Agatha Christie lived in Syria and the Middle East with her archaeologist husband Max Brown in the 1930s, the source for many of her wildly popular mysteries. First published in 1938, Appointment With Death is the story of an American family on a grand tour of the Holy Land. Hercule Poirot steps into the story when the contentious wife is found murdered in the city of Petra. In addition to the pleasure of who-dun-it, the book is rich in detail of place.  (JRD02, $6.99)