Now famous after their previous quest to find Cleopatra’s tomb, detectives Flinders Petrie and Thomas Pettigrew begin their next adventure in search of a stolen statue of Aphrodite. Their pursuit takes them from the bowels of the British Museum to the barren desert of Syria and the glamorous bustle of Istanbul. At every step, they are confronted by two incredibly evil the Bulbul Pasha, a giant of a man who sings like a nightingale while he kills, and the Veiled One, a horribly disfigured monster who lives only for revenge. On the way, they meet T. E. Lawrence and Gertrude Bell, who are excavating a site in Syria. Lawrence leads them to a crusader castle and into a surreal battle with the Bulbul, but the statue still eludes them. With Gertrude’s help, the detectives enlist the aid of British Intelligence, which uses a ring of male and female belly dancers to track the statue to the Veiled One’s harem. Disguised as dancers, the detectives infiltrate it, setting up a climactic duel in the desert.

Set against the backdrop of an oncoming war, this book is a window into the lush complexity of the Ottoman Empire, the stark life of the desert bedouin, and steadily vanishing societies. Our protagonists enter a world of beauty and barbarity to find an artifact but find the hauntings of memory and perhaps a strange peace as well. The action that drives this unpredictable narrative will leave you eagerly awaiting the next installment in the Petrie and Pettigrew series.

I really enjoyed the story from start to finish. It was well plotted and the writing kept me in the story. Looking forward to reading more from the author.

The author clearly has a strong background in research. A short but entertaining mystery that takes you around the globe, through museums, archaeological sites, and deserts. Entertaining!

This novel harkens back to the old fashioned British crime novels, and gives us two lovable detectives. One is self-confident and cocky, and the other is morose and introspective. Amos leads the reader on a chase through several countries on the hunt for a prized artifact, and possibly to the death of our crime-solving duo. Through engaging prose, the author takes us from a “whodunit” to a “can-they-catch-the-man-who-did-it?”, all while giving us humorous situations, and heart-breaking realities. It’s a well-rounded book that was enjoyable from start to finish, and I would recommend it to others.

I want to start this review by acknowledging that there is a prequel to this book that I wasn’t aware of when I started reading, and that some of my problems with this book might have something to do with that lack of context. 

First for the positives: The premise and setting were so interesting (like Sherlock meets Indiana Jones?? Sign me up). I loved the archeology part and that historical figures like Freud and Poe were mentioned. You can also tell that the author is very knowledgeable about the setting, and it was interesting to learn about. I’ve never read anything like this and would definitely pick up similar books in the future. The story was gripping and it was a quick read.

My biggest problem was, by far, the writing. First of all, the book is written in a 3rd person perspective, but there were these (in my opinion) random paragraphs from the perspective of one of the main characters. I feel like that was an attempt to add depth to the character, but it just felt weird and unnecessary. We also have a serious case of “men writing women” syndrome. Out of the 5 women mentioned in the book (two of them not being actual characters and just mentioned when they talked about previous adventures), 3 were a sexual interest to the main character. We get the exact same scene of him sleeping and some woman lying next to him THREE TIMES. The female characters have no depth whatsoever and basically have the same personality. The last issue I had was that things simply were way too convenient. First, in the initial investigation, this supposedly impossible-to-catch guy just left scraps of fabric, footprints, and a full-on note about what he was doing with the stolen object. Then, the main character’s dad knows exactly who they’re dealing with. And in the battle scenes, you’re telling me that this middle-aged dude who used to mess around with swords in university simply beats a guy who is constantly described as a giant and has murdered entire villages?? I don’t think so.

The last comment I have is not about the book itself, but I think that the synopsis provided on Goodreads spoils pretty much the whole book.