A Murder in Mesopotamia

#10 in the Classics Challenge is a classic set in a place you'd like to visit.  I think Mesopotamia is fascinating, and I would love to go (when it's not the middle of the heat of summer), but since Iraq and Kuwait aren't exactly the most stable of countries I think this book is probably the closest I'm going to get to visiting there. 

I took a bit of a circuitous route to reading this book for the challenge.  I had never read anything by Agatha Christie before, but of course, being a Masterpiece theater lover, I had seen all of the Miss Marple mysteries.  I decided I wanted to read from her Hercule Poirot series.  Murder is Mesopotamia is #14, so I felt it advisable to read #1 to get the setup of the whole series.  The Mysterious Affair at Styles sucked me in right from the beginning.  I could tell right away why she's the best-selling author of all time.  I loved Hercule Poirot from the very first sentence he appears.  It was the first time I'd read a book where I really had no idea how it was going to end.  I loved the book and was surprised by the ending. 

I had heard that it's recommended to read #10 Murder on the Orient Express before reading Murder in Mesopotamia, so I read that one next.  I also wanted to read it before the movie comes out this Fall.  This one was probably my favorite of the three.  I was seriously amazed at the wittiness and detail in this book, and the ending was a shock to me. 

This led me to then read the book that I needed for the actual challenge.  Murder in Mesopotamia takes place at an archeological dig, and was very entertaining as well, but I confess that I probably liked it the least out of the three I read.  I also figured out who the murderer was fairly early, so the ending wasn't quite as dramatic for me as the other two.  There was still a side event that surprised me, and let's be honest, Hercule Poirot is such a lovable personality that I still really enjoyed the book.  I still can't figure out why you have to read #10 first.  It mentions the Orient Express on the very last page of the book, but it doesn't give away anything.  Oh well.  I loved that book so much that I won't complain.