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''Murder in Mesopotamia'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 6 July 1936〔''The Observer'', 5 July 1936 (p. 6)〕 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00.〔 The book features Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The novel is set at an archaeological excavation in Iraq, and descriptive details derive from the author's visit to the Royal Cemetery at Ur where she met her husband, Sir Max Mallowan, and other British archaeologists. It was adapted for television in 2002. ==Plot summary== Amy Leatheran, a nurse, is hired to care for Louise Leidner by her husband. Dr Erich Leidner, a Swedish archaeologist, married Louise two years earlier. They are on a dig near Hassanieh, Iraq, then a British protectorate. Louise was married briefly during the Great War 15 years earlier, to a German named Frederick Bosner. He worked for the US State Department, but was actually a spy for Germany. He was caught, tried and sentenced to death. He managed to escape while he was being transported but his train crashed; a body bearing his identification was found in the wreckage. Louise has received letters purporting to be from her first husband, which puts her on edge. A week after the nurse's arrival, Mrs Leidner is found dead by her husband in her room. He calls the nurse into the room. His wife was struck fatally on the head with a large blunt object. Nurse Leatheran observes that the murder weapon is not in the room. Captain Maitland speaks with all in the house, while Dr Reilly inspects the body. They establish the time line, and are certain it is an inside job. The Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is travelling in Iraq; his old friend Dr Reilly calls Poirot for aid. It is apparent to all that the murderer of Mrs Leidner must be ''one of us''. The only entry to the bedroom is from the house, as the one window is barred, and was shut when her body was discovered. Miss Johnson thought she heard a cry, but disbelieves her own ears when she learns that the window was closed, no way for any sound to reach her. The group carry on as Dr Leidner arranges for his wife's funeral and the local police begin their work, along with Poirot. The first round of questions show no obvious suspect, as everyone can account for their time, in the sight of others. At Dr Reilly's home, Nurse Leatheran tells Poirot the story of Mrs Leidner's first marriage and the young brother-in-law she has not seen in fifteen years. Poirot speculates that one of the members of the dig may be this younger brother, William Bosner or if her first husband is still alive, as the identity of the body in the train wreck could not be certain. They meet Sheila Reilly, who viewed Louisa as one who must have the attention of every man around her. Dr Reilly adds his own views, calling her "belle dame sans merci". Poirot worries that Nurse Leatheran may not be safe to return to the house. She does return, wanting to attend the funeral. After the funeral, Miss Johnson and Nurse Leatheran are on the roof. Miss Johnson makes clear she has had a new thought about how someone could enter without being seen, but explains nothing. That night, Miss Johnson is murdered in her bed, dying with Nurse Leatheran at her side, trying to revive her. She was poisoned by hydrochloric acid substituted in the glass of water on her nightstand. She manages to choke out the words "The window! The window!" before she dies. Nurse Leatheran first makes it clear this was no suicide, and thinks the words indicate how her water was replaced by the acid – through her window. Poirot now has two murders to solve. He considers it a ''crime passionnel'', in which he must understand the character of Louise Leidner to solve both murders. He solves the crimes, but has no proof. Poirot presents his results to the group at the house, after a day of sending telegrams all over the world. Mrs Leidner and Miss Johnson were murdered by Dr Leidner, who is Frederick Bosner. He survived the train crash; but a young Swedish archaeologist named Erich Leidner did not, and was disfigured beyond facial recognition. Bosner stole the dead man's identity. Fifteen years later, established as Leidner, he remarried his wife, who did not recognise him. Bosner sent the letters to discourage Louise from her other relationships. When Bosner remarried her under his new identity, he stopped writing them. He saw that Louise was falling in love with Richard Carey, his friend. If Leidner could not have Louise, no one could. He murdered Miss Johnson because she figured out how he had murdered his wife. Bosner killed his wife from the roof as he sorted pottery. Louise Leidner was in her room. She heard a noise and then saw a mask at her window. She opened the window and stuck her head out through the bars. A heavy stone quern dropped from above, bludgeoning her. Bosner retrieved the quern with the rope tied through a hole. Mrs Leidner cried out briefly; it was this cry that Miss Johnson heard. When Bosner climbed down from the roof as usual to see his wife in her room, he moved her body away from the window, and moved the blood-stained rug near the jug and bowl. He shut the window before calling Nurse Leatheran to the room. Bosner diverted suspicion from himself. The nurse was part of his alibi, on the spot to state the time of death. He put hydrochloric acid in Miss Johnson's water glass, to appear as suicide. Poirot points out that drinking hydrochloric acid is an incredibly painful and bizarre way to kill oneself. Poirot solved another crime at the dig. The man seen looking through the antika room window in that peaceful week was Ali Yusuf, a known associate of Raoul Menier, a skilled thief of antiquities. Raoul Menier joined the expedition disguised as epigraphist Father Lavigny, well-reputed but not known personally to any in the team. He had a free hand to steal precious artifacts from the dig and replace them with near-perfect copies made on site. The two were captured boarding a steamer at Beyrouth by the police, who had been warned by Poirot. Bosner acknowledged everything. Not long after, Sheila Reilly married David Emmott, a suitable match. Nurse Leatheran returned to England. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Murder in Mesopotamia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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