Customer Reviews

The Camel of Destruction: A Mamur Zapt Mystery

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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

Michael Pearce does it again in this mystery, part of his Mamur Zapt series set in Egypt during British Rule. An additional mystery is why this series isn't readily available at bookstores. I have searched for years and not found them; only Amazon came to the rescue.

The series is a treasure. Intelligent mysteries that are really novels, charmingly written, tongue in cheek dialogue, an engaging hero in an exotic time and place that is generally little known. Descriptions of the hero's contact with the local population outrageously funny. Every discerning reader will enjoy these. Thankfully, he's written a lot.

This book is a gem! The writing is excellent, the plot is engaging, the characters' dialogue is witty, and the setting is so real you feel as though you're walking right along with Captain Owen as he navigates the various neighborhoods of Cairo hunting down a lead. Best of all, the book is filled with that droll, dry British sense of humor. There are some laugh-out-loud moments as Owen has to negotiate/cajole/lightly threaten a number of haughty civil servants and bureaucrats.

I like this series much more than Michael Pearce's "Dead Man" series (A Dead Man in Istanbul, A Dead Man in Athens, etc). The writing is much better and the plots are more interesting. So if any of you out there weren't impressed by the "Dead Man" series, I highly recommend you give this Mamur Zapt series a try. I'm so glad my local library has this series. It's a real shame that these books aren't more readily available.