Spoilers included in review. The Stolen Queen is about museums, stolen art, Egypt and some of its history, lost family and friendship. I really liked the first half of this book and the excitement of discovery and mystery as well as getting to know the characters. There was a lot to keep me interested - Egyptian archeology and a powerful female ruler, vibrant characters in Charlotte, Henry, Diana Vreeland and Annie. Descriptions of Egypt and the Met were vivid and exciting as was the ship wreck. But it all wrapped up way too tidily for me. I am a big fan of happy endings but everything happened too easily. Charlotte racing back to Egypt, Annie just following her, discovering another artifact, finding the stolen art, Henry showing up and Layla being alive was all too much. The ending felt rushed and it lost mystery for me. I am generally a fan of Fiona Davis’s books but this one didn’t work for me in the second half.

"Stolen Queen" by Fiona Davis is an enthralling tale that unfolds through two interconnected timelines: one set in pre-WWII Egypt and the other in NYC and Egypt forty-one years later. The narrative expertly weaves together multiple storylines, creating a seamless and captivating reading experience.

The Stolen Queen fell a bit short for me. The book starts off with 19-year-old Charlotte Cross on an archaeological dig in the Valley of the Kings. 41 years later, Charlotte is now an associate curator for Egyptian antiquities at the Met in New York. The plot thickens when an Egyptian broad collar, discovered by Charlotte during her dig, arrives at the Met just as the institution prepares for the Met Gala.

To thicken the plot, Annie Jenkins, an 18-year-old working at the Met for the Gala, suggests displaying the broad collar on a mannequin. During the Gala, an Egyptian artifact goes missing, prompting Charlotte and Annie to team up to find the thief and uncover the mystery behind the broad collar's appearance. Their adventure takes them deep into Charlotte's past in Egypt, revealing intriguing secrets along the way.

While I do love Fiona Davis' writing, unfortunately, the book fell a bit short for me. I felt like it was more fictional than historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for an ARC of this novel.

Fiona Davis is one of my favorite authors and I love that her books are set in the iconic buildings of New York City. This one is set at the Met in 1978 and also in Egypt, starting in 1936. Since seeing the King Tut Exhibition in Chicago many years ago, I have been interested in Egyptian Art and the Egypt tombs. This helped to engage me in the story from the start and kept my interest throughout. The pace, plot and setting all make this a book that is hard to put down. Ms. Davis always does a great job developing characters and I loved the two main characters, Annie and Charlotte. As the story progresses, there are several mysteries that will take these two back and forth from New York to Egypt to solve. Fans of Fiona Davis will not be disappointed with this new novel.

This was such a cool read. The dual timeline element was well executed and interesting. I find that typically with multiple perspectives/timelines I get tired of one, but I was excited to read every chapter. Great read!

Charlotte Cross is 19 and eager to become an archeologist. She is Egypt in 1936 when a Eqyptian queen's tomb is uncovered. She feels on top of the world, until tragedy strikes and goes home to her conventual life in New York. She continues to make a career in the world of archeology working as an associate curator of the Met’s Department of Egyptian Art, although she never returns to Egypt. It's 1978, the most prized Egyptian artifact goes missing, leaving Charlotte to decide if she can go back to Egypt to track down the thief or lose any hope of ever reclaiming it. Fiona Davis did not disappoint with this new book. Her descriptions and characters were spot on leaving the reader rooting for Charlotte and her backstory.

I love stories with a mystery set in Egypt!
Told from two time period, this is the story of Charlotte and her career as an assistant curator at the Met. One evening, a valuable artifact is stolen and Charlotte is determined to get it back. With the help of a suprise alliance with Annie, the two women travel to Egypt to uncover the culprits. Highly entertaining and very enjoyable. Fiona Davis is a fabulous story-teller!

Fiona Davis is a go to author for me and I loved THE STOLEN QUEEN!!!

1936 Egypt ….Charlotte goes to Egypt as a college student to work on an archeological dig at THE VALLEY OF THE KINGS. Important discoveries will be made and personal relationships will also be made that will shape the lives of many.

1978 NY Charlotte is working as an associate curator at the MET in the Department of Egyptian Art. She has lots of responsibilities but has been researching for 3 years to prove something that she really believes in. Annie is a young girl working on the MET Gala and their worlds will collide on that night. Ary is stolen and they will go to Egypt to try to recover it. But is that all Charlotte is returning to Egypt for after all of these years???

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 read for me!!! Loved it!!!

This is my first Fiona Davis book and it did not disappoint! I really enjoyed the duel timelines of this novel. I love history and the combination of this fantastic story and ancient Egypt was done beautifully.

This is a story of a woman with an interesting yet traumatic past. She finds herself stunned as she sees the impossible in front of her one day at her workplace- the Met in NYC. A stolen and lost Egyptian antiquity that she thought she would never see again. An unlikely girl finds herself tangled in this mystery that brings them both on a trip to Egypt to learn the truth about what happened all those years ago.

I will post my review on instagram and Goodreads again closer to the publication date.
IG: @doublebooked104

A stolen Egyptian broad collar necklace that is said to be cursed arrives at the Metropolitan Museum in New York on loan from an anonymous donor. Charlotte, the assistant curator and Egyptologist, is shocked to learn that the collar has arrived at the Met. After all, she is the one who discovered the collar along with mummies on a dig when she was 18 years old. She also knows that the collar was stolen and she thought it was at the bottom of the Nile river for the past 40+ years. The arrival of the collar at the Met forces Charlotte to confront her past and search for the answers to questions she's had for over 40 years. I'll read anything written by Fiona Davis and this book did not disappoint!

