Secrets of the Nile

 

Secrets of the Nile: A Lady Emily Mystery (Lady Emily Mysteries Book 16) by Tasha Alexander. New York: Minotaur Books, 2022. 320 pages. ****

It is 1904 and Lady Emily agrees to accompany her husband, his difficult mother and recently discovered daughter, on a vacation to Luxor, Egypt. Lord Bertram Deeley, an amateur British collector of antiquities, has invited them for a leisurely cruise up the Nile and then a stay at his house. On the first night of their journey, Lord Deeley collapses, presumed dead by cyanide. Presumably the dinner guests are his closest friends, who among them is the killer? 

An alternate story emerges of Meryt, a young woman in ancient Egypt who is a master sculptor. Loved by her family and despised by her jealous sister-in-law, Meryt is asked by her father to make his "Ushabtis, an essential part of his funereal equipment, to stand in for him when he is called on to do work in the afterlife. " These three-thousand-year-old figures play a key role in determining Lord Deeley's killer. 

Agatha Christie and Amelia Peabody fans will love this latest novel in the Lady Emily series. Rich with the history, sights and sounds of Egypt, I didn't want it to end. Emily and Colin are at their best interviewing the staff, guests, and potential suspects, while trying to have some time to themselves. Alexander is a master storyteller with the humor of Elizabeth Peters and the cunning of Agatha Christie. Historical fiction at its best.

I received an ecopy for a review.

TASHA ALEXANDER is the author of the New York Times bestselling Lady Emily mystery series. The daughter of two philosophy professors, she studied English literature and medieval history at the University of Notre Dame. She and her husband, novelist Andrew Grant, live on a ranch in southeastern Wyoming. Her claim to fame is "New York Times Bestselling author,  Cook, Book Junkie and Master of Packing Light." Follow Tasha at https://www.tashaalexander.com

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