They Came to Baghdad, Agatha Christie

I picked up They Came to Baghdad without knowing anything about it at a thrift store (how many of my book posts start this way?!). I've read (I think?) 3 other Agatha Christie books: one Marple, one Poirot, plus And Then There Were None -- and enjoyed them all to varying degrees. However, I admit I was a bit skeptical about They Came to Baghdad because it's a Cold War spy novel, set in the Middle East, not a detective novel and I just wasn't sure I trusted her with the genre. (I think I was afraid she would fall into the traps that Hitchcock fell into when he switched from murder mysteries to Cold War spy stories. And adding the Middle East locale had me concerned as well.) Anyway, while it did have a couple troublesome bits, it didn't do any of the things I feared it would do and I actually loved it. Mainly what I loved was the heroine, Victoria Jones, who manages to get herself into (and more importantly OUT OF) all kinds of trouble without having any particular skills beyond being able to fabricate stories convincingly. She reminded me a bit of my beloved Miss Fisher, except where Miss Fisher has a wide range of actual abilities, Victoria Jones just has a knack for faking it, which is almost more impressive. They share an impulsive, carefree quality coupled with unlikely (and largely unnoticed by others) good sense and quick-mindedness. Everyone underestimates Victoria and she plays that to her advantage incredibly well. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read.