This is such a fascinating plot! The book itself was well-written, the characters were diverse and dimensional, and the narrative was paced well. I loved that the mystery was historical and cultural and that we got to learn about several fields of study along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Museum Detective.

I love how the premise was Inspired by a real-life antiquities scandal in Pakistan.

Egyptology is fascinating and I learned a lot about the process of mummification from the main character, archaeologist Dr. Gul Delani.

The plot is interwoven with Dr. Gul's niece who disappeared three years ago and whose unknown whereabouts has caused further complications with her estranged brother and sister-in-law.

There are betrayals, secrets are revealed, corruption, and unsavory and cowardly men are exposed, but Dr. Gul has some great allies, her bright students, a formidable neighbor, and the only incorrupt detective on the force who has her back.

I liked the plot and Dr. Gul is a well developed character, but I didn't like her much. I actually liked the supporting characters better.

Despite her upbringing and the painful choices she has made in her personal life, I found her incredibly naive.

Even after everything that happened, exposing corruption within the police force and in her own family, she still believed the authorities would have located her niece, protected her and the antiquity.

She lives in a country rife with poverty, corruption, and danger and believes playing by the rules will ensure her safety and good will prevail?

Is she optimistic or just foolish? Her sister-in-law possesses more street smarts than Dr. Gul.

The writing style took some getting used to; info dumping would occur midway through a chapter when a new character was introduced and the author wanted to explain this character's relationship to Dr. Gul.

It threw off the pacing of the narrative and distracted the main focus of the story.

I'm always interested in a series led by a female character and look forward to the next book in the series.

this was a pretty good book. I did think the archaeology was interesting, and overall i think the story was good. I do, however, think that there was a lot of slow and dull moments in this book, which made it hard to get through. It was a slow read, but it was good at the end of the day...


Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complementary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Review coming soon!

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Opinions are mine.

I enjoyed this Pakistani detective in Karachi who sets out to find out the mystery behind an embalmed woman's body found in the desert, complete with a sarcophagus, resembling the preserved Egyptian mummies of old. Detective Gulfsa Delani is persistent and knows a lot about the archaeology of the region and about Egypt in particular.

I like that there is a personal side to Detective Gul, who desperately searches for her beloved missing young neice, Mahnaz.

I learned a lot about the city of Karachi, about the history of mummies in the area, and the archaelogical finds in Egypt. The setting is as important to the book as is the story, and the personality of Gul is intriguing, as she is unusual in her career, one of the few women who is dedicated to a profession usually reserved for males.

Atmospheric and suspenseful, this was an enjoyable read.

An interesting read on many levels - historical, current, and political.

I really enjoyed this book despite the often sinister backdrop of the story. It was well researched and the story well executed. The setting and characters were believable and I was caught up in the narrative. I would recommend, thank you.

This is such a great book! Like a family curry, it has a lot of ingredients that come together with a lot of heat and flavor. An archaeologist, who is a very independent professional trained in Egypt, is called out to scene by what may be the only honest policeman in Pakistan. They've found a mummy in a cave, and if it's authentic it may prove a historical relationship that has been theorized by never proven. But it could be fake, created out of a contemporary corpse to fool a wealthy collector. Our intelligent and brave protagonist has to battle a jealous coworker while also anxious to discover what happened to her missing niece, a political active feminist teen who vanished without a trace. It's all wrapped up in an adventurous plot that keeps taking surprising twists.

While I did suspect the bad guy early on, I especially loved the vividly-evoked setting in Pakistan, the science, and the fascinating character of Dr. Gul Delani, who I would love to see in action again. Well done, Soho, for giving me a better appreciation of a part of the world rarely seen in fiction (apart from spy, military, and action thrillers mostly featuring Americans).

Absolutely fantastic series debut! “The Museum Detective” is different than your usual detective series and introduces a fascinating and brilliant lead character. Filled with history and suspense, I read through pretty quickly because it was hard to put down. The author obviously did extensive research on archaeological studies, and I learned about Pakistan as well. Thanks so much for granting my wish! This was a worthwhile read and I look forward to the rest on the series!

An intriguing mystery in an unusual setting, The Museum Detective brings to life a museum curator whose niece went missing three years before. After pulling herself out of a depression, Gul is recommitted to her job. Now that a strange mummy has been unearthed, her Egyptology knowledge is called on. The investigation will make her question all those around her while providing interesting insights into her culture. The last third dragged a bit for me, though.

this was a fantastic premise and worked with the story being told, I thought it had that mystery going on and how the characters worked overall. I thought the characters worked with the story being told and how everything worked together. Maha Khan Phillips wrote this well and had me wanting to read more from them.

Not bad at all for a new mystery. Got a bit long winded at points but I am a sucker for a good museum story/mystery. This book, like all good historical fiction, will transports you. I would rate this a 3.5 of 5 stars and would read any sequels that may come out.