Head on over to Persia on "Death in a Desert Land" as Agatha is determined to find the truth behind the death of Gertrude Bell. In comes Mrs. Woolley who is very charming until she makes it clear she did not like Gertrude. Now Agatha must decide if Mrs. Woolley is someone she can trust, but most importantly what happened?

A great mystery!

To see Agatha out in the desert, setting of so many of her stories, solving a murder after a family contacts her about their daughter was great. There are a lot of strong characters and a good storyline.

This book definitely had the Agatha Christie feel. I loved the setting and the slow, suspenseful build to the surprising but sure ending. Well done - could easily be a classic Christie!

It takes a daring writer to take on the voice of the grande dame of mysteries herself. This is the first I've read from the series and I was reasonably impressed. The plot had Christie-esque twists and turns, and while I did guess the murderer, it was only just before said murderer was revealed. (No spoilers here!) An enjoyable weekend read. I plan to read the others in the series.
Review based an ARC through NetGalley.

Compelling 1920's intrigue!

Wilson continues his fictionalized stories about Agatha Christie's life, positing her travels and adventures partly as undercover work for British Intelligence, as supporting her detecting aspirations, and as gathering material for her writing. An inspired idea, the reimagined life of Agatha!
Agatha has been asked by her friend and Intelligence Officer Davison to go to Ur by way of Bagdad to investigate the death of a prominent archaeologist, writer and Intelligence Officer Gertrude Bell. (Bell also helped drafted the antiquities law in Iraq. Given the rape of antiquities from the Middle East and Egypt this was an important accomplishment for the times).
Agatha is presented as a quiet force, still reeling with self doubts after her infamous disappearance, followed by her divorce from her husband Archie. To those she meets she is a crime writer with interests in archaelogy.
The buildup of tension over time, the brutal death of a young heiress at the Dig near the Ur Ziggurat, the accusations and actions against the accused Mrs Woolley, are full of acrominy and hate, bordering on hysteria. Throw in others with secrets and there is a downward spiral towards chaos with too many clues. Agatha is dealing with a group of strangers throwing off the shackles of civilized behavior, and the real possibly of descent into anarchy.
Agatha has her hands full as she searches for clues and brings together hunches and facts, and in consummate Hercule Poirot fashion unveils the murderer, and the hidden plot within a plot
I commend the author's detailing of the facts behind this story at the end of the novel. In this section background information is given that is not only informative but attests to the quite rigorous research Wilson has engaged in, thus shaping this intriguing addition to the novels about Agatha Christie, the person.
A solid historical crime/mystery read!

An Atria Books ARC via NetGalley

While I love all of Agatha Christie’s books, I was skeptical that I would like this one. I am happy to,say, I was wrong. This book kept me involved from beginning to end. Setting, characters and plot were very good. I am looking forward to more books featuring Agatha Christie from this author. I highly recommend it.

Gertrude Bell. We all know Gertrude Bell. The famous adventurer and Arabist, contemporary of Lawrence of Arabia. And Agatha Christie. We all know Agatha Christie as a crime novelist. In this cleverly imagined story, Agatha is not the writer, but rather a character in the story.

A very worthwhile read which takes Agatha to the ancient city of Ur, to an excavation, and, to a murder.

I read this EARC courtesy of Net Galley and Washington Square Press. pub date 07/09/19

I would venture to say that most people have heard of the great mystery writer Agatha Christie. She’s written so many classic mysteries and I would be hard pressed to meet someone who hasn’t heard of at least one of her books in one way or another.

Because she is so recognizable and such a classic mystery writer, I was thrilled to see that someone had turned her into her own fictional sleuth. My first thought when I saw that someone had done this, was that it sounded hokey. Agatha Christie is such an icon and to mess with that and turn her into a fictionalized detective sounded trite…..but at the same time, I was also here for it.

Especially when I read the description. It sounded like Agatha Christie was going to be kind of a female Indiana Jones—at least in this book—who solves crime. And to be honest, I didn’t care how hokey this book could potentially be, I just knew that I needed to read it!

Book Summary

Queen of Crime Agatha Christie returns to star in another stylish mystery, as she travels to the excavation of the ancient city of Ur where she must solve a crime with motives that may be as old as civilization itself.

Fresh from solving the gruesome murder of a British agent in the Canary Islands, mystery writer Agatha Christie receives a letter from a family who believe their late daughter met with foul play. Before Gertrude Bell overdosed on sleeping medication, she was a prominent archaeologist, recovering ancient treasures in the Middle East. Found near her body was a letter claiming that Bell was being followed and to complicate things further, Bell was competing with another archeologist, Mrs. Woolley, for the rights to artifacts of immense value.

