Mamur Zapt & the Men Behind

by Michael Pearce

Overview

A sudden bullet pierces the pungent dust that permeates Cairo. The victim is a bookkeeper called Fairclough; he has been shot at from behind while riding home on his donkey, though not badly hurt. Hardly cause for alarm, thinks Cadwallader Owen, better known as the Mamur Zapt, or head of Cairo's Secret Police. After all, Fairclough is with Customs. And in 1909 British-ruled Cairo, Customs is the lowest of all departments. But Owen's nonchalance is soon shattered as unexpected, bloody violence shakes Cairo's crowded bazaars and bustling thoroughfares. Then, scores of frightened British and Egyptian civil servants flood the police with complaints of pursuit by unknown men. Finally, on a dank back street, Owen himself is followed and nearly attacked by two shadowy characters in European dress. Is this a reign of terror to undermine British rule? Or is it a personal vendetta? The Mamur Zapt is determined to uncover the truth. It is a dangerous mission that will take him through Cairo's darkest alleys, into its loudest, bawdiest district, and out to a fearfully remote desert village. Dodging wild bombs and stray bullets, the Mamur Zapt desperately strives to preserve the law...and his own life. But to do so he must find answers to mystifying questions. Who are these would-be assailants who stalk their victims so cunningly? Who are the deadly "men behind"?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780892964871
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	07/01/1993
Series:	Mamur Zapt Series , #4
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.75(d)

Editorial Reviews

As head of the British secret police in Cairo in 1908, Captain Cadwallader Owen is called the Mamur Zapt. In his fourth appearance (after The Mamur Zapt and the Donkey-Vous ), Owen receives complaints from a spate of English visitors and Egyptians that they are being followed; then a Customs Department official is shot at. Owen is reluctant to mount a full-scale investigation, however, because of current political unrest: the previous government has recently fallen and the Khedive, Egypt's hereditary ruler, has yet to name a new cabinet. After entertaining a man named Roper who has come to look at old emerald mines as a possible investment, Owen is faced with the death of two students killed when a bomb explodes in a cafe. While still uncertain whether the bombing and the shootings are political or personal, Owen learns of another bombing outside Hamada near the mines Roper is inspecting. Only by traveling to the edge of the desert can Owen unravel the forces and motivations behind the killings. Pearce deftly captures the intertwined political, cultural and religious tensions of his colorful locale and turbulent period. (July)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Captain Cadwallader Owen is "Mamur Zapt" (head of the secret police) in British-occupied Cairo circa 1908. A series of shooting incidents and a bombing in a student cafe lead Owen into an investigation that takes him through a complicated (and sometimes comical) maze of political ambition and power. He must investigate gunrunners, student protesters, thieves, slavers, smugglers, and corrupt politicians, and the clues take him from the busy streets of Cairo to an isolated desert town, the Bohemian hangouts of local university students, and the court of the ruling Khedive. As if this isn't enough to keep him occupied, Cadwallader must juggle the affections of two beautiful but extremely possessive and jealous women. Pearce writes with charm, humor, and finesse, presenting an authentic picture of the history, social customs, and political environment of early twentieth-century Egypt. His dialogue sometimes slips into "contemporary-ism" (did Englishmen really say "OK" in long-ago Cairo?), and the plot is occasionally tedious, but the book is nonetheless a lighthearted, witty, and entertaining read.

Emily Melton