Lauren HaneyRezensionen

This prequel takes us to Beks first case when he has newly arrived in Buhan and the commander under whom he is to serve is stabbed to death in his own quarters. Regular readers willsoon intuit that the commander's foreign wife, who is a prime suspect, is the beautiful foreign woman beloved by Bek referred to in earlier books. Bek and his Medjays are distrusted and disliked, the scribe left in charge of the fort is eager for a quick solution to the murder, but attacks on Bek make it obvious that more is involved than a marital quarrel. I did spot an inconsistency in the plot involving stolen gold--which I won't give away.

Lt. Bek is in Waset, the capital of Kemet. A Hittite trader is killed and he is asked to help the police, who are burdened by the crowds assembled for a major religious feast. Then an auditor is murdered in the temple compound and that murder is added to his task when he realized that the methods are the same. A long tale involving Hittite politics and theft from the temple stores winds up with a wild chase under the very noses of royalty. I did feel that Bek was exceeding the foolishness of a Gothic heroine in wandering through strange streets alone after two attempts to kill him.

I got a bit tired of Lt. Bek dodging landslides--once per book is probably enough for any given form of threat. He has also almost drowned more in this series than seems reasonable, even considering that the Nile is the backbone of Egypt. Otherwise the detection is good and the quest for tomb robbers and the cause of 'accidents' on building site was interesting.

The Queen sends a cousin to inspect border forts and determine whether they are necessary. The army and population are alarmed by the prospect of being uprooted. A minor local king is killed in the building in which the inspector is lodged and Bek must investigate, accompanying the inspection. Further complications arise when local desert tribes unite under a charismatic leader to raid the caravan.

Once again Lt. Bek is despatched to solve a crime away from his home base at Buhen. In the border town of Abu five murders have occurred within the governor's household. It seems obvious that the governor may be the next intended victim, but he is reluctant to respond to Bek's questions about an incident in the past that may provide an explanation.

Second adventure of Lt. Bek. Kemet alarmed at smuggling from south and guards must search more ships. Murder of a captain suspected of smuggling sets Bek on search for killer. Is he the same as the organizer of smuggling?

Author invokes not just the sights and sounds of ancient Egypt but the smells and flavors as well. Many historical novels treat the religion of their characters as superficial, substituting 'By Jove' or 'May the Dagda smite thee' for 'By St. Mark' or "Jesus Christ.' Haney makes the reader feel that Lt. Bek is genuinely moved by the opportunity to view Amon's traveling shrine. The mystery is complex enough to satisfy and does not require a deep knowledge of Egyptian history to appreciate.

Lost interest in this series

I love the setting but the plot is very drawn-out.

Had trouble getting into this, slow going.

The firt asnd to my mind one of the best of the Lieutenant Bak series. Bak as commander of the Nubian frontier outpost of Buhen has to solve the murder of a soldier.

In general, I like this series, but I really disliked this story, which was both grim and emotionally unsatisfying. Fortunately the next volume I read was much lighter.

Lt. Bak is investigating tomb robbing --a very serious crime in ancient Egyptian --but the authorities divert him to investigating mishaps delaying completion of a temple for the female pharaoh Hatshepsut, being built under the supervision of her favorite Senenmut (Senmut) . Eventually it appears the two groups of rimes ay be related.

A prequel beginning when Lt. Bak has not yet been exiled to the frontier --as a naïve young officer, he raids the wrong pleasure house, which caters to very influential Egyptians.

Fourth in a generally good series of Egyptian mysteries set on the Egypt./Nubian frontier during the reign of Hatshepsut. The first two stories were good, the third (A Vile Injustice) was excessively grim and n compensation this one is more frivolous, or so it seemed to me when I read it some time ago.

I don't understand the good reviews of this book. Definitely not for me! Slow moving, endless chase and fight scenes, and stilted dialogue. Almost read like a translation. The setting and main character were interesting, but the plot was boring and the story did not move quickly enough for me. And I generally love intricate historical mysteries. I read this first in the series because it is described as a prequel, but maybe I'll have to give another in the series a try to see what all the fuss is about.

Nice little series about a police officer on the frontier of Ancient Egypt, solving crimes with the help of a troop of soldiers from the fierce Medjay tribe. Historical detail is fantastic and the gradual revelation of Bak's past and the indiscretion that saw him banished from the court of Hatshepsut is good, but unfortunately the crimes that he is called on to solve are usually fairly pedestrian. Still recommended for Egyptophiles.½

Lt. Bek is pressured into seeking the son of his commander's friend who has disappeared in the desert lands between the Nile and the Red Sea. He and his Medjays set out with the lost man's former guide and soon join up with others who are seeking treasure in this forsaken land. Mysterious deaths set Bek to seeking answers, but can he trust the guide, the mysterious man who is following the caravan or the other members of the group. Evocative of the barren wadis, the precarious existence of nomadic tribespeople and the hardship of the Egyptian mines. Unfortunately, this is the last in the Lt. Bek series. After rereading this entire series I wondered if Lt. Bek would ever learn to watch his back. He gets, ambushed, knocked on the head, etc. more than should happen to a careful soldier

After rereading this entire series I realized that not a single criminal is ever brought to formal trial. They are killed while fleeing or otherwise. So we never see Egyptian justice system in action. I wonder whether Haney didn't have the necessary information about how the judges or courts, punishments, etc. worked, or whether she felt that they were too harsh and arbitrary by contemporary standards. If that were the case the readers might lose sympathy for the protagonist. I mean, imagine trying to have an English thief taker as a protagonist, knowing that the 10 year old boy he has just delivered to the judge may hang for stealing a watch. The Bek series does discuss punishments, such as being sentenced to the desert mines, and impalement as a punishment for treason, but we never see or read of an actual trial.

