There’s a certain mystique about the Middle East for a lot of people. Politics aside, it’s home to a rich and very complicated history and some interesting cultures. It’s not surprising that people think of the Middle East as exotic. It’s also not surprising that several authors have set their crime novels there. There are a lot of examples of crime fiction that’s set in the Middle East; here are just a few. Oh, and you’ll notice I don’t really touch on spy thriller/espionage or military stories here; there are plenty of them, but this post will focus more on crime fiction.
Agatha Christie set several of her stories in the Middle East. She was, after all, the wife of an archaeologist. She also wrote during a time of intense interest in all things Middle Eastern, particularly Egyptian. One of those stories is Death on the Nile. In that novel, newlyweds Linnet and Simon Doyle travel to the Middle East for their honeymoon. Their trip includes a cruise of the Nile, and they’re looking forward to enjoying themselves. To Linnet’s dismay, one of the other passengers is her former best friend Jacqueline ‘Jackie’ de Bellefort. Jackie used to be engaged to Simon and blames Linnet for their brekaup. Things are very awkward and uncomfortable, but Simon and Linnet determine to see the trip through. Then, on the second night of the cruise, Linnet is shot. Jackie is the most obvious suspect, but it’s soon proved that she couldn’t have committed the crime. Hercule Poirot is also on the cruise, and he works with Colonel Race to find out who the murderer is.
Elizabeth Peters (one of Barbara Metz’ pen names) created a series of historical novels featuring wealthy heiress Amelia Peabody. In the first one, Crocodile on the Sandbank, Amelia has decided to take a trip to Egypt. At the time the novel takes place (the end of the 19th Century), ladies simply don’t travel alone, so Amelia has arranged for a companion to come with her. However, her companion becomes ill and has to return to England. At first, Amelia thinks she’ll have to abandon her plan. Then, by chance, she meets Evelyn Barton-Forbes, who has her own unfortunate history. Evelyn’s been abandoned by the man she loved, and by her family, who didn’t approve of him. It takes very little persuasion for Evelyn to agree to become Amelia’s travel companion, and the two set off. Soon enough, they get drawn into a mystery surrounding an archaeological dig near the village of Haggi Qandil, also called Tell-el-Amarna. First, a mummy disappears. Then, villagers report seeing a mummy walk at night; even the practical and level-headed Amelia sees it. Other frightening things happen, too, and people begin saying that the place is cursed. Whatever is going on, Amelia and Evelyn are going to have to find out who’s behind these incidents if they’re to stay alive.
Saudi Arabia is the setting for Zoë Ferraris’ series featuring Palestinian-born desert guide Nayir ash-Sharqui, and laboratory technician Katya Hijazi. In the first entry, Finding Nouf, Nayir’s friend Othman ash-Shrawi hires him to find out the truth about Othman’s sixteen-year-old sister, Nouf. It seems that she went missing and was later found dead in a wadi. The official explanation is that she drowned when a sudden storm came up. But Katya’s test results, plus some other evidence, suggest that this might have been a murder. It’s very difficult for Katya, as Othman is her fiancé. It’s also hard for Nayir, as Othman is his friend. But both of them persevere, and in the end, find out who killed Nouf and why.
Anthony Bidulka’s PI sleuth Russell Quant often travels for his work. In Date With a Sheesha, Pranav Gupta hires Quant to find out what happened to his son Nayal ‘Neil.’ He tells Quant that Neil had gone to the Middle East to give some lectures on antique carpets, and to choose some samples for the University of Saskatoon’s permanent display. During a stay in Dubai, Neil and some of his friends had an impromptu party at one of the outdoor markets. Then, according to the police reports, he was attacked and killed by a group of thugs. Gupta, though, thinks his son’s death was a hate crime and that he was targeted because he was gay. He wants Quant to find out the truth, so Quant heads for Dubai. The murder was said to be a random crime, but Quant finds out that there was nothing at all random about it.
There’s also D.A. (Dror) Mishani’s Tel Aviv-based detective Avraham ‘Avi’ Avraham. In The Missing File, the first of this series, Avi investigates when sixteen-year-old Ofer Sherabi goes missing. At first, Avi is sure that Ofer will return soon. When he doesn’t, Avi starts looking into the matter. He soon finds that there are several possibilities in this case. For one thing, Ofer’s father wasn’t at home at the time his son disappeared. He could very well have something to do with the case. Another ‘person of interest’ is Ze’ev Avni, who lived in the same building, and who gave Ofer English lessons. But they didn’t have a typical tutor/student relationship, so Ze’ev could have more than one motive for getting rid of the boy. There are other leads, too, making this a challenging case.
