I missed the chance to review The Missing Mummies when it appeared in hardback last summer, but by fortuitous blogging happenstance, that has simply made the timing better for a story focussing on thefts from the British Museum. And one might argue, on somewhat unethical collecting and conservation policies although I suppose to do might though be seen as anachronistic because of course these stories are set in the high 19th century when the British Empire had little regard for such niceties.

The story opens with the the duo of Jesperson and Lane engaged to investigate the theft of a few minor artifacts from the Museum. To begin with, their task seems fairly straightforward - one of recovering the missing pieces without tipping off Mr Budge, the chief curator, that anything has gone missing. But it seems these are not the first thefts. Given, though, that casual attitude to acquisitions - and the full blown market in looted antiquities which feeds it - it's soon clear that it can be hard to tell what has actually been stolen. Complications pile up affecting Museum politics, with more significant items found to have gone astray, a death, and the involvement of a collector who seems to have a link to Jesperson's childhood in Egypt...

I enjoy these books, which are told from the perspective of Miss Lane: at first sight a Doctor Watson to Jespersen's Sherlock Holmes, but in reality much more than that, since her unprivileged position (a woman! Not wealthy!) actually gives her many insights - and also reasons to check the impetuous Jesperson. Here, it aids her in befriending Matilda, a young heiress whose view of life, marriage and friendship Lane decides needs some amendment (beginning with her relationship with that collector, referred to as her "uncle", and proceeding to address the idea that marriage should be the peak of her expectations in life). What follows is the development of a complex relationship. You can't really conclude that the two women like each other that much, and there are story elements going on which it would be spoilery to reveal and which mean not everything is what it seems. But Lane acts - how can I put this? - she acts with a sense of responsibility towards a young and vulnerable person which is refreshing to see and the twists and turns of which are enjoyable to follow. (As is Jesperson's evident infatuation with the young and pretty Matilda - do a see a little jealousy from Miss Lane? Perhaps her motives are not completely unmixed...)

The book, like its predecessors, treads the line between a rational explanation of events (leading tom a to and fro business with the museum to track down what is missing, who had access to it and where it all went) and the possibility of an extra dimension to things, represented by Violet Dawes, a psychic who has appeared before in the series. Given Miss Lane's previous experience in this regard - her last employer was a bogus medium, but Jesperson and Lane have encountered the unexplained in previous adventures - I felt that things were perhaps a bit compartmentalised here with the earlier part of the book proceeding on the former lines but not entertaining the latter at all - until things realign. I felt perhaps our heroes, and especially Miss Lane, might have been slightly less sceptical at the start and more so more so later on: but that's a minor point really, perhaps reflecting that they are a little slow to recognise what's going on.

Once they do, however, the story really takes wings with a potent threat taking shape - a deadly threat to Matilda, and perhaps a wider one too. Plenty of action follows with a dash by train in the middle of the night and a combination of skills needed to address the danger - Jesperson's practicality, Lane's courage and empathy, Violet's esoteric abilities and the Egyptian learning of the redoubtable pagan Brown, a scholar who I hope we will see more of in future.

In all, a fun adventure.

London in the summer of 1894. Jasper Jesperson and Aphrodite Lane return for their third adventure, after a publishing hiatus of six years. The pair are requested to investigate the apparent theft from the storeroom of the British Museum of various ancient Egyptian artifacts. They subsequently get involved in a murder and the esoteric and cranky world of Egyptology and the adherents’ belief in the peculiar mystic qualities of that ancient civilization. The story creeps into the paranormal with the evils of demonic possession.
There is more than touch of Holmes and Watson about this pair. Not only is the scene late Victorian London, but Jesperson is the eccentric and brilliant private detective, with Lane acting as both the memoirist of their adventures and a faithful and occasionally valuable assistant. The narrative is interesting and well-written and the story zips along with pleasurable verve; but the characters occasionally seem to behave in ways that stretch credibility both for the conventions of the time as well as normal western human behaviour; they just do not seem quite right somehow. Nonetheless this is a thoroughly enjoyable story, set effectively in the milieu of late Victorian London

The Curious Affair of the Missing Mummies is the third outing for the crime solving duo Jesperson and Lane set during the 1890s in England. Miss Diane Lane is a modern woman who has to make her own way in life. She’s clever and resourceful and enjoys her working relationship with Jesperson. He will only take cases that interest him which can lead to long periods of less than full employment and a certain amount of ennui.
The case that piques his interest is brought to him by Edward Sand of the British Museum. He is concerned that certain items have gone missing from his department. Edward takes them to meet the redoubtable Mr Wallis Budge, the (real life) Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum. Having met the couple briefly he then has cause to recall them in a professional capacity as a major exhibit, Mummy X, has been stolen
On the trail of the missing mummy the pair conclude that there is much more to the case than simple theft. To complicate matters, in the midst of all this Miss Lane realises her feeling for Jesperson are not strictly professional. He becomes entranced with a young lady, Matilda who is sweet and charming and has information about her neighbour Mr Henderson who is overly concerned with mummies. The story deepens to include magic, snakes and all the exotic trappings of an Egyptian mystery.
The parallels to Sherlock Holmes are joyfully employed and enjoyed. To give credence to them sharing a residence the pair are looked after by Jesperson's mother, who effectively chaperones them under her roof. We need this polite fiction to enable us to allow that women in those days rarely had any freedom let alone an income. There’s a hint of attraction between the pair but not enough to get in the way of the story; more of a hint of things to come. It is a ripping yarn with a cast of characters who range from a charming ingénue, a man obsessed with ancient Egypt, loyal, worthy servants, nosey neighbours, only some of whom are obsessed with reincarnation and murder. It’s lots of fun and the lurid plot thickens until you can stand a spoon in it.

