Recent Reads {City of the Dead}

City of the Dead by T.L. Higley - This novel in Higley's Seven Wonders series was not what I expected, but I mean that in a good way.  Obviously it is based in ancient Egypt, during the building of the Great Pyramid, but I thought it would probably be a romance.  Although there is a love story winding through it, it is actually a murder mystery, and a fairly good one!  The story is told in first person by Hemiunu, the Grand Vizier and the architect of the Great Pyramid.  He references a tragedy that occurred in the past that still haunts him, and as events unfold he realizes that it is linked to the murders happening in his present.  Hemi is also cousin to Pharoah Khufu, and their royal circle includes Khufu's wife, Merit, and a couple of other high-ranking Egyptians.  One of their number, Hemi's closest friend, is murdered and Hemi is determined to find the killer and restore ma'at (the Egyptian concept of order) without losing any time on the ongoing construction of the pyramid.  When Merit is also murdered, the search for the killer is intensified, but Hemi begins to meet resistance and to see the possible connections between the murders and what happened in his youth.  During this time he also befriends his new foreman and his daughter, who happen to be People of the One - worshippers of the One God of the Jews - and accepts their help in his quest for answers, and a relationship between himself and the daughter blossoms.  Hemi is himself accused of the murders and spends time in prison and on the run before the mystery is solved.

So is this book a "Christian romance" novel?  Not exactly.  It's unusual in a few ways, and a very enjoyable read, one I highly recommend.  By the way, you can also visit Higley's website, No Passport Required, for more information about her books and what is fact and what is fiction in each of them.

By the same author:  Pompeii: City on Fire, In the Shadow of Colossus