Death on Tour by Janice Hamrick

I first  saw this book on Iliana's blog last year. She mentioned it briefly, and when I saw that it's set in Egypt, I immediately wanted to read it, too. Only my library didn't have a copy. And I wasn't sure I wanted to buy my own copy without knowing if it was any good. So, I asked my library to borrow it through inter-library loan....which sometimes works, and sometimes doesn't. Luckily for me, this time it worked. It just took a lot longer than I thought it would. (But then, considering it came to Utah all the way from Michigan, it's no wonder.) So instead of reading it last year like I planned, I ended up reading it last week.

Was it worth all the hassle?

Well... the mystery itself is actually pretty easy to figure out, so while this book reads fast, it's not super suspenseful. I did like the main character, just not enough to want to read about her again in another book. The side characters were a mixed bunch; I liked some, was annoyed by one in particular, and the rest hardly figured into the book at all. What I loved was getting to revisit all of Egypt's amazing tourist sites from Abu Simbel to Edfu. That was a lot of fun and ended up being my favorite part of the book. All in all, Death on Tour was a 3.5/5 star read for me.

Here's the plot in brief:  Jocelyn Shore is a Texas high school teacher who's always wanted to go to Egypt. She and her cousin, Kyla, are enjoying the pyramids when Millie, one of their fellow travelers, ends up dead. At first, everyone assumes it's a tragic accident, and the group blithely continues on with their tour, but then they find out Millie was murdered. Not only that, but she'd been secretly nosing around the other tour members. Then there's a second murder. And Jocelyn stumbles upon some information that hints at artifact smuggling. She also gets caught up in a case of mistaken identity that could have fatal consequences. (Oh, and she falls in love.)

Happy Reading!

Egypt in Fiction

The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips

I read this book years ago and I still smile every time I think about it.  Written through a series of journal entries and letters, this odd and quirky epistolary novel is set in Egypt in the 1920s. It centers around a young archaeologist who is determined to find the lost tomb of Atum-hadu and prove his love for Margaret, the girl he left behind in Boston, even if he has to create the tomb himself. This novel is inventive, unexpected, darkly funny, and utterly unforgettable.

King and Goddess by Judith Tarr

Born the daughter of Tuthmosis I, then married to Tuthmosis II, Hatshepsut lived a truly interesting life. When her husband died, she was declared regent for her young stepson, Tuthmosis III. Instead, she claimed the crown, declared herself king and Pharoah, and ruled the land of Egypt for twenty years. Not only does this book tell the amazing story of an amazing woman, it also gives you the flavor of life in Ancient Egypt. I loved it. Tarr's writing is historical fiction at its best.

Other awesome Egyptian reads:

Chronicle of a Last Summer by Yasmine El Rashidi

The Amelia Peabody Series by Elizabeth Peters

Happy Reading!

Great non-fiction reads on Egypt...

The Nile:  A Journey Downriver Through Egypt's Past and Present by Toby Wilkinson

This is a fascinating and very readable book that starts in Aswan and takes you all the way to Cairo, stopping at all the important sites along the Nile. I loved Wilkinson's writing and all his fun facts and stories. And I learned a lot. If you're interested in Egypt at all, I highly recommend this book.

Down the Nile:  Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney

This great read chronicles Mahoney's own trip down the Nile....alone in a small boat that she rows herself. (It sounds crazy, I know.) The people she meets and the sites she sees are so interesting. I like to read this kind of travel memoir, probably because I'm not brave enough to do something this adventurous and mad myself! But I'm glad Mahoney is.

The Seventy Great Mysteries of Ancient Egypt edited by Bill Manley

From the riddles of the sphinx to the lost tomb of
Amenhotep I to the Tutankhamen conspiracy, this tome covers many of the questions and mysteries of Egypt. It has short chapters and lots of beautiful color photographs. Best of all, if you're not interested in the chapters on royal boats or Necho and his fleet, you can just skip them.  I did!

Happy Reading!

A bookish journey to Egypt...

Chronicle of a Last Summer by Yasmine El Rashidi is the coming of age story of a young girl growing up in Cairo, Egypt, and also that of her family. Told over the course of three pivotal summers, it is also the story of Egypt's recent political turmoil and of this girl's and her family's struggle to survive all these changes. I found it to be a compelling story of love and loss--full of memories of the past and idealistic hopes for the future--and an unflinching look at the very real cost of freedom. El Rashidi's prose is spare, but so effective. I couldn't put this book down. It's a fascinating novel, and I learned a lot about life in Cairo and how Egypt's many revolutions have affected its citizens. It's a place I've always wanted to visit, and after reading this book, I almost feel like I have. Here are a few snippets to give you a taste of El Rashidi's writing:

"Grandmama said that to have a sip of the Nile is like drinking ancient magic. If you make a wish it comes true."

"The police would come sometimes and take things. They took the cart of the peanut seller on our street. They took the kiosk by the school that sold chocolates and Cleopatra cigarettes by the one. They took the man who worked for Uncle Mohsen. They also took the boy who cleaned cars at the garage next door. In the cartoon Abla Fatiha they told us that if we were naughty they would take us too." 

"Over lunch Dido says the only way our lives will change is if we demand it. People like our cousin in America are the reason we're in stagnation. Leaving is the greatest evil. Then silence."

"I think of Uncle, warning Dido and me that in life we have to assess things and always take a position. I wonder if my position is too often ambiguous...I think a lot about what it means to be a witness, the responsibility of it. I wonder about my writing, if fiction is a political statement or simply no position. Is the silence of objectivity and being an observer, witness, the same as complicity? This question occupies me...(Uncle) would tell me that to be a witness to history is a burden for the chosen."

Happy Reading!