The late 1800s saw a fascination with all things Ancient Egyptian sweep through the Western world. The British Museum in London assembled a large collection, and in this story that includes a new ‘mystery’ mummy. Scholars don’t even know if it’s male or female, let alone who it is – and the speculation ranges from the wild to the supernatural. But is there really such a thing as a mummy’s curse?

However, it’s the theft of a minor trinket that draws in Jasper Jesperson, private investigator and owner of a Sherlockian intellect. His business partner, Miss Lane, is at first bemused at his interest in so trivial a case, but every lead only uncovers deeper mystery – and the body count is rising. Mummies, curses, reincarnation, and dark Ancient Egyptian magic – can any of it be true?

I have mixed feelings about this series. Overall, I like it – a mystery with interesting leads, a historical setting done well, and then a supernatural thread running through the cases. However, I’m not quite so sure that those supernatural element fit in quite as smoothly as I’d like them to, alas – through all three books, I’ve been finding it a thin line between it being something a bit different and intriguing, and just feeling a little jarring.

Perhaps it shouldn’t be so out of place. The Victorian era was full of seances and spiritualists, after all – both of which have cropped up in this series already. Still, it feels odd to mix in the old-fashioned frowns about Miss Lane’s living arrangements and – the shock of it! – having a career, to then have literal magic spells being thrown around.

On the plus side, Miss Lane’s fairly modern sensibilities don’t seem to clash with the period setting as much as they did in previous books. Jesperson, on the other hand, is growing a little insufferable!

Which doesn’t sound great, I know, but as I said: I have mixed feelings about these books. I love the idea of them, and they are entertaining to read. I’m not entirely sold that the tone is being hit quite right, but I’m also more than willing to keep giving the series a go and hoping that we’ll get there soon. Make of that what you will!

The first time one of my request was approved on NG was for a Jesperson & Lane novel. I had a pleasant memory of that story and throroughtly enjoyed this one that mixes classic whodunit with reincarnation, Egyptian magic and occult.
There's plenty of twists, there's a sense of doom and I read it as fast as I could.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I read an eARC of this book so thank you to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for allowing this.

I read the first two books in the Jesperson and Lane series and absolutely loved them. This was my least favourite of the three books in the series but I still think it’s a great series overall. This is the fifth book I’ve read by Lisa Tuttle and this is an author I very much enjoy!

I am a big fan of Jesperson and Lane as main characters. I love their quirky partnership. I also adore Jesperson’s mother! I found their relationship a little tested in this book which i didn’t enjoy as much and Jesperson’s mother wasn’t in it enough this time.

As with the previous two books we have Jesperson and Lane solving a mystery with roots in the occult or macabre. The mystery was good but I didn’t enjoy the peripheral characters as much as in previous books.

I will still certainly continue with any further books release in this series!

Jesperson and Lane are back! It’s been a minute. This time the old detective agency is going through a bit of a slow patch, who wants to investigate adultery and petty theft not Jasper Jesperson, so when a young man from the British museum turns up talking about small thefts from his department, which happens to be Egyptology, Jaspers ears prick right up. Mummies are being stolen, or misplaced, a young beautiful woman is sleep walking, there’s secret mystical orders, reincarnated Egyptians, poisonous snakes and a mad dash to Scotland. There’s a lot going on plot wise character wise it is slooooooow. There’s maybe three tiny incidents that count towards character development. Jesperson and Lane have been together for a whole year, they live together and it’s still like they are strangers. This sticks to the Sherlock and Watson theme of the books but even a little bit of emotion would be nice, I’m not sure how either character feels about anything except that Lane doesn’t not like beautiful, annoying young women but who does? However it’s made up for by so much plot going on, it’s a book of about five acts for sure and they are interesting enough to keep me interested.

I have read the Somnabulist and the Psychic thief so I was already familiar with Mr Jesperson and Ms Lane. Like every book by Lisa Tuttle this is amazingly good and I would give it a lot more than five stars if I was able to do so, it is brilliant. The two detectives investigate a missing mummy that Mr Budge wants for a public unwrapping. I cannot tell you more about the plot without spoiling the novel, but I highly recommended the novel to all readers who are interested and maybe some who are not, because this author's work is so good that it may well be that readers who have not read her books before will want to read more of them.