Death Comes as the End (1945)
1945 Collins blurb:
As
the wife of an
eminent archaeologist, Agatha Christie has taken part in several
expeditions to
the
Into the household of Imhotep, the Mortuary Priest, comes the beautiful Nofret. The household, outwardly at peace, has at its core, in the words of the thoughtful scribe Hori, a rottenness that breeds from within. With Nofret come anger, jealousy, quarrels and finally death.
My review:
One of Christie's most unusual stories: a detective story set in Egypt
c. 2000 B.C. The historical period is brilliantly brought to
life, although the basic plot is fairly standard Christie: murder of an
old man's unpopular second wife by one of her new in-laws, followed by
a holocaust nearly as dramatic as that of Ten Little Niggers or Murder is Easy. Due to the
absence of a proper police force, there isn't much detection; what
little there is is done by two of the suspects. Murderer is
fairly easy to spot, but there's still plenty of entertainment to be
found.