The Shabti by Megaera C. Lorenz was a delightful surprise! The synopsis of the book does a good job of laying down a base for what to expect, but you really don’t understand the stakes until you settle in to read. If you are thinking this is just a story revolving around a former medium being startled to learn that ghosts are real and having to deal with that knowledge, you’d be wrong. There are some pretty creepy moments in this book that gave me pause. I could almost feel an eerie sense of unease settling over me as I read. This definitely has the feel of a horror film which is something I don’t normally gravitate towards, but I loved it here! Any time the spirit showed up was engaging and I honestly wished there was more of it.

Another thing I absolutely loved about this book was the characters. If there is one thing that keeps me from putting a book down is wonderful characters and this novel didn’t have a bad one in the bunch. Hermann has my entire heart and soul. A sweet man I fell in love with the instant he showed up on the page. Also, his cat Horatio? That tubby, little tabby is a star in his own right! And I can’t forget about the main character himself. Dashiel is a complex character that I wanted to both shake some sense into and hide him away from all the things that were upsetting him.

The only real negative I have for the book are down to personal taste. I understand the use of terms of the era and phrases in other languages, but it pulled me out of the story almost every time they were used. I’m the type of reader that has to stop and look up something if I don’t understand it and I found myself doing that quite a bit to understand the context of a scene. But, again, this is a me thing and you might not have issues with that at all.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed novels from the likes of Jordan L. Hawk or K. J. Charles. It has that same horror vibes with lovely characters you want to root for.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a gem! 1930s US setting, Egyptology, spiritualism (the fake kind), creepy atmospheric horror scenes, and a charming m/m romance all mixed together to produce an immensely entertaining (and occasionally very sweet) read.

Dashiel and Hermann are wonderful protagonists and it was lovely to see their relationship develop over the course of the book (bonus points for both of them being middle-aged). The supporting characters are also well-written and really entertaining (especially Porphyrio and Reverend Fink). And, like previous reviewers mentioned, the revelation of what the spirit actually wanted was absolutely fantastic!

I also really enjoyed the language in The Shabti: every character's choice of little phrases and exclamations helped me to 'hear' their distinct voices in my head while I was reading, and I am absolutely going to use the crab on roller skates expression in real life.

And finally - what a great cover! It is seriously making me consider buying a paperback when it comes out.

Huge thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

**Thank you to the publsher for the e-ARC**

What a pleasure to read a book with a romance with middle-aged leads ! Adding the fake-medium, an egyptologist and strange happening, and you have a great recipe for a fun read.
The romance is sweet, not overpowering for the story, fitting the characters and the plot, with enough "setback" and tension to have that feel of realness.
The mystery grow and grow in its spookiness thoughout the book, masterly done and gripping.
I loved how researched and thorough the book felt in its atmosphere, down to little language details, and of course the egyptlologist side was clearly managed by someone knowing their busniess. The fake medium side was really intersting too.
All in all, a pleasure to read, in a pulp fiction way !

This book is enormous fun!

I've seen one of other early reviewers pitch <i>The Shabti</i> as a lovechild between <i>The Mummy</i> and KJC's historic romances (think <i>An Unnatural Vice</i>), and honestly, they are not wrong. But <i>The Shabti</i> doesn't come across as a pastiche, it reads like an absolute labour of love, coming from the intersection of unabashed expert geekery about Egyptology, interest in American Spiritualist movement, and a clear fondless of ye olde golden age pulp. But also make it a soft, understated m/m romance with middle aged characters. But make it a genuionely spooky supernatural thriller. But put it through the lens of a study of an abusive relationship. But but but. There are so many fun layers to this, it's such a deliciously solid debut that I can't help being excited to read more from Megaera Lorenz.

A reformed fake spiritualist Dashiel (please pause here to admire the name, and the mix of sleazy and glamorous it rightfully evokes), who makes a living debunking people of his former trade, is approached by Hermann Goschalk (another pause to savour the naming choice goes here), a gentle and mild-mannered professor of Egyptology, to help him with a sticky spiritual situation: one of the Ancient Egyptian artefacts in his care seems to be haunted. No amount of trying to convince Hermann that no such things as spirits exist, or cynicism borne out of decades of swindling old ladies out of their pensions with parlour tricks helps Dashiel. Especially not when all signs point to actual spirital activity...

I loved the tension and the build-up of the sense of threat and malevolence that surrounded the shabti, and the stakes associated with cracking this puzzle. I loved the addition of Lucille and Agnes to this little impromptu paranormal investigation group, and the fierce sense of protectiveness and down-to-earth pragmatism they brought to the operation. Dashiel's ex was a whole circus act of his own, and really liked the nuance with which his appearance helped further flesh out Dashiel's character.

Thank you to Netgalley and CamCat books for an advance copy of The Shabti. Can't wait for the book to hit the shelves: I will absolutely get myself a copy that I will reread on a rainy day, comforted by the talk of ectoplasm, petty graft and declinations of Ancient Egyptian verbs.

4 stars. This book is like the love child between ‘The Mummy’ and a K. J. Charles queer historical romance and I had a fun time with it. I’ll admit that I’m a bit biased though because I’ve been enraptured with stories about Ancient Egypt since I was a child, so that’s often enough to suck me in on its own.

Set in the 1930s, Dashiel is a reformed conman spiritualist, who doesn’t believe in the spirit world, and is approached by a handsome professor of Egyptology Herrmann, who has found himself the victim of an unfortunately, very real haunting and in need of help.

This is a very cozy sort of low stakes spooky romance. I thought Dash and Herrmann were very sweet together. I did at times find myself wishing for a little more *spark* in the chemistry between them though (possibly cause it was all kept very PG) but this is only a minor gripe. I really enjoyed the little found family vibe that came together with Agnus and Lucille though, that was very sweet.

I personally found that the climax dragged a little bit but not enough to impact my reading experience. I would say that this is a book for when you are in a cozy, low stakes mood though, and to enter into it with the right frame of mind so that you don’t find yourself disappointed.

Given that this was a debut, I think it’s a fantastic effort and I’ll be keen to watch out for future work by Lorenz.

Thank you to NetGalley and CamCat Books for the opportunity to read this eARC. These thoughts are my own and freely given.

A fantastic debut novel that features a mixture of Egyptian history mixed with the occult practices of Spiritualism. The two main characters, Hermann Goschalk, a professor of Egyptian artifacts, and Dashiel, the ex-conman who trained under the tutelage of spirit mediums, are a wonderful duo. Hermann is this sunshine man, and his earnestness slowly chips away at Dashiel's jadedness. The shift of Dashiel's attitude as he learns to care for Hermann while they fight against the spiritual demons of the shabti was very cute. The mystery behind the shabti itself was an engaging read with a slew of side characters that add to the chaoticness of the situation. This is like A Marvellous Light mixed with Scooby Doo, a fun mixture of lighthearted characters working together and creepy monsters.