Covering a wide range of nationalities (although none are Iraqis, oddly) and job titles, some of these people pop off the page, but others remain blanks to me. Still, with nudging from Poirot, Amy is a decent observer of the behavior of the dozen or so characters/suspects. “Mesopotamia” is narrated by Amy, so it has first-person immediacy, but the nurse is rather bland in personality and action when we compare her to more adventurous narrators such as Anne from “The Man in the Brown Suit.” Leidner, mostly prefers to stick to the house and courtyard.Īll 6 ‘Mission: Impossible’ films, ranked With a dig site nearby and lots of locals employed, it’s too bad that this story could’ve been set in any location (provided there would be an explanation for the unusually designed house).Īlthough there are some nice details about archaeological work, including the use of hydrochloric acid to clean artifacts, we don’t get enough of a sense of place about Iraq in terms of culture, geography or weather.

(Maybe he has a premonition that he’ll be needed to solve a murder on a certain train soon after.) I’m shocked that 200-plus pages go by without the persnickety sleuth complaining about the sand in Iraq, like he does in the Egypt-set short story in “Poirot Investigates.” Is it possible he only complains if Hastings is on hand to hear it? Leidner could be nice to some people and mean to others. Instead, we get the nurse and others telling Poirot how Mrs. Leidner is a study in contradictions, sure, but it should’ve been possible to show the reader more of her behavior in the early chapters. The author is successful enough by now that she’s allowed to break writing rules, but “Mesopotamia” could’ve used more “show” and less “tell.” Mrs. I admit I didn’t solve the case even with Christie nudging me to play along. Leidner and others – so it’s a good time to be deliberate. Poirot is holding the reader’s hand via Amy.īut “Mesopotamia” is reasonably complex – including vast backstories about Mrs.

Noting that this is one of those “psychological” cases, Poirot interviews the dozen or so residents/suspects one by one, then later thinks about them one by one - using the narrator, Nurse Amy Leatheran, as a sounding board. Settings: Hassanieh, Iraq Tell Yarimjah, Iraq 1933

Hercule poirot mesopotamia