From the start of the novel she comes off as highly judgmental and occasionally xenophobic, particularly towards Poirot. Some of my issues with Amy Leatheran stem from her personality traits. While I think there are some positive things that come of Poirot’s association with a tough and rather straightforward nurse, I find this particular character rather unlikable and I am not a fan of the awkward structure that this then imposes on the novel’s opening chapters. It is the choice of narrator that is largely responsible for my lack of enthusiasm for this title and I am sorry to report that my feelings are not significantly altered. With the assistance of Amy Leatheran who documents the case, he begins to look into the matter…

He soon appalls everyone however when he asserts that the murder must have been carried out by someone involved in the dig. Fortunately Hercule Poirot happens to be traveling in the region and he is persuaded to travel to the dig to assist with the investigation. The mystery of the death initially puzzles the local police. Nor was there any sign within the room of an object that might have been used to murder her. There was only one entrance to the bedroom, which could not have been entered, while the window was shut and barred. Soon afterwards she is discovered dead in the bedroom of her house having been forcibly struck on the head. Leidner appears to be nervous though it takes some time for Amy to discover the cause of that anxiety and learn about her past. Amy Leatheran is a nurse who is invited to join an archaeological dig to help care for the wife of the leading archaeologist, Dr. I needed a little extra push to get around to reading Murder in Mesopotamia again so thank you to the Big Four who voted this into the lead.īefore I explain why this novel is not a favorite, let me first recap the scenario. While I do not think it was conscious, I suspect that my doing so was rather purposeful. It was quite rightly pointed out that I had somewhat stacked the decks by including a Christie title among the ones offered. Last week I put the call out on Twitter for my followers – a small but intrepid band – to help me select the title I would read and write about for today’s locked room or impossible crime post. With one spot of blood as his only clue, Hercule Poirot must embark on a journey not just across the desert, but into the darkest crevices of the human soul to unravel a mystery which taxes even his remarkable powers.

Her patient’s bizarre visions and nervous terror seem unfounded, but as the oppressive tension in the air thickens, events come to a terrible climax–in murder.

Amy Leatheran has never felt the lure of the mysterious East, but when she travels to an ancient site deep in the Iraqi desert to nurse the wife of a celebrated archaeologist, events prove stranger than she could ever have imagined.

Hercule poirot murder in mesopotamia