MoonglotexasFiona Veitch Smith’s Poppy Debby Investigates series has become one of my favourites! Her new release, “The Cairo Brief”, is a great addition to this collection. I love the audiobooks, read by Helen Keeley, as they bring the characters to life.
My mum and I are both knitters so we decided to enjoy this one together! She hadn’t, until this one, read the series but had no problem in connecting with these lively characters! All the favourites from the previous books are there along with a wonderful collection of new ones!
As usual, Poppy’s questions land her in the midst of another mystery! This time, it’s centers around the ownership, and therefore right of sale, of a beautiful and ancient Egyptian mask. I love when 1920s mysteries take on an Egyptian slant and this is one of the best! With realistic Egyptian, German, American and English characters, this tale has a multicultural feel! Popular at time, was a fascination with curses and seances and all things mystic. This weaves it way through the plot adding another interesting dimension.
Whilst great entertainment, Fiona ensures she captures the serious and heartbreaking elements of post-World War One life including the psychological trauma endured by this generation.
If you enjoy an intelligent, historical murder mystery, this one is for you! It is a five out of five on the enJOYment scale and highly recommended.
From the back cover:
Poppy Denby is intrigued when she is invited to attend the auction for the death mask of Nefertiti. Held on the country estate of Sir James Maddox, a famous explorer, the auction promises to be a controversial and newsworthy affair. Representatives from the world’s leading museums are gathering to bid on the mask, which was discovered in Egypt.
Poppy quickly sniffs out that the mask was not the only thing found that night: the underground chamber also contained a dead body. Poppy and her colleagues from The Daily Globe, who are trying to stay one step ahead of their rivals from The London Courier, dismiss rumours about the mask’s ancient curse. But when one of the auction party is murdered and someone starts stalking Poppy, the race is on to find the killer before the curse can strike again….
