Trust no one. That is the first, the most vital thing. Trust no one.
Death Comes as the End
by Agatha Christie
Genre: Murder Mystery
My thoughts
This is in some ways a very different Agatha Christie mystery, and in others ways a perfect encapsulation of her writing. As with all of her stories it's the unravelling of human nature that reveals the evil within, but this mystery is set in Egypt, 2000 BC.
I thought the historical fiction aspect of the novel was really fantastic. You felt Christie's love of the time period through the meticulous detail and how brilliantly ordinary she made the setting appear. Farm life, death rituals, paperwork and family dynamics seem well researched but are written in a way that is very accessible for the reader. I loved stepping into this world and I really appreciated how much time we get with the characters before the first death. This slower pace allowed me to get to know the whole cast of characters and feel the tension slowly rising.
There's no detective in this one but Esa, Hori and Renisenb are three powerfully different characters that, in their different ways, help to piece together the truth. All the characters in fact have interesting quirks and I loved this sense that you can't trust a single one of them.
Now I did guess correctly the reveal, but I think there are so many reasons why it could have been anyone that even having my suspicions didn't stop me from feeling the tension and second guessing myself. There are quite a few deaths and the build up each time was always really well done.
Verdict
I completely loved this. Great setting, interesting characters and an intelligent examination of human nature. Oh and for once I found the romance utterly endearing and not just thrown in there like other Christie novels.
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