In 1910, Gareth Owen serves as the Mamur Zapt in the British colony Egypt. Gareth's job is to resolve crimes with political implications. When the economy was booming, Gareth often looked the other way. The recent economic collapse makes those cases he pursues that much harder as no one wants to cooperate.

When A Ministry of Agriculture civil servant dies at his work desk, Gareth claims potential political problems with this death. He leads the official inquiry even as pressure mounts for him to end the investigation immediately. Normally, Owen would heed the advise of the local establishment including his peers and superiors, but this time he stubbornly follows the money trail of the deceased though his actions places his position in jeopardy.

This historical who-done-it will excite readers on several levels. The story line contains an engaging police procedural, a fabulous look at a rarely seen time and locale (at least in western novels), and a glimpse into the hierarchy of the Empire where the sun never set. Historical, mystery, and political fans will enjoy THE CAMEL OF DESTRUCTION as Michael Pearce provides a triumphant look back into a bygone era through the microscope of a strong investigative tale.

riet Klausner

The locked room mystery, but done opposite. One, then another foreign gentleman vanishes. Kidnapped--each abducted by three or more men. There on the terrace of Shepheard's, the grandest hotel in Colonial Cairo. Another bright, hot afternoon. In view of everybody: pampered guests at high tea, disciplined waiters in attendence, throngs of hawkers below, the bazaar street crowd beyond, and donkey boys at rest near the steps. Yet not one witness.

In 1908, the Sultan of Istanbul's power over the Ottoman Empire has waned and even under the rule of a succession of increasingly independent Khedives Egyptians are restive. French statesmen, triumphant in most of Africa, resort to political maneuver to wriggle a contract from the dominant British who control all the major projects.

Captain Cadwallader Owen, Welsh, is the Mamur Zapt, head of political affairs for the Cairo Police. Because the victims are foreign he has been drawn into the case. Despite not wanting to interfere with his capable police detective friend Mahmoud they clash over the implications that reflect on their own origins. Against a background as momentous as the Aswan Dam the evils inherent in colonialism, racism, feudalism, patronage, and fanaticism entwine around the mystery as a cobra coiled in its basket.

Gentle, droll, English humor at its best. These stories combine the murder mystery with the politics and culture of Colonial life and the Middle Eastern mystique in cosmopolitan turn-of-the-century Cairo. These books can't be allowed to disappear off the shelves.

Post Mortem Books has reissued this title in a limited edition of 250 signed numbered copies priced at 25.00 (pounds sterling). If you need to fill that gap in your collection, contact me at the email address given.