The Mammoth Book of Egyptian Whodunnits by
Mike Ashley
pbk out September 02
(Constable Robinson)
at £6.99
The latest addition to the consistently excellent Mammoth series focuses on Egyptian
mysteries 'through the sands of time'. The emphasis is on ancient Egypt, but there are
also a few stories located in the early days of Egyptology, from the Napoleonic period
to the first years of the 20th century. As editor Mike Ashley points out, the first
genuine whodunnit set wholly in Ancient Egypt was Agatha Christie's 'Death Comes
as the End', but not until the Seventies, 30 years after its publication, did crime
writers start tackling Egyptian mysteries in earnest. Since then, they have certainly
made up for lost time. Prominent amongst their number is Elizabeth Peters, who
contributes an introduction to this book. Ashley has put together a meaty collection
with 19 stories and 500 pages. Amongst the contributors are Peters (the one story not
original to the book), her fellow American Lynda S. Robinson and Brits such as Kate
Ellis, Ian Morson, Gillian Linscott and the ultra-prolific Paul Doherty.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
