The Bride Box - (Mamur Zapt Mysteries (Hardcover)) by Michael Pearce (Hardcover)

About the Book

Cairo, 1912. The Pasha receives an unexpected gift. When opened, the box contains an unwelcome jolt from the past--one which connects with practices long thought dead. At the same time, a little girl's discovered riding under a train from Luxor--and the Mamur Zapt, Head of the Khedive's Secret Police, is called in to investigate.

Book Synopsis

Cairo, 1912. The Pasha receives an unexpected gift: a traditional Bride Box. When opened, however, the box contains an unwelcome jolt from the past . . . At the same time, a little girl is discovered riding under a train from Luxor - and the Mamur Zapt, Head of the Khedive's Secret Police, is called in to investigate.

He soon finds himself confronting a political storm as the end of British rule approaches and his investigations uncover a tangled web of family loyalties and betrayals, with its roots in a slave trade long supposed to have been stamped out in Egypt.

Review Quotes

"This is a deftly plotted, cleverly written, highly entertaining mystery, but it's the gentle humor and the warmth of the characters that earns it two thumbs decisively up."-- "Booklist Starred Review"

"As always in this comically understated series, both crime and punishment are consistently upstaged by a lovingly detailed portrait of Egypt during the Great War. The result is a bit like a police procedural reimagined by Douglas Adams."-- "Kirkus Reviews"