A Thèbes, où la population et une foule de visiteurs se préparent à célébrer la fête donnée en l'honneur du dieu Amon, le lieutenant Bak retrouve ses fidèles policiers medjai et ses amis au port. Ils découvrent, sur une barge, le cadavre d'un marchand hittite sauvagement assassiné. Alors que Bak débute son enquête, le temple d'Amon est à son tour le théâtre d'un crime tout aussi odieux.
Le scribe Ouserhet, haut fonctionnaire chargé des offrandes au Dieu suprême, est retrouvé mort, entouré de mystérieux papyrus calcinés... Onze jours, durant lesquels la fête déploiera ses fastes dans la ville en liesse : tel est le mince délai accordé au policier pour dénouer les fils d'une affaire ténébreuse, où se mêlent l'amour, la cupidité et l'ambition.

Dans la cinquième année de règne d'Hatchepsout, une compagnie de lanciers disparaît lors d'une terrible tempête de sable. Cinq ans plus tard, sur l'île d'Éléphantine, une série de meurtres frappe la résidence du gouverneur de province, que tout désigne comme l'ultime victime. Bak, le chef de la police de Bouhen, est appelé sur place pour mener l'enquête. Très vite, il discerne un lien avec les tragiques événements survenus au cœur du désert, sur lesquels semble peser un lourd silence. Et tandis que sa propre vie se trouve menacée, il traque un assassin résolu à poursuivre jusqu'au bout une implacable vengeance.

Une rumeur inquiétante se répand le long du Nil, au sud de Kemet : la reine Hatchepsout projette de démanteler ses armées sur la frontière et de transformer en entrepôts les forteresses du Ventre de Pierres. L’arrivée d’un groupe d’inspection à la citadelle de Bouhen confirme les craintes de bak, le chef de la police.
« Lauren Haney vous offre à la fois un billet de première classe pour vous rendre ailleurs à une autre époque, et une lecture qui va crescendo de la première à la dernière page. »

Sur la rive occidentale de la capitale thébaine, où reposent les souverains, des centaines d'ouvriers et artisans s'emploient depuis cinq longues années à édifier le projet le plus grandiose de la reine Hatchepsout un temple commémoratif, symbole de sa gloire et de sa toute-puissance. Or les travaux de construction sont entravés par des accidents trop fréquents pour être imputés à la négligence ou à la simple malchance. De mystérieuses lueurs, apparaissant au plus noir de la nuit, renforcent la conviction des ouvriers qu'un esprit maléfique s'acharne à semer la mort et la destruction parmi eux. Alors que la terreur et la révolte fermentent dans les cœurs, le lieutenant Bak, son scribe Hori et Kasaya, son fidèle Medjai, font halte dans la capitale avant de rejoindre leur nouvelle affectation.
Déjà chargé d'une mission auprès de l'intendant d'Amon, Bak se voit confier cette enquête plus épineuse que jamais.

Nous sommes en 1483 avant J.-C., en Égypte, sous le règne de Makarê Hatchepsout. Le lieutenant Bak découvre fortuitement un cadavre flottant sur les eaux du Nil, un burin planté dans sa gorge. Avant de rechercher le meurtrier, Bak doit découvrir l'identité de la victime. Tout se complique et se précipite alors : le mort est le fils d'un haut fonctionnaire, exécuté parce qu'il avait eu vent d'un complot contre le souverain kouchite Amon-Psaro. Or, ce dernier, qui a entrepris un voyage pour faire soigner son fils, approche justement. Bak devra résoudre l'énigme avant son arrivée pour éviter un nouvel assassinat et même une guerre.
À petites touches, grâce à un fourmillement de détails de la vie quotidienne, l'auteur plante le décor de façon réaliste et parvient à donner vie à une Égypte ancienne fort éloignée de l'image fascinante mais statique que laissent les évocations contemporaines des pyramides et autres sphinx. Les bords du Nil au temps des pharaons sont ici pleins de vie, de sentiments, d'émotions. Le détective courageux et intègre, au service de Maât, déesse de l'ordre et de la justice, est un héros attachant dont l'enquête à suspense constitue en premier lieu un excellent prétexte à un voyage spatio-temporel parfaitement dépaysant.

Il y a plus de trois mille ans, une enfant noire est recueillie au bord de la mer Rouge. On l'appelle Tsippora, l'"Oiseau". La couleur de sa peau a déjà décidé de son avenir : nul ne la voudra pour épouse. Un jour, pourtant, près d'un puits, un homme la regarde comme aucun autre. Il s'appelle Moïse et fuit l'Égypte. Amante passionnée, épouse généreuse, Tsippora la Noire, l'étrangère, la non Juive, porte la destinée de Moïse à bout de bras. Oubliant ses craintes et ses doutes, il entend grâce à elle le message de Dieu et léguera à l'humanité ces Lois qui, aujourd'hui encore, protègent les faibles contre les forts. Mais son amour pour Moïse menace Tsippora : dans la cohorte des Hébreux de l'Exode, son destin de femme à la peau noire la rattrape...

plods quite a lot but the historical detail is interesting, not enough to make me really care about the characters tho.