Cover Image: The Return of the Pharaoh

The Return of the Pharaoh

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Member Reviews

Oh how I wanted to love this book! I picked up my copy of “The Seven-Percent Solution” way back when; purchased “The West End Horror” the day it first came out...and so on. Please don’t get me wrong. I shall always enjoy reading a novel by Nicholas Meyer and would go the opening night to see his Star Trek movies. “The Return of the Pharaoh” is a solid story and a grand adventure that takes Dr. Watson to Egypt to care for his ailing wife only to come across the undercover sleuth that happens to be, you guessed it, Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is investigating the disappearance of an English nobleman at the behest of his anxious wife and enlists Watson to help him track down the missing man whilst Watson’s wife is under special care at a sanatorium.
Holmes and Watson will run across spies, get caught in a desert sandstorm, and risk burial in ancient tombs searching for the missing man. There are murders and assorted mayhem. Having written all this I still felt that I enjoyed a good ole yarn but somehow this Holmes Pastiche did not capture the essence of the characters, nor the magic of the English environment, as did previous adventures authored by Mr. Meyer. Large sections of the story barely contained Holmes at all (or perhaps I am just whining about a story that did not contain many brilliant deductive moments by the great detective.
I do recommend this latest by Nicholas Meyer and will return often to see how others critique the book. Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read “The Return of the Pharaoh.”

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Meyer takes us on an adventure with the world’s most famous detective. This time Watson finds himself trailing after the detective in Egypt while his wife recovers at a tuberculosis hospital. Holmes is on the case of a disappeared Duke and climbs in and out of pyramids to discover what became of him. It’s nice to visit with familiar characters reimagined in new settings with new characters.

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3 1/2 stars for this continuation of the Holmes/Watson saga.

In this one, Egyptology is front and center and Holmes and Watson, independently and for different reasons, travel to Egypt. Watson for his wife's health, and Holmes on a case. Of course, their chance meeting leads to Watson joining Holmes on an adventure that almost kills them both.

I find Nicholas Meyer writes in the same vein and the Holmes that I am used to (Doyle's). I read a lot of Holmes books by various authors, and I find that Meyer is true to the Holmes that we know and love.

This book kept my attention, was interesting with the bits of politics at the time and information on artifacts and mummies...technically correct but not a technical treatise. There were, as expected, some twists and turns and characters who may not have been what they seemed. All in all, a worthwhile, and enjoyable, read.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this trip back in time with Holmes and Watson.

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Holmes and Watson take their investigative talents to Egypt, on the trial of a missing Lord. The amateur archaeologist may have discovered the unopened tomb of Thutmose, but he has disappeared in the desert. Spies, sandstorms, and rumors of gold add complications. A successful homage to the detective and his original creator - clever and well-written!

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