Tuesday 9 January 2018

The Case Of The Purloined Pyramid by Sean McLachlan


The Case Of The Purloined Pyramid by Sean McLachlan
Published by Kindle Press today, the 9th January 2018.

Where to buy this book:



How I got this book:
Received an ebook copy as a reward for my successful Kindle Scout nomination

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sir Augustus Wall, a horribly mutilated veteran of the Great War, has left Europe behind to open an antiquities shop in Cairo. But Europe’s troubles follow him as a priceless inscription is stolen and those who know its secrets start turning up dead. Teaming up with Egyptology expert Moustafa Ghani, and Faisal, an irritating street urchin he just can't shake, Sir Wall must unravel an ancient secret and face his own dark past.


The Case Of The Purloined Pyramid is the first novel in McLachlan's new historical mystery series, The Masked Man Of Cairo. The eponymous Masked Man is aloof Englishman Sir Augustus Wall, a character who unfortunately is so insular that we don't really get to know him although I imagine this will change in future books as he does begin to open up in the latter stages of this one. Surrounding Augustus however is a diverse cast of locals and expats, many of whom profess to want to help, but usually cause more trouble than they save. Street urchin Faisal is endearing and entertaining, and I appreciated Moustafa's predicament of working hard to educate himself yet being frequently dismissed purely because of his race.

Forgers, spies and power-hungry fanatics all cross paths in this well paced mystery tale. I didn't get such a strong sense of place as with McLachlan's previous novel, The Last Hotel Room, but the 1920s era is atmospherically evoked. The mystery itself was different enough from the genre norm to keep me intrigued and, on the whole, The Case Of The Purloined Pyramid is a satisfying read.


Search Lit Flits for more:
Books by Sean McLachlan / Crime fiction / Books from America

4 comments:

  1. I've never read a book set in Cairo, so that part sounds cool! And it sounds like this has a pretty great cast of characters. Hopefully you'll get to know the MC a little better in the next book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, aspects of this one did feel a bit first-of-a-series

      Delete
    2. You might want to try the Paul Sussman books, I've enjoyed them very much.

      Delete
  2. Thank you for your recommendation :-)

    ReplyDelete