is much more than that.

The Plot:

Read more about The Sherlockian plot here.

My Thoughts:
For the most part I enjoyed The Sherlockian. I thought the story was well written for a first novel, especially one from the 21st century. The plot was clever, interesting, and unique, which combined together will produce a definite page turner. Historically speaking Mr. Moore took quite a few liberties when he fictionalized his account of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but since that is a big part of historical fiction I didn't mind too much. I thought Moore's research was very thorough and although I did notice a few errors, they were very minor and not something that most readers will catch. Within the book the chapters mark the switching point between the past (Doyle's story) and the present (Harold's story). If not done right this can lead many readers to confusion, but Moore kept the chapters brief enough that there was no problem moving from one point of view to another.

My only complaint with the book is with some of the content. For starters, a few characters use some rather crass choice of words, particularly when describing women. Many conservative readers will find this objectionable. There were also some very brutal descriptions of death scenes. I didn't think the content was necessary and felt the author could have toned done both his choice of vocabulary and descriptions to a certain degree without losing any natural grittiness to the story.

In the end and in spite of my complaints, I did enjoy The Sherlockian. It was a fascinating read and I look forward to seeing what next Graham Moore produces.

For more information about The Sherlockian or to track Graham Moore's progress on his next book please check out the related links below.

Related Links:

• The Sherlockian: Official Blog of the Novel
• The Sherlockian: Excerpts
• Guide to Sherlockianism
• About Graham Moore 
• Follow Graham Moore on Twitter