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by Kerry Greenwood 5 Feb 2013
250 pages
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
ISBN-13: 9781464200380
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Eighteenth Dynasty Egypt is peaceful and prosperous under the dual rule of the Pharaohs Amenhotep III and IV, until the younger Pharaoh begins to dream new and terrifying dreams.
Ptah-hotep, a young peasant boy studying to be a scribe, wants to live a simple life in a Nile hut with his lover Kheperren and their dog Wolf. But Amenhotep IV appoints him as Great Royal Scribe. Surrounded by bitterly envious rivals and enemies, how long will Ptah-hotep survive?
The child-princess Mutnodjme sees her beautiful sister Nefertiti married off to the impotent young Amenhotep. But Nefertiti must bear royal children, so the ladies of the court devise a shocking plan.
Kheperren, meanwhile, serves as scribe to the daring teenage General Horemheb. But while the Pharaoh's shrinking army guards the Land of the Nile from enemies on every border, a far greater menace impends.
For, not content with his own devotion to one god alone, the newly-renamed Akhnaten plans to suppress the worship of all other gods in the Black Land.
His horrified court soon realise that the Pharaoh is not merely deformed, but irretrievably mad; and that the biggest danger to the Empire is in the royal palace itself.
"Starred Review. If not quite in the same class as Nick Drake's mysteries set in ancient Egypt...this is close enough to make historical fiction fans hope that Greenwood isn't done with this period." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. From the often wildly differing conclusions of professional Egyptologists, Greenwood, best known for her mysteries...has fashioned a fascinating, plausible and erotic tale." - Kirkus
Kerry Greenwood was born in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray and after
wandering far and wide, she returned to live there. She has degrees in English
and Law from Melbourne University and was admitted to the legal profession on
the 1st April 1982, a day which she finds both soothing and significant. Kerry
has written twenty novels, a number of plays (including The Troubadours with
Stephen D'Arcy), is an award-winning children's writer and has edited and
contributed to several anthologies. In 1996 she published a book of essays on
female murderers called Things She Loves: Why Women Kill.
The Phryne Fisher series (pronounced Fry-knee, to rhyme with briny) began in
1989 with Cocaine Blues which was a great success. Kerry has written fourteen
books in this series with no sign yet of Miss Fisher hanging up her
pearl-handled pistol. Kerry says that as long as people want to read them, she
can keep writing them.
Kerry Greenwood has worked as a folk singer, factory hand, director,
producer, translator, costume-maker, cook and is currently a solicitor. When she
is not writing, she works as a locum solicitor for the Victorian Legal Aid. She
is also the unpaid curator of seven thousand books, three cats (Attila,
Belladonna and Ashe) and a computer called Apple (which squeaks). She embroiders
very well but cannot knit. She has flown planes and leapt out of them (with a
parachute) in an attempt to cure her fear of heights (she is now terrified of
jumping out of planes but can climb ladders without fear). She can detect
second-hand bookshops from blocks away and is often found within them.
For fun Kerry reads science fiction/fantasy and detective stories. She is not
married, has no children and lives with a registered wizard. When she is not
doing any of the above she stares blankly out of the window.
From the author's website
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