by Julius Albert Custodio

Created on: November 11, 2009

I picked up "Murder in Mesopotamia" thinking that it's going to be another amazing Poirot-centric book and I was absolutely right. This is another satisfying murder mystery from the Queen of Crime herself, Agatha Christie. Once again, Poirot is asked to help solve a complex case involving murder, mayhem, and madness.

The case went like this: One fateful day, an archaeologist's wife was found dead in her room, killed by a fatal blow on the head. The mystifying thing about it was that no one could have possibly killed the woman without entering the room. Eyewitnesses have stated beforehand that they didn't see anybody enter or leave the room during the approximate time of the murder. This case has baffled the local police because it was nearly impossible to crack. Fortunately, the great Hercule Poirot was in Iraq all along and was curious enough to help with the investigation. This is another case which will challenge his "little gray cells".

I think Agatha Christie really outdone herself this time. There's no denying that this was an excellent and mind-boggling mystery. I could never guess who the real killer was because I couldn't think of any possible scenarios.

Christie threw in a lot of red herrings as bait and just when I thought I finally understood the case, she pulls off another twist from nowhere. Somewhere in the middle of the book, I was already making stuff up. I even made a wild speculation that the woman wasn't really dead and that Poirot was just being conned by all of the characters! Don't worry, this isn't a spoiler. That wasn't the case here.

In the end, the solution Poirot presented was both logical and infallible, albeit too contrived. I couldn't have deduced it just by using the clues presented in the book. It was still strangely satisfying though.

Just like some of her classic works like "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Death on the Nile", the plot of "Murder in Mesopotamia" can be compared to that of a soap opera. The characters here are larger than life and you will really feel some of their emotional outbursts as if you're watching them on TV. You will despise them, root for them, and sometimes, even feel a little sympathy for them.

Agatha Christie uses confusion as a driving force in her best novels, and she used it perfectly here. I was partly confused and partly amazed as the novel nears its conclusion. This is exactly how I want my mystery novel, something which urges me to think outside the box. I am thoroughly impressed and I give this novel a rating of 10 out of 10.

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