Ebook261 pages4 hours
The Bride Box
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
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About this ebook
In WWI Egypt, a murdered girl and her runaway sister lead the Khedive’s head investigator to an underground slave trade in this “deftly plotted” mystery (Booklist, starred review).
Cairo, 1913. Pasha Ali Maher has received an unexpected gift: a traditional Bride Box. But what should contain treasures anticipating a marriage instead contains the body of the would-be bride herself. At the same time, a little girl is discovered riding under a train from Luxor—having escaped from her captors—and the Mamur Zapt, Head of the Khedive’s Secret Police, is called in to investigate.
Though the two girls are discovered to be sisters, the Pasha and his lady insist they have no connection to the crimes. And as British rule begins to falter, throwing the Mamur Zapt into political turmoil, his investigations uncover a still-thriving slave trade that was supposed to have been stamped out in Egypt long ago.
“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
Cairo, 1913. Pasha Ali Maher has received an unexpected gift: a traditional Bride Box. But what should contain treasures anticipating a marriage instead contains the body of the would-be bride herself. At the same time, a little girl is discovered riding under a train from Luxor—having escaped from her captors—and the Mamur Zapt, Head of the Khedive’s Secret Police, is called in to investigate.
Though the two girls are discovered to be sisters, the Pasha and his lady insist they have no connection to the crimes. And as British rule begins to falter, throwing the Mamur Zapt into political turmoil, his investigations uncover a still-thriving slave trade that was supposed to have been stamped out in Egypt long ago.
“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
Author
Michael Pearce
Michael Pearce was raised in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, where his fascination for language began. He later trained as a Russian interpreter but moved away from languages to follow an academic career, first as a lecturer in English and the History of Ideas, and then as an administrator. Michael Pearce now lives in London and is best known as the author of the award-winning Mamur Zapt books.
Read more from Michael Pearce
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Reviews for The Bride Box
Rating: 4.666666666666667 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
6 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
From the back" Cairo 1912. The Pasha receives an unexpected gift (it is sent to him, but he Never receives it); a traditional Bride Box. When opened, however the box contains an unwelcome jolt from the past - one which connects with practices long thought dead. 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.
An Englishman (He's Welsh) squeezed between the demands of a world about to disappear and the merging needs of a world about to come, the Mamur Zapt, 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."
If you are going to write a blurb/synopsis for a book, Make It Accurate! Sheesh!
The little girl found riding under the train has escaped from slavers, long thought to be abolished & gone. She is taken to the Local Vet (a woman doctor) who then takes her to the Mamur Zapt.... In turn Owen (the Mamur Zapt) takes the child to his "wife" Zeinab, the daughter of a local Pasha.
Off of the train is a container wrapped in protective cloth..... it is seeping liquid and smells mightily addressed to one of the local Pashas..... Once opened the container turns out to be a Bride Box (Dowry Chest) and it contains the body of the young one to whom it belonged...... In the hand of the deceased is a pearl button made from a trochee shell, much traded in Sudan & Egypt.
At the train station there appears to be a major transport of Gum Arabic, Trochee Shells, & the newest Rifles w/ the latest sights...
The Mamur Zapt, the Parquet (Egyptian Criminal Lawyers who investigate & try crimes), the British, and local investigators are all busy working on apparently different cases that all come together.....
I ? the Mamur Zapt. I have been waiting for this book to come out since the last one was published in 2008... this has been a long wait and now I find that this is the last book in the series and for me this is a major crime (pun intended)!
There is a lot of action in this book and many quirky, yet likeable characters..... There is much ambiguity (which seems to be a cultural attribute) as many of the characters in the book are never forthcoming about what they've seen, heard, or done... so it takes a bit of time and patience to unravel the truth of the goings on. There is also much underlying humor & tenderness within the heroes of the series.....
The book held my interest, it was well written and seemed to work well with the era it was set in..... I am sorely going to miss this series.
I know Michael Pearce writes other series, but I'm not much interested in those, although now that I'm not working it is obvious I'll have more time to read & will be pushed to reach out past my comfort zone.
Book preview
The Bride Box - Michael Pearce
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