They Came to Baghdad, Agatha Christie

 The Book

Spoiler Alert, this review will give away the entire plot

Victoria Jones inveterate liar, got fired from her job. She whiled around a park for a bit, where she sees a handsome man named Edward, but she doesn't quite catch his last name. Edward has an interesting job, filled with excitement in Baghdad. Victoria, disappointed by her prospects in England, and getting gently reprimanded by the head of the employment agency for getting fired again, decides to go to Baghdad. The problem is she doesn't have enough money to get to Baghdad to find Edward. But she does know he works at the Olive Branch promoting peace. 

Enter the Hamilton Clipps. Mrs. Hamilton Clipp has broken her arm and needs help on her journey Baghdad. They readily swallow Victoria's lies and speed her on her way. While she is on the plane journey (which is way more convoluted that it would be in the modern era as the jet plane is not yet in commercial use), she hears about an adventurer on her plane and how Sir Rupert might be involved in espionage. She finds Sir Rupert to be quite a bore.  

When she reaches Baghdad, she and Sir Rupert end up in the same hotel. Victoria senses something is off about him, but she doesn't know what it is. A few hours later, a spy dies in her room, uttering his last words (as far as she can tell, but who knows, he could barely talk) as Lucifer, Basrah, Lefarge. When the local spy master explains to Victoria there's a big conference coming that dark and powerful forces are trying to disrupt, Victoria volunteers to join the ranks. She hears for the first time of a woman named Anna Scheele. 

Victoria manages to find Edward (whose last name is Goring) and he gets her a job at the Olive branch, where she meets Catherine. As both of them believe Edward is in love with them, a rivalry develops. Edward begs Victoria to give Catherine a chance. Victoria complies, having confided her secret mission to Edward. Edward tells her not to be jealous, but Catherine could be the key to unraveling the mystery. Victoria complies and is promptly kidnapped. 

When she escapes, she finds herself in the middle of the desert. A local junior archeologist finds her and takes her to their dig. She welcomed, but they are skeptical of her story. She learns all she can in a short amount of time. Robert (her savior) takes her back to Baghdad where Victoria is reunited with Edward and kidnapped again.

Anna is rescued yet again when Robert goes to find her and stirs up a ruckus. It turns out Robert had been friends with the spy who died in Victoria's rooms. They return to the dig and hopefully, live happily ever after. 

My Thoughts

This is easily one of the worst Christie titles in her oeuvre. In short Christie's plot is a little too convoluted, too chancy, too fraught with vagueness, and all together doesn't hold together as a story. I know she was trying to capture the moment that was 1951, the year this book was published and the unbelievably stark moment that was. In the midst of the cold war, under the shadow of nuclear war, it seemed anything might have set off Russia and the US. As England's power fades, it seems Christie didn't know what to do. And if she'd just had a bit of a more concrete plot point, they whole story might have hung together a bit better. However, if you want to skip this title, I won't judge you. 

How Much My Library Card Saved Me

This book was shipped to me from the Evanston Public Library. This 283 page edition is from a collection that was released in the mid 2010's. As you can see from the photo, this book has been well read. The book still has some life left in it. It's loose with a few dog ears. I would guess this book has been in their collection since before the 2020 pandemic. Other than that, all I can tell you is the cover said it was $12.99. That's the number we will use. 

This Book                                                        $12.99

Items Reviewed This Year                             $319.96

Private Books

This Book                                                        $0.00

Total of Private Books                                    $37.90

Total of All Items Reviewed This Year         $357.74

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