Helpful Score: 1
What Ms. Christie says in her Author's Note is true: the setting of this novel (Ancient Egypt) is entirely incidental to the story. This is not a mystery you read for the atmosphere, despite all the historically accurate details Christie carefully provides; it is a mystery you read for the puzzle, and as far as Christie puzzles go it is rather middle of the road. I guessed the murderer immediately after the second murder (which happens very quickly, making up for the fact that first murder doesn't occur until nearly a third of the way into the book) and only wavered once, briefly (but then, this is the 80th Christie novel I've read, so I'm well-trained). I was a little disappointed in its heroine -- she is probably the most weak-spirited heroine Christie has ever produced, which makes her romance (which gets more play than romance gets in many Christie novels) a little boring. Still, while I wouldn't recommend it as one of Christie's best, it satisfies in the same way every Christie novel does.
Helpful Score: 1
Interesting story set in Egypt. The father of the family brings home a beautiful concubine. The impact on the family is unexpected. Two married sons and their wives, the single son, the widowed daughter, the grandmother, and the 'faithful' servant learn more about evil then they could ever expect. Agatha Christie does an excellent job at surprising you as to who is murdered next.
