Death Comes as the End

 Death Comes as the End (1944) by Agatha Christie

Christie transports the reader to a time about 4,000 years ago. Imhotep, the fussy & pompous ka-priest and wealthy landowner, brings a new, younger concubine home with him when he returns from overseeing his property to the north. Nofret is secure in her beauty and her ability to wrap the patriarch around her little finger and promptly alienates the entire household--from Imhotep's three sons (Yahmose, Sobek, & Ipy) to his elder sons' wives, Satipy and Kait. Esa, Imhotep's mother, sees the girl for what she is and knows her son for a fool...it isn't long before the upheaval turns dangerous, as she knew it would.

When Nofret dies, ostensibly from an accident on the steep path leading to the Tomb high on the hill, The household breathes a sigh of relief. The outsider is gone, surely everything will return to normal. But the deaths keep coming and it begins to look like the shade of Nofret won't be satisfied until the entire family has paid in blood. But Esa and Hori, Imhotep's trusted scribe, believe a more human hand is behind it all. Will they discover who it is before death reaches even Renisenb, the daughter of the house?

One thing about this books..if you don't recognize early on who the culprit is (I did), not to worry. It's all a matter of attrition, so you should definitely figure it out before the final attempt. And, unlike And Then There Were None, you aren't left with nobody and a mystery of who could have possibly done it. When "death comes as an end," you definitely know who did it. It would, I think have been more satisfying if Hori, our erstwhile amateur detective, had halted the wholesale killing by detecting things a bit sooner--when the reader still had suspects to choose from.

I do appreciate Dame Agatha's venture into historical mysteries. Her second husband's interest in antiquity has definitely rubbed off and she gives us a good look at life (and death) in ancient Egypt. Of course people are people and they tend to have the same drives and reactions no matter where or when they live. So, we wind up with a tale of jealousy, hate, ambition, pride, power, and revenge. Christie, as always tells a good tale, but I must confess that I appreciate early- to mid-twentieth century a bit more than I do 2000 B.C. ★★★ and 1/2.

First line: Renisenb stood looking out over the Nile.

Kait is a thoroughly stupid woman and I have always mistrusted stupid women. They are dangerous.
They can only see their immediate surroundings and only one thing at a time. (p. 117)

Last line: "That means--that there is no more death..."

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Deaths = 7 (two fell from height; three poisoned; one drowned; one smothered)