Member Review
Review by
Linda F, Book Trade Professional
Who doesn't love a great mystery in a steampunk set in Egypt in the early 1900s? And a magical story with djinn and Ifrit and perhaps those are angels. Or perhaps not.
On the surface, this would seem like a magical murder mystery with the death of Lord Worthington and the Brotherhood of Al-Jahiz. You have the perfect detective in Agent Fatma with her snappy suits and her snappy dialogue. You have clues and red herrings and a denouement worthy of any Agatha Christie or Rex Stout.
But buried among the clues and red herrings, there is a layered story of race and slavery. And that is perhaps the bigger story. The story that captured my interest at least as much as that great rollicking mystery/steampunk goodness.
On the surface, this would seem like a magical murder mystery with the death of Lord Worthington and the Brotherhood of Al-Jahiz. You have the perfect detective in Agent Fatma with her snappy suits and her snappy dialogue. You have clues and red herrings and a denouement worthy of any Agatha Christie or Rex Stout.
But buried among the clues and red herrings, there is a layered story of race and slavery. And that is perhaps the bigger story. The story that captured my interest at least as much as that great rollicking mystery/steampunk goodness.
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