They Came to Baghdad is one of my all-time favourite novels. It’s best described as a “light mystery thriller romance adventure”. I got the urge to reread this (yet again) as I’ve been playing Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, which is set in mediaeval Baghdad.

I’ve never been to Iraq or Baghdad, but during my years working in the Gulf I did visit cities and parts of cities and desert villages that are very similar – not just to how Baghdad is today or even around 1950 (when Christie’s book was written and set) – but also to how it likely was around 860AD. Cairo’s Khan el-Khalili souq for starters – I remember visiting a decade or so ago and being stuck in a crowd of people for half an hour due to a dispute between handcarts (maybe even one was a donkey cart?) being driven in opposing directions down a very narrow street.

Anyway, the book is a wonderfully plotted mystery with a good dose of romance and tonnes of intrigue – and a book you really need to read twice as once you know who the Baddie is, you get a whole new perspective on the second read and spot so many more things. The heroine – Victoria Jones – is a plucky, penniless orphan with a penchant for telling wild lies, who manages to get herself to Baghdad and embroiled in an international conspiracy.

The potential love interests range from a fascinating secret agent to a spectacularly gorgeous ex-RAF pilot and a highly intelligent archaeologist.

And as far-fetched as the book may have seemed (and been criticised for), the Big Plot is eerily reminiscent of what IS has tried to bring about in terms of a new Islamic state and a new world order. Christie was very well travelled and lived in the region and she is far more worldly and more astute about the secret workings of different societies than many critics give her credit for.