The Poisoner of Ptah: A Story of Intrigue and Murder Set in Ancient Egypt

by P. C. Doherty

Overview

At a peace treaty signing between Egypt and Libya in Thebes, three of Egypt's leading scribes die violently on the Temple forecourt, the victims of a vile poisoning. To add to the mounting unease, a prosperous merchant and his young wife are found drowned. Rumors soon sweep the imperial city. The Poisoner of Ptah has returned. It falls to Amerotke, Chief Judge of the Halls of Two Truths, to investigate these hideous crimes - his hunt for the Poisoner leads him to discover yet more suspicion and potential danger. This story sees the Judge pit his wits against a cunning opponent who seems intent on spreading his death-dealing powders. Amerotke enters the twilight world of glorious Thebes where life can be so rich and yet death so swift and brutal.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466834002
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/19/2008
Series:	Ancient Egypt Mysteries , #6
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	470 KB

About the Author

P.C. Doherty is the author of several acclaimed mystery series including The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan, the Hugh Corbett medieval mysteries, and the Canterbury Tales of mystery and murder. He lives in England.

P.C. DOHERTY is the author of several acclaimed mystery series including The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan, the Hugh Corbett medieval mysteries, and the Canterbury Tales of mystery and murder. He lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

Prolific British author Doherty (The Assassins of Isis) spins a rich, complex tale of murder in this gripping ancient Egyptian mystery, his latest to feature "the Chief Judge in the Hall of Two Truths," Lord Amerotke. In 1478 B.C., Hatusu, the pharaoh queen, ably rules Egypt, but she must still reckon with foreign rivals, including Libya. Just as delicate negotiations with a Libyan delegation result in a valuable peace treaty, three prominent Egyptian scribes are poisoned, and Hatusu calls on Amerotke to find the killer. Suspicion soon falls on Rekhet, a man convicted years earlier of a series of royal court poisonings. Amerotke discovers Rekhet recently escaped from prison, possibly with the assistance of the very Libyans negotiating the peace treaty with Egypt. Doherty, the author of a number of other historical series, manages to include an impossible crime among the puzzles the sage and insightful judge must solve. (Feb.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

Publishers Weekly

Three scribes from the Temple of Ptah are poisoned after signing a peace treaty between Egypt and the Libyans, an event that causes great humiliation for the Pharaoh Hatusu (more widely known as Hatshepsut). On the same day, the bodies of a wealthy merchant and his young wife are found drowned in their pool. In his latest adventure after The Assassins of Isis , Amerotke, the pharaoh's chief judge, must investigate these deaths and discover what is the driving force behind them. Doherty, author of several other historical series, including "The Sorrowful Mysteries of Brother Athelstan," knows a thing or two about locked-room murders and employs the devious plot devices needed to confound the reader. Ancient Egypt is fertile ground for an intriguing mystery, and Doherty uses the Egyptian fascination with poisons and the many intrigues surrounding Hatusu's reign to keep Amerotke and his cohorts busy protecting their monarch. Highly recommended for all mystery collections. The author lives in England.

Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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