Enquiry agents Barker and Llewelyn are hired to find a missing husband who volunteers at the British Museum cataloging mummies. Shortly there after the husband is pulled from Limestone Reach having been stabbed. The mummy he was cataloging before his death just may be that of Cleopatra. There is also the matter of a large ruby that was found inside the mummy. What was just thought to be a simple case of finding a missing husband and suddenly turned into a dangerous investigation. Can the two enquiry agents get to the truth before someone else is killed? ( )

Heart of the Nile continues the adventures of Barker & Llewelyn, and while I wasn't crazy about the last book in the series, this one picked up what was magical in this series and brought it back to life. What follows is a fun trek through London as the two chase down a killer, with interesting archaeological tidbits from this time period thrown in to spice up the adventure.

Having read all the previous books in this series, I am quite familiar with the characters so I don't really feel as if anything new was added in this book or any of the characters really developed. What I did notice, and this is something that has bothered for several books now, is the lack of female characters, and when we do come across them, they are poorly developed or are usually in hysterics. I think we have learned as much as can about our two main characters, and would love to see more of Barker's wife involved in the stories, or perhaps some mysteries where the female villains have some depth and character to them, something I feel Anne Perry does well in her books. I think it is easy to become too comfortable with your characters and forget how important the secondary characters are in one's stories. And there has to be a way of showing Llewelyn's strength of character other than through these side wisecracks of his as I feel they are getting silly at times and make him seem dismissive.

The plot itself was interesting and I enjoyed the archaeological element that was included. The British did have a fascination with anything relating to Egypt during this time period so I was quite happy to see a book focusing on this obsession and the stakes that were involved with the museums to keep the populace happy and interested. The story moved rather quickly, but I did feel like there were too many moving parts for such a short book and this definitely had an effect on the ending as it felt rushed, as if the author realized they still had one more thread to complete and tidy up.

Verdict
Heart of the Nile was an enjoyable read, but the pacing was off and there were a lot of threads to follow for such a short book, possibly too many, something that affected the overall ending. Barker and Llewelyn do make a good team and I did enjoy their banter and their camaraderie, but the lack of diversity is growing to be a problem. Overall, I did find this fund to read, and I will definitely be continuing this series. While the backstories of the main characters will shed some light on why they do certain things and their relationship, I don't think it is necessary to start with the first book to enjoy this series. ( )

1893 London

The British Museum holds unique ancient relics from the Egyptian collection. Philip Addison, a young volunteer, was working a late evening cataloguing mummies. When he carried one of the canvas-wrapped specimens to the scale, the mummy was heavier than the female mummies he weighed before her. Upon closer inspection, Philip discovered a stone hidden in the chest cavity. This major discovery could make big changes in his career. In a hurry, with a stone in his pocket, Philip left the museum and ran to share the discovery with the head of the Egyptology department. Next day, Elizabeth Addison appeared at the agency to report the disappearance of her husband, Philip. Barker and Llewelyn started the investigation immediately not knowing that more deaths would follow caused by the great discovery.

What not to enjoy in this book? It was set in Victorian era, my favorite era. The mystery started from the beginning and finished at the last page. I suspected who was behind the first murder but didn't expect the twist waiting for me at end. Mostly, I loved pages filled with interesting Ancient Egyptian facts. And Barker and Llewelyn created a great team. They both are likable and interesting characters. ( )

I really enjoyed this book. I’ve been to London a few times and every time included a trip to the British Museum which is the setting of this book. A late-night archeology volunteer discovered a rare uncut jewel in a mummy from the storage. He dashes off immediately, locking himself out the museum, to go to his supervisor’s home and alert him. What results is murders, shootings, ransackings in search of the jewel. The detectives are sort of a Sherlock/Watson or Poirot/Hastings pair as they try to help the widow and solve the murder. Very exciting ending. ( )

1893 in London. Phillip Addison, a volunteer in the Egyptology section of the British Museum, is working alone late at night cataloguing and weighing all the mummies. When one weighs more than the others, Phillip is intrigued and decides to check if this anomaly is caused by something inside of the mummy. What he finds is so unbelievable, so important, that, despite the late hour, he rushes from the museum to tell his superior.

The next morning, Phillip’s wife enters the office of Barker and Llewelyn, detectives, to report him missing. It seems likely a simple missing persons case and Barker figures the man will show up a little bit worse for wear but fine nonetheless. Still, it’s the holidays and business is slow so they take the case.

However, when Phillip’s body is found floating in the Thames, they realize this case is a lot more complicated especially when they find the missing object. Barker hides it while they investigate but they quickly learn there are others looking for it including the Museum which is threatening to have them arrested if they don't return it and,worse, a ruthless knife-wielding gang willing to kill for it who seem to have a whole lot of knowledge about Thomas Llewelyn including his address.

Heart of the Nile by Will Thomas is the fourteenth book in his Barker & Llewelyn historical mystery series but the first I’ve read, an oversight I intend to rectify in the future. The mystery was intriguing and I found the story nigh impossible to put down. It’s told in first person voice by Llewelyn and I liked both the main characters. The story moved at a brisk pace and kept me guessing right up until it’s satisfying conclusion.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review ( )