The Case of the Christie Curse: (A Detection Club Mystery)
Historical Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting –  Mesopotamia
Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 21, 2026
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Boldwood Books
Print length ‏ : ‎ 288 pages

Synopsis

Mesopotamia, 1930: When Agatha Christie invites fellow members of the Detection Club to witness the famous excavations at the ruins of Ur, Dorothy L. Sayers, her quick-witted assistant Eliza Baker, and Theo Sharp expect ancient wonders – not fresh corpses.

But when an archaeologist is found dead in the sand, whispers of a deadly curse sweep through the camp. Eliza suspects something far more dangerous than superstition. Amid glittering artifacts and fragile alliances, every guest harbors secrets: the Woolleys, whose marriage is shadowed by tragedy; a journalist hungry for scandal; even academic Max Mallowan, whose loyalties are not what they seem.

As theft, forgery, and coded messages surface, the line between archaeology and espionage blurs. And when Eliza and Theo find themselves in danger, they must face not only the truth about the murder – but also the truths they’ve long denied about each other. Can they uncover the killer before the desert claims another victim? Or will this dig unearth secrets too dangerous to survive?

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Guest Post

Agatha Christie in Mesopotamia

By Kelly Oliver

After her divorce from her first husband Archie Christie, Agatha took her first trip on the Orient Express to the middle east in 1928 at the invitation of Leonard and Katharine Woolley. In 1930, they invited her back to visit their dig at Ur. Again, Agatha boarded the Orient Express expecting another exciting adventure. Little did she know, she was about to meet Max Mallowan, the Leonard’s assistant, who would become her second husband.

Fourteen years her junior, Max was assigned to show Agatha around and generally keep tabs on her. Unlike other twenty-six-year-olds, Max was happiest visiting a museum or studying ancient hieroglyphs. Max and Agatha hit if off immediately.

According to Christie’s autobiographical travel log from their adventures in the middle east, Come Tell Me How You Live, on one adventure, their lorry broke down in the middle of the desert. And Agatha, unflappable, simply lay down in the shade of the broken-down vehicle and took a nap. It was at that moment that Max decided he wanted her to be his wife.

Come Tell Me How You Live is chock-full of entertaining anecdotes about their later adventures together when Agatha would accompany her husband on his archeological digs. It’s a wonderful and highly entertaining read.

Christie tells of an overzealous driver named Michael would take pleasure in running pedestrians and animals off the road, when he wasn’t shopping for bargains that often were such good deals the goods were spoiled. Or the time one of their visitors arrived with a specially made sleeping suit to ward off mosquitos which were nonexistent in the desert. Mice, on the other hand, were plentiful. And in the middle of one night, when the guest was screaming bloody murder, they discovered him hopping from foot-to-foot after a mouse had crawled inside his sleeping suit.

She also tells of a time when Max caught workers planting forgeries at the dig in order to claim extra baksheesh. Less upset about the plants, Max was more impressed with the quality of the forgeries. He was tipped off by an engraving of a camel on a supposedly ancient Sumerian piece when in fact there were no camels in ancient Sumeria.

These and other tales were the inspiration for The Case of the Christie Curse, the third book in my Detection Club Mysteries, in which Agatha meets her future husband… while helping Eliza and Theo solve a murder, of course.

About the Author

Kelly Oliver is the award-winning and bestselling author of four mystery series: The Jessica James Mysteries, The Pet Detective Mysteries, The Fiona Figg Mysteries, and The Detection Club Mysteries.

Kelly is the Past President of Sisters in Crime National, current Education Coordinator for SinC Guppies, and a Distinguished Emerita Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University.

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