I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this book incredibly interesting the author really kept me hooked until the end. very well written I highly recommend.

I love historical fiction that lets me disappear into a different time and place, and "Bird in a Snare" definitely did that. I especially liked the main character, Hani, and his family. Names did get confusing, because ancient Egyptians each had several names; the list of characters in this case was needed. Because the story does unfold over months and even years, I wish there had been some more cues to help me keep the time frame straight. In the end, what appealed to me the most was the characters and the well-developed setting. I think this will appeal to historical fiction readers, especially those interested in ancient Egypt, more than mystery fans. I do hope to read the others in the series because I want to know what happens to the characters.

This is one of my favorite historical mystery series set in Ancient Egypt and I think it's well researched and well written.
Hani is a complex and well thought character and i like how he's able to navigate the political complexity of his time.
The historical background is well researched and vivid, it's one of the plus of this series.
There're plenty of explanations and the pace is a bit slow but once I got used i fell in love with this series.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Sadly I just couldn't get into this book, the writing is great but it felt very slow going and I started to skim read.

I think I will return to it at some point as the premise is an intriguing one and the detailed descriptive writing about ancient Egyptian society was interesting but just not enough to keep me reading.

Thanks to WayBack Press and Netgalley for a copy of the ARC in return for my honest review.

If you're a huge fan of Egyptian stories, you'll gonna love this! There are some parts that pretty confusing for me, but it's still a good book. It's such a beautifully written book. Thanks Netgalley for the eARC!
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When Hani, an Egyptian diplomat under Akhenaten, is sent to investigate the murder of a useful bandit leader in Syria, he encounters corruption, tangled relationships, and yet more murder. His investigation is complicated by the new king’s religious reforms, which have struck Hani’s own family to the core. Hani’s mission is to amass enough evidence for his superiors to prosecute the wrongdoers despite the king’s protection—but not just every superior can be trusted. And maybe not even the king!

It’s hard not to like the idea of this book—a murder mystery set in ancient Egypt and incorporating appearances by actual historical figures of the time. The protagonist, Lord Hani, serves as an emissary of the Egyptian king on mission to investigate the murder of a neighboring leader. Maya, his scribe and Watson figure, accompanies Hani on his various travels, which take place over months and years. These characters are appealing, and their story is told in an engaging manner, with lots of little juicy subplots and well-developed relationships.

The author’s scholarly background and familiarity with the historical context shine throughout the book—but after a while this is to the detriment of the story. She may have her Amenhoteps and Akhenatens straight, but for those of us who have to reach back to some dim memory from 9th-grade of who was who in Ancient Egypt, it’s less trivial to keep track of it all. Every good mystery needs a critical mass of supporting characters and suspects, but after the first, say, fifteen or so, it's a bit much. Halfway through the book I started to amuse myself by counting how many distinct people and place names were mentioned on every page—average: 9 (it might have been more—hard to tell what a page is on a Kindle). I mean, I’m reading a murder mystery for leisure; are you seriously going to make me take notes? The murder investigation plays out over years and ultimately feels secondary. This is mostly a story of palace intrigue—involving multiple palaces, each with its own set of rivals and schemers.

Extra credit for the book’s excellent cover art.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital advance review copy.

*Many thanks to N.L. Holmes, WayBack Press, and NetGalley for arc in exchange for my honest review.*
I have not read a good historical fiction for years, my last being Mika Waltari's masterpiece, and I was looking forward to the mystery set in the ancient Egypt. The book is well-written and even better researched, however, I found it difficult to follow all the places and numerous characters whose names are not that easy to remember. I suppose the Author tries a little to hard to depict the times and to give the authentic feel of them.
I might try another offering as Lord Hani is definitely an likeable, intelligent man and I enjoyed following him.

Lord Hani is called on by his pharaoh king to determine who assassinated the rebel leader, Abdi-ashirta, in Bird in a Snare. What the Lord discovers is much more than just an assassination plot!

“Sometimes I wish I were just a happy little bird, not a human being at all. We humans can be vile animals.“

While I appreciate that the author used historically correct names, many of them sounded very similar. I couldn’t keep Yanakh-amu and Yapakh-addi straight. Plus I didn’t understand where people stood in this very hierarchical society. There is a character list but I didn’t see it until I reached it after the novel was done.

