Synopses & Reviews
An adrenaline-packed thriller and archaeological adventure by and outstanding new storyteller
In 523 BC, the Persian emperor Cambyses dispatched an army across Egypt' s western desert to destroy the oracle of Amun at Siwa. Legend has it that somewhere in the middle of the Great Sand Sea, his army was overwhelmed by a sandstorm and destroyed. Fifth thousand men were lost.
At first, the incidents appear unconnected. Inspector Yusuf Khalifa of the Luxor police is suspicious, however. And so too is the archaeologist' s daughter, Tara Mullray. As each seeks to uncover the truth, they find themselves thrown together in a desperate race for survival-- one that forces them to confront not only present-day adversaries but also ghosts from their own pasts.
From a mysterious fragment of ancient hieroglyphic text to rumors of a fabulous lost tomb in the Theban Hills, from the shimmering waters of the Nile to the dusty back streets of Cairo, Khalifa and Mullray are drawn ever deeper into a labyrinth of violence, intrigue, and betrayal. It is a path that will eventually lead them into the forbidding, barren heart of the western desert, and the answer to one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world.
At once an adrenaline-packed thriller and a wonderfully evocative archaeological adventure, The Lost Army of Cambyses marks the debut of an outstanding new storyteller.
Review
Adrenaline-packed . . . combines all the elements of a truly great adventure story . . . At the end you feel like youve been on a roller coaster, in a library, and down the Nile all at the same time. . . . Superbly evocative, with a huge epic sweep.” Crime Time
A plot as complex as a hall of mirrors, and almost as gripping as a death threat.” Kirkus Reviews
A tremendous adventure . . . a great novel masterfully written.” Valerio Massimo Manfredi, author of Alexander: Child of a Dream
Gripping
a spine-chilling, fast paced thriller
The Lost Army of Cambyses shocks as well as enthralls.” Sunday Business Post (Ireland)
At last, a thriller that gets away from the hackneyed old curse of Tut stuff
the fast-paced plot is one among many good things in this very assured novel.” Scotland on Sunday
Synopsis
This adrenaline-packed thriller is a wonderfully evocative archeological adventure by an outstanding new storyteller.
Synopsis
In 523 BC, the Persian pharaoh Cambyses dispatched an army across Egypts western desert to destroy the oracle at Siwa. Legend has it that somewhere in the middle of the Great Dune Sea his army was overwhelmed by a sandstorm and lost forever. Two and a half millennia later a mutilated corpse is washed up on the banks of the Nile at Luxor, an antique dealer is savagely murdered in Cairo, and a British archaeologist is found dead at the ancient necropolis of Saqqara.
The incidents appear unconnected, but Inspector Yusuf Khalifa of the Luxor police is suspicious, as is the archaeologists daughter, Tara Mullray. Lured into a labyrinth of intrigue, violence, and betrayal by a mysterious hieroglyphic fragment and rumors of a mythic lost tomb, what began as a search for the truth becomes a race for survival. Confronted by both present day adversaries and ghosts from their pasts, Khalifa and Mullray find themselves on a trail that leads into the deserts unforgiving, burning heart, and the answer to one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world.