There are lots of other crime novels, too, that take place in the Middle East. It’s a diverse, exotic, and complex setting, so it’s little wonder it can be so effective. Which Middle East-based novels have stayed with you?
*NOTE: The title of this post is a line from Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s Arabian Nights.
Crime Writer Margot Kinberg 
I enjoy all the Christies set in the Middle East and as you say, having been there with her husband she knew it well which probably adds to the joy. I very much liked her book on experiences on digs too – what a multi talented author she was!
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Oh, she really was, KBR! And I think she had some interesting, even enjoyable adventures there, too; you can see the enthusiasm for that part of the world in her writing, in my opinion. To me, that’s part of the appeal of those books.
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I have not read many mysteries (or other fiction) set in the Middle East. I have read a few by Christie. I have the first two books by D.A. Mishani but haven’t read them yet. Finding Nouf by Ferraris is another one I have on my shelves but haven’t read yet.
The book by Anthony Bidulka set in Dubai sounds interesting. I have only read one book in his series about Russell Quant.
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I hope you get to Finding Nouf, Tracy. It’s a really interesting look at life in Saudi Arabia, in my opinion, and it’s well written, too. I like Mishani’s writing style, too, and I think it depicts modern Israel effectively. As for Anthony Bidulka, one of his skills as a writer is his ability to convey a sense of place and local culture, and I think he does that well in Date With a Sheesha. I hope you get a chance to try that one.
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Margot, I think it’s an area I’ve neglected in my reading.
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Ah, nobody has time to read everything about every place, Col. If you do get to it, I hope you enjoy exploring the Middle East at some point in your reading.
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‘Come, Tell Me How You Live’ is the non-fiction book to read which will tell you all about Christie’s real archaeological adventures in Syria. It was delightful and you could see exactly where she got the backgrounds to several of her books like, They Came to Baghdad. One of Laurie King’s ‘Mary Russell’ books has a Middle East setting. I remember not being that keen to read it but it turned out to be excellent. I think it was O, Jerusalem. I’ve neglected that excellent series and must get back to it. I do enjoy these themed posts you do, Margot.
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Thanks for the kind words, Cath; I’m glad you enjoy these posts. There’s definitely a connection between Come, Tell Me How You Live and some of Christie’s fiction. I’ve always had the feeling she really enjoyed some of those adventures! Thanks also for mentioning the Mary Russell series. It’s such an interesting follow-on series to the Sherlock Holmes stories, I think. And King writes very well. I ought to get back to them, too!
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Hmm, apart from the Agatha Christie ones, I can’t think of any mysteries I’ve read set in the Middle East. As you say, thrillers and spies abound, though. The Amelia Peabody books always appeal but so far I haven’t got around to trying them… one day!
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To me, there’s definitely a difference between the thrillers and spy novels that take place in the Middle East, and the crime novels that do, FictionFan. I hope you’ll get to read some of the Amelia Peabody series at some point. I think you might find them enjoyable. Personally, I like her as a character (not that she’s without faults!).
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I am now reading the Agatha Christie biography by Laura Thompson (Agatha Christie: A Mysterious Life), and I am at the point where she married Max Mallowan, the archaeologist. Reading that book has motivated me to read the Christie memoir that Cath mentions above.
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It was a really interesting part of Christie’s life, Tracy. It had a powerful impact on her writing, too, so I can see how you’d want to read what she had to say about her travels there.
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There is something compelling about the Middle East – the ultimate in foreign destination, maybe because so few westerners, relatively, have travelled there. It wasn’t until after I was there that I felt confident enough to write about it in a realistic way.
Love Christie’s work in that part of the world, and just started the Peabody books last year. Hadn’t heard of the others. As usual you are a wealth of information.
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Thanks, Anthony – glad you enjoyed the post. And you really do have a well-taken point about the Middle East. It is (to westerners, anyway) such a different, even exotic place. And I think you were wise to go there and spend time there before writing about it. I’m sure that must have been an amazing experience. And, yes, Christie wrote very well about that part of the world (I’m sure that living there for a while sparked her enthusiasm).
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Interesting list. I have read “Death on the Nile” and Amelia Peabody books but I wasn’t aware of the other ones. As for Christie, I also remember “Mesopotamia”, that took place in an archaeological site and is one of my absolute favourites.
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Thanks for mentioning Murder in Mesopotamia, Guylene. It’s a really clear example of the way Christie explored the Middle East as a setting. I think it worked very well for that mystery. It is a fine story! And thanks for the kind words; glad you enjoyed the post.
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