They Came to Baghdad
Ratings22
Average rating3.9
Collins brings the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, to English language learners. Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time and in any language. Now Collins has adapted her famous detective novels for English language learners. These carefully adapted versions are shorter with the language targeted at upper-intermediate learners (CEF level B2). Each reader includes: * Audio with a reading of the adapted story* Helpful notes on characters* Cultural and historical notes relevant to the plot* A glossary of the more difficult words Victoria Jones is a young English woman who is looking for love. She follows her new love interest to Baghdad, but she has no idea what adventure is waiting for her there. A very important international meeting is planned in Baghdad, but a secret organisation wants to sabotage it. Meanwhile, when a man dies in Victoria's hotel room, he whispers three words to her: '... Lucifer ... Basrah ... Lefarge ...' What do these words mean? And what does it have to do with the meeting?
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They Came to Baghdad is not a murder mystery, it's a spy novel.
I think it's ingenious. Agatha was so clever!
It is a bit... well... how to say it. A pastiche? Parody? Hanging on the line between a parody and a non-parody. How Victoria just stumbles over a trouble and how she manages to get out of it, for example, she never needed to pay her hotel bill :-D I mean, I wouldn't mind having adventures like that.
But it was nevertheless thrilling.
I have been reading all of Christie's mysteries chronologically and this one was a breath of fresh air. It really isn't a mystery as much as a spy novel. The characters are likable and despite a relatively thin plot it is an enjoyable read. The plot revolves around an undercover group who plans to take over the world...which can only be stopped through secret messages and disguised operatives. All the same, I really liked it. It would have been fascinating to be in or read about Bagdad at the time it was written, though from our modern perspective it's quite different.