Christie travels to far-off Persia, where she meets the enigmatic Mrs. Woolley as she is working on a big and potentially valuable discovery. Temperamental but brilliant, Mrs. Woolley quickly charms Christie but when she does not hide her disdain for the recently deceased Miss Bell, Christie doesn’t know whether to trust her—or if Bell’s killer is just clever enough to hide in plain sight (summary from Goodreads)

Review

My first thought when I finished this book was ‘where have you been hiding?!’. This series is a new to me series, as is the author and as soon as I finished I went and brought the other two books in the series because I loved this one and needed more!

This book had such great tone and presence about it and I loved that the author stayed true to Christie as a person, as well as the time period. This author has written a lot of non-fiction/biographies from what I understand, and this series is his first fictional writing. I think being a non-fiction writer helped him stay true to the period as well as Christie herself. I was glad he didn’t make her into a caricature of herself, he kept her smart, a little romantic and introspective. I think fans of Christie’s novels will find a lot to love with this series.

Other things that went through my mind while reading this one were how much I love exotic settings for murder mysteries! I adored the Amelia Peabody series and often try to find another series that might fill that void and this particular book at least, reminded me of all the things that I love about the Amelia Peabody books—intelligence, interesting mystery, exotic location, archeology, and some cheek.

This book is the third in a series so naturally I was worried about picking this book up late in the game, but I didn’t feel lost in the slightest. The author does a great job keeping the reader up to speed on previous plot points but overall this book focuses on the mystery and for that, there isn’t much back story needed.

On the whole, I loved this book and truly enjoyed picking it up each night! I can’t wait to read the other books in the series as well, what an interesting heroine! Also, the cover alone makes me want to read this book. It screams adventure and archeology and I would easily have grabbed it off the shelf at any bookstore!

Book Info and Rating

Paperback, 352 pages
Published July 9th 2019 by Atria Books
ISBN 1501197452 (ISBN13: 9781501197451)
Free review copy provided by publisher, Atria Books, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and in no way influenced.
Rating: 5 stars
Genre: mystery, detective novel, historical mystery

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.

Agatha Christie is tasked, by letter, to what was then called Persia, now Baghdad, to investigate the death of Gertrude Bell. Her death was determined to be suicide. Gertrude was an English writer, traveler, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She played a major role in establishing and helping administer the modern state of Iraq, a very well respected woman in the Middle East. Gertrude felt that she was being followed and her life in danger so whether she committed suicide or was murdered has never been determined.

She was also in competition with another archeologist, Mrs. Woolley. Katharine who had an official position as an illustrator for the excavation at Ur. Katherine's first husband committed suicide, many speculate it was because Katherine suffered from Complete androgen insensitivity syndrome, which meant that she could not have children.

In Death in a Desert has Agatha trying to figure out why Gertrude died finds herself in a totally separate murder mystery. Agatha befriends Mrs.Wooley and while Mrs.Wooley is brilliant and temperamental Agatha is still able to have empathy for her. A young girl gets into an argument with Mrs.Wooley and ends up dead. Mrs. Wooley is leaning over the body of the young women and of course, Mrs. Wooley becomes a suspect and is locked into her room. When the investigators are able to get there, they find that there is a young man who says he killed Sarah Archer.

Both suspects are kept locked in their rooms until the police can figure out who the true killer is. Agatha visits her in her room and begins to suspect Katherine's behavior to not be normal. Could she have been poisoned? There are substances that could be taken that would change a person's personality and that would explain a lot of things

There are a lot of well-fleshed characters that make this story very believable. I did not know until the end of the book, that this novel was based on the real lives of Gertrude Bell and Mrs.Wooley and her husband Leonard, and that the murder mystery was interwoven with the real events of these people. This is the first book I have read in this series and I think that I will go back and start from the beginning! A worthwhile read, a clean mystery but still a suspenseful who dun it. I really enjoyed the book and read it in a few sittings!

This book blew my mind! Historical mystery that kept you guessing until the very end. I loved books where you suspect everyone and don't know who to trust. Wilson. Top notch book!

Agatha goes to see if a woman's death was actually suicide or if it was murder. She's in Persia where she meets Mrs. Woolley. They are on a archeological dig and the artifacts they are finding are valuable. Mrs. Woolley doesn't hide her disdain for the dead woman. Was she the killer?

Washington Square Press and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It is being published today.