If you like historical mysteries and Egyptian history, Bird in a Snare would be perfect for you. But for me, it’s a 3-star read.

Thanks to Wayback Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

First of all, I wanted to say a big thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

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This book and genre was quite out of my usual comfort zone. I had a bit of an up and down relationship with this book unfortunately. Don’t get me wrong, I was gripped and I did finish it, I was enticed by the plot and really wanted to find out what happened at the end. However, at the same time, I felt quite confused at times as to what was actually going on. Despite this, I found the writing to be easy to follow and it did flow very well, I just struggled sometimes with specific details and often needed to be reminding what was going on.

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This book follows Hani. A wise, kind, warm-hearted royal diplomat to the king as he journeys to Kebni and Simurru. His duty is to discover who assassinated the former leader or the Hapiru. Along his journey, he is accompanied by his secretary Maya. Maya looks up to Hani, he drastically longs for his acceptance, love and admiration. However, the pair get into a lot more than they bargained for; from being roped into mediating two important protégées of the king in their incessant bickering, to having to persuade the Hapiru, and its new leader, against sieging one of the two lands their king rules over. As everything comes to a head, including assassination attempts and investigations with loose ends. Hani finds it hard to keep the faith in his new king and feels exploited for his good nature and kindness, like a bird in a snare.

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I really loved the development of the storyline and the characters. I felt very attached to Hani, he’s an incredibly likeable, loving, family man who only wants the best for his children and wife. The way all the characters develop as the plot thickens was incredibly well written, even those who have lesser parts in the plot, had their own personality’s shining through which is often a weakness in many books.

The book has many sub plots breaking off from the main plot which does keep you gripped, although they are separate, they tie up a lot of loose ends from the main plot which was really fascinating. I did often find it hard though to remember details about certain characters. Obviously, due to the time the book is written in, a lot of Egyptians had names or those similar to those of their ancestors, particularly if they held optimal or regal positions in the diplomacy. I still found it difficult to remember whose who on occasions but I think that’s more me getting lost and confused than a fault on the authors part.

I found the book really picks up pace near the last couple of hundred pages. So if you’re really interested in the concept of this book I would persevere on, the world building part did take a few hundred pages but I feel like it was necessary with everything that goes on in the plots.

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Overall, there were some positives to this novel and I’m really glad I gave it a go. I just unfortunately don’t think it’s my cup of tea. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who has an interest in Egyptians and mystery’s.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I will be honest, great idea, but I just could not get into this book. It is not the author's fault at all! It just did not grab my interest at all.

Bird in a Snare is the first book in The Lord Hani Mysteries and is full of political intrigue set in ancient Egypt. Lord Hani and his secretary are investigating the murder of a Syrian that could have been helpful to Akhenaten, the Sun God and leader of Egypt. This book is well researched making Egypt and the surrounding areas come to life. The book was a little slow for me, but the knowledge and passion that N.L. Holmes has for the subject is obvious and kept me turning the page. Thank you #NetGalley for allowing me to give my honest opinion on #BirdinaSnare.

Thank you to NetGalley and the the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

This is the first book in the Lord Hani Mysteries. It is set in Egypt at about 1350bc. Hani is a diplomat and very loyal to the King. He is sent away from home several times to investigate murder, "law suits", border skirmishes etc.

I enjoyed the book and it is very well written and the reader is able to immerse themselves in the times and visualize the scenery.

I am unsure if I will seek out the next book in the series (The Crocodile Makes No Sound). The reasons for this are the book was a long read and also, me being a westerner, found it difficult to read and remember some of the Egyptian names of the characters. An example of this is Yanakh-amu and Yapakh-addi who are both integral to the book. If you are reading it and come across one of these names you have to think hard which character it is. Maybe that is just me.

I have given the book a rating of 4. It could easily be 5 but the length and the use of "foreign" names detracted it for me slightly. If you are happy with a long read and can quickly decipher and come to terms with names make sure you read it.

This is a beautifully written novel. But...I couldn’t get past the one-quarter mark. It is incredibly dense with a surfeit of characters and locales, all with confusing names. The mystery at the bedrock of the book wasn’t very interesting...the book was slow going for me. But if you are interested in ancient Egypt you may find much to reward you. Ancient Egyptian society is portrayed with convincing detail and nuance.