The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis is a delightful book!
A middle-aged museum curator, Charlotte Cross, and a new intern assistant Annie,
travel to Egypt to make peace with Charlotte's traumatic past AND track down a stolen antiquity.
"The Cerulean Queen" (based on an actual Metropolitan museum piece -Fragment of a Queen's Face.

We also see some high-fashion exhibits which predate the Met's famous costume gala of today.
A very quick read and a very enjoyable book.

📖📖 Book Review 📖📖 Our legacy. How often do we stop and think about what we want it to be and if we are living a life that reconciles with that desire? A life of adventure awaits Charlotte exploring Egypt’s wonders and ancient history for Charlotte until tragedy strikes and her life becomes a quiet existence. When snippets of that almost forgotten past resurface, Charlotte is on a mission to find what has been stolen from her. With the help of a brave and clever young woman, Annie, secrets of the past are discovered. Once again, Fiona Davis creates a beautiful masterpiece where women and history shine, bringing forgotten legacies to light.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Review is on Goodreads and will be posted on instagram closer to publication date and on Amazon when published!

As with any Fiona Davis book I am looking forward to where she is taking me. This book was one of her best yet! I loved the dual timelines as well as the Egyptian history. This book gave me everything I wanted in a story. There was misery, intrigue, travel. history and love. I enjoyed this book so much.

When the young Annie happened into a job at the Met I was so saddened when things did not go her way. However, when she pushed ahead and stood up for herself and invited herself on the trip with Charlotte I was so taken with her boldness. The events that unfold are when I could not put the book down.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Love this book. This was my first time reading a book by this author and I was not disappointed. I will be reading more of her books. I loved the ancient Egyptian history mixed in with solving a case and some romance. I loved diving into the world of archeology in the 20’s and learning about the Met. This book takes you on an adventure.

You can never go wrong reading a Fiona Davis book! I thoroughly enjoyed her newest historical fiction book set in New York during the 1970s and Egypt in the late 1930s. Her characters, Charlotte and Annie, are well developed, slightly "flawed" and you will fall in love with both or them. Thanks for the advanced read!

I really enjoyed this dual time story set in NYC and Egypt. I was engrossed by Charlotte's story, especially her time in Egypt on an archelogical dig. It was pretty fast paced with lots off great descriptions of the Met museum in NYC and the Egyptian department. I also enjoyed the second POV of a young woman trying to find her place in the world.
Highlyy recommend.

When a previously stolen ancient artifact arrives at the Museum, Charlotte Cross, Egyptologist, must face the truth about her past life and loves. Charlotte and her assistant, Annie Jenkins, attempt to solve the mystery of the broad collar. They learn about a female pharaoh’s legacy and discover their own strengths. Their search puts them in more danger than expected while the truth about the pharaoh and themselves comes into focus. Highly recommended for fans of Fiona Davis, ancient civilizations and strong women characters.

A heartwarming and sweeping epic about secrets embedded in forgotten tombs and in everyday lives. Fiona Davis again does a fantastic job describing place and time so by the end of the story you feel like you’re ending an actual journey to the Met and to the Valley of the Kings. I think fans of Davis’s other novels will be very happy with her latest.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin group Dutton for the arc. The cover art is beautiful and the historical premise really captured me. The first half of the book was extremely strong, I was immediately hooked. Charlotte was a strong lead character, and Annie’s softness was admirable and sweet. They both had strong story lines and it was interesting to see their different perspectives from the same events, and how their stories intertwined initially without them noticing.

I love Egyptian history, and enjoyed the back and forth of the two different periods of time. I loved the heart breaking storyline of Charlotte’s past and seeing how it stuck with her into her later life. Annie’s story felt real and personal, and made me feel for her, easily wanting to root for her happiness and success.

Despite these initial thoughts, the middle half and ending of the book brought down the rating for me. I found it rather anticlimactic, and everything was wrapped up in a bow too quickly, and perfectly. I got to a point where I only continued because the beginning had been so capturing and I wanted to have the answers. I think that too many lose ends were tied up all at once so it didn’t give the reader the time to really sit with each revelation. They were also rather lacklustre and so convenient it didn’t feel realistic enough. The revelation of who was behind everything came out of no where, they weren’t characters that gave me the shock value I wanted. I would argue that some characters had more reason to have been behind it, and would of been shocking if it were someone we had seen more of.

Overall, I would recommend this book still but am disappointed and wish it kept the energy I initially felt toward the beginning as I had very high hopes for the rest of the story.

Met galas, queens, and Egypt all rolled up into a story that continues to put Davis at the top of my TBR pile. What an utterly charming read, couldn’t put it down.

Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity. But after an unbearable tragedy strikes, Charlotte knows her future will never be the same.

New York City, 1978: Eighteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for iconic former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who’s in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala, hosted at the museum and known across the city as the “party of the year.” Though Annie soon realizes she’ll have her work cut out for her, scrambling to meet Diana’s capricious demands and exacting standards.

Meanwhile, Charlotte, now leading a quiet life as the associate curator of the Met’s celebrated Department of Egyptian Art, wants little to do with the upcoming gala. She’s consumed with her research on Hathorkare—a rare female pharaoh dismissed by most other Egyptologists as unimportant. That is, until the night of the gala. When one of the Egyptian art collection’s most valuable artifacts goes missing . . . and there are signs Hathorkare’s legendary curse might be reawakening.

Fiona Davis is brilliant at creating realistic characters, and I fell in love with both Annie and Charlotte in this gem of a story. The plot revolves around some sticky topics, and I loved how the author dealt with this as the story was revealed. This book made me feel like I was there. Highly recommended!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!