Mrs. Woolley is temperamental and has bad headaches. It's easy to get yelled at by her but would she actually kill?

When they all go to a picnic on a hill, it's a fine evening until Mrs. Woolley and the young lady at the event get in a spat over men's attention. Mrs. Woolley always enjoyed their attention and now the pretty young one is getting it. The young girl runs off and the others go after her. When they hear a scream, they all run to see what happened. They find Mrs. Woolley leaning over the body of the dead girl with blood on her hands. She swears she didn't kill her but there's a rock with blood on it nearby. Someone killed her.

They lock Mrs. Woolley in her bedroom. Agatha visits her and begins to wonder about her symptoms. Could there be a cause besides a mental unrest?

This was a good mystery with lots of secrets. It takes a good deal of scheming to reveal the killer and Agatha is there every step of the way.

I really enjoyed this read. It's fun to hang out with Agatha Christie and Mr. Wilson writes great mysteries!

Agatha Christie is asked by Davison of the Secret Intelligence Service to go out to Ur and investigate the death of Gertrude Bell some two years earlier. As letters had been discovered which indicate that she feared for her life when on an archaeology dig in Ur run by a Mr and Mrs Woolley.
A very enjoyable well-written mystery with Agatha in the lead as a likable well-rounded character. Davison is also an amiable character, but also the secondary characters are well-defined.
Another delightful story in this series.

Death in a Desert Land is the third in the series featuring Agatha Christie as an amateur sleuth. Agatha is off to Baghdad and the ancient city of Ur to look into the mysterious death of Gertrude Bell, a famous archaeologist. A series of unsent letters have recently been uncovered that lead individuals to suspect that Gertrude was indeed murdered by someone working at the archaeological dig in Ur. Agatha arrives and immediately starts investigating. Along the way she meets Leonard and Katherine Woolley, the head of the excavation. It quickly becomes apparent there are secrets to unravel and when a second murder occurs, Agatha finds the clue to the past murder is connected to the current one. When Katherine Woolley becomes the prime suspect in the murder, Christie must put her skills to good use and unravel fact from fiction.
As with the first two books in the series, I enjoyed the newest addition tremendously. Wilson expertly blends fact with fiction, giving the reader an entirely plausible account of true to life events, many of which stem from Christie's novel Murder in Mesopotamia and her second marriage to Max Mallowan, who is briefly introduced in this novel. The mystery was well thought out and the desert setting provided the perfect backdrop for a suspicious murder. The real life events from Christie's life that are seamlessly interwoven into the plot add an extra level of enjoyment to longtime fans of Christie's work. I look forward to future adventures featuring the intrepid Christie and fully intend to reread Murder in Mesopotamia as well.

As someone who loves the whodunnit and Agatha Christie, I must say I loved the melding-of fact and fiction, the clever plotting and the period. I shall sell it up to everyone, and look forward to the next one. It’s a perfect summer read!

A sophisticated reimagining of events from the real Agatha Christie's life, this third entry in the Agatha Christie series (one hesitates to call it "cozy") finds the author investigating the suicide of Gertrude Bell, an influential archaeologist who also worked for British Intelligence during WWI. Newly discovered evidence regarding her death leads Agatha's handler to ask her to travel to an archaeological dig in the ancient city of UR.

During Agatha's visit, a murder occurs and the prime suspect is the mysterious Katharine Woolley, wife of prominent archaeologist Leonard Woolley. The unraveling of the crime is well plotted and multi-layered. The nods to historical personages and events lend verisimilitude, especially the reference to archaeologist Max Mallowan who would become Christie's second husband--he is absent from the action because of an appendicitis attack.

Full Disclosure--NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

A divine treat for Christie fans! An intriguing, exotic puzzler for mystery fans! I'm enthralled by Wilson's series of inspired mysteries solved on the spot by the well-imagined character of Agatha Christie, with these experiences ultimately providing the plotting of her subsequent famous books. The reader is dazzled by the brilliant play of real and imagined scenes, as well as a sensitive depiction of Christie's personality - introspective, imaginative, self-deprecating, and a bit romantic.

This story is set at the famous archaeological dig at Ur and uses real life characters Leonard and Katherine Wooley, who headed those excavations. Christie fans who know her mystery <i>Murder in Mesopotamia,</i> will thoroughly enjoy Wilson's plotting and characterization of the same situation here in this story. Whether you know this Christie story or not, readers will find a skillful, stylish, exciting mystery to devour. Well done! This becoming my favorite series!

Death in a Desert Land is interesting story with great characters. The book is well written and I enjoyed reading this book.