This is the first book in a historical mystery series set in the ancient Egypt of the boy king Tutankhamun. The story begins with the discovery of the body of a murdered man in the sacred Place of Anubis, where the dead are embalmed and prepared for their journey to the afterlife. The dead man is Hormin, scribe of records and tithes in the office of the vizier. Hormin had many enemies, including members of his family. Due to the importance of the man and the desecration of a sacred place, the King requests that Lord Meren investigate and find the murderer.
The mystery part of the plot is fairly standard, but I found Lord Meren a believable investigator. He sends his adopted son Kysen to the village of the tombmakers to get more information; Kysen is very reluctant to go because his real father, who abused him and sold him into slavery, lives there with his other sons.
I came to this book with little knowledge of ancient Egypt and the reign of Tutankhamun. My husband and I visited the “Treasures of Tutankhamun” exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1978, and we still have several books on Tutankhamun and the discovery of the tomb. This book added to my sense of what life may have been like back then, and emphasized the importance of religious beliefs and customs at that time.
One common complaint about historical fiction is that the author crams in too much information about life at the time in a way that it distracts from the story. This author did not do that at all. Many details are included (clothing, being dressed by servants, furniture, food) but they fit in with the story.
For me, the draw of this book was the picture of life in ancient Egypt, plus I liked the main characters. Meren has his faults and a good bit of trauma in his early life, but he is a loving father (he also has three adult daughters) and grandfather. Based on reviews I have read, I think later books will be even more enjoyable (and I already have two of them).
Also see:
- A review of the first three books in the series at The Incurable Bluestocking
- An interview with the author
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Publisher: Walker and Company, 1994
Length: 190 pages
Format: Hardcover
Series: Lord Meren #1
Setting: Ancient Egypt
Genre: Historical Mystery
Source: This was originally my husband's book.
24 comments:
I've always meant to try this author. Thank you for the reminder!
Definitely worth a try, Constance. Previously I avoided historical mysteries before 1900, but I have tried many series set earlier than that in the last couple of years.
I liked it too, and the next, and met the author at one mystery con or other, and she was nice.
Glad to hear that you liked the next book in this series, Rick. How nice to meet the author, although I would probably be too shy to say much.
Oh, a new author and series to me. I've stopped being surprised by that now. LOL! I'll be interested to hear how the series progresses.
I know Cath, there are so many authors and series (new and old) that are new to me. Just this week, a librarian friend asked me about a series by Kay Hooper, the Special Crimes Unit Series that I had never heard (with 20 books in it, starting in 2000). About a FBI team with psychic abilities. I plan to give it a try sometime.
Another genre I don't try often enough. And this despite being a history major in college!
Interesting! Good to know the author stays clear of information overload, but did you also think that the dialogue/ writing was true to the time? I've run into reading logjams before when the plot is going great and suddenly some modern lingo turns up. :-(
~ Lex (lexlingua.co)
I'm really glad you profiled this one, Tracy. I find Ancient Egypt interesting, and I like the setup for this novel. I'm especially glad to hear that you thought the author gave solid information without overloading the reader. That's not an easy balance to strike.
Patti, I think I enjoy historical fiction because I know so little about history. I took no more history classes than required, and I don't think I took any in college. I was a math major.
Lex, it seemed to me that the dialog was true to the time, although I would not know too much about it. I did not find it jarring or that current terminology was used. But I may not be the best judge of that.
Margot, I was worried that ancient Egypt would be too unfamiliar a setting. There were some customs and behavior that were surprising to me, and I did gain a better feeling for their religious beliefs. But that was all in the background and the story was interesting to follow.
Sounds good! I always enjoy historical crime because the detection element has to rely on character and motivation, rather than on forensics or technology, so the stories are often more interesting. Especially if, as you mention, the author manages to weave all the historical details into the story rather than providing an info dump.
I received my education about ancient Egypt in the wonderful, wonderful books by Elizabeth Peters. Here is a link to them.
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/p/elizabeth-peters/amelia-peabody/
FictionFan, I like to read mysteries written in the 1980s or 1990s (or earlier of course) because I prefer real detecting, and also because the use of mobile phones and the internet makes it so different now. And historical fiction does fit in that area also.
Nan, I had forgotten about the Amelia Peabody series. I did read the first few books in that series back when they first came out, but there were a lot of them I missed. I should go back and try them again.
I agree with you; I often read historical fiction that annoys me with narrators who describe events and settings like they are tour guides. Glad this book doesn't fall into that trap.
Deb, if anything this book erred in the other direction. I could have used a little more background. But this is a good opportunity to do some investigation of the times on my own.
You lost me at ancient Egypt.... sorry!
So you are not interested in stories about Egypt, Col? Actually, I did not think I would like reading crime fiction set in ancient Egypt either, but it worked for me.
Probably not, though after I had posted I remembered buying some ancient Rome books from Robert Harris. Not that I've read them yet! I can't even remember what they are about.
I do avoid ancient Rome in my reading, although I read one by Lindsey Davis in my early blogging years. I have thought of trying Robert Harris's books set in Rome. But I have more of his other books to read first.
I love a good historical mystery series. This one sounds quite interesting. I am putting it on my TBR list.
Laura, I enjoyed this book, even though I wasn't sure whether I would like reading about the time period.
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