Customer Reviews

A Place of Darkness

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Lauren Haney's mystery series featuring Lieutenant Bak, commander of the Medjay police in the frontier fortress city of Buhen, set in the 18th dynasty of Queen Maatkare Hatshepsut, is a vital and exciting series, and makes for compelling and avid reading. And this latest Bak adventure, "A Place of Darkness" definitely lives up to the rave reviews that the first four books this series has garnered.

While inspecting the vessels (and their cargo) that are leaving Egypt proper for the South (Nubia & Kush), Bak and his police officers discover a cache of jewelry that had been plundered from the tomb of one of Egypt's first pharaohs. Questioning the smuggler however proves frustrating, as he proves to be completely ignorant of the finer workings of this thieving and smuggling operation. However news from Commander Thuty, the officer in charge of the garrison at Buhen, soon pushes this crime into the background. Thuty has been offered the command of the garrison at Mennufer (Memphis), and he wants to take the entire company with him. For Bak, this opportunity is a mixed blessing for this would mean the end of his exile from Egypt; however, moving back to Egypt would also mean bringing himself to the notice of his Queen, and her favourite, Senenmut, both of whom are not fans of Bak. Thuty, gives Bak a month's leave, so that he can visit his father at Waset (Thebes), and so that he can bring to the attention of Amonked, the storekeeper of Amon, evidence that the ancient tombs are being plundered. Bak secretly hopes that Amonked will allow him to investigate these thefts more fully. However Amonked has another task for Bak. For months now a series of fatal accidents have been plaguing the construction of Queen Hatshepsut's new memorial temple. The workers are beginning to spread rumours that the temple is plagued by a malevolent spirit, and this is affecting the progress of the construction. Amonked wants Bak to investigate these "accidents" more fully, for he suspects a more human hand at work. And indeed Amonked's suspicions prove true, for on the very day he takes Bak to the construction site, one of the chief architects, Montu, is found violently murdered. Now Bak must hunt a vicious killer, before more "accidents" can occur. For Bak, success is important as a lot is riding on it -- not only is his own physical well-being dependent on his success but his career as well, for failure to discover this most audacious of killers is bound discredit him and bring him to the attention of Senenmut and Queen Hatshepsut. Something he could definitely do without right now!

"A Place of Darkness" is a compelling and brilliant read. Lauren Haney has layered and textured this mystery so effectively, that you literally get the impression of delving deep into the desert sands in order to arrive at the heart of the mystery. The descriptions of the building site, and all the work that is put into building a temple was vivid and evocative. The amount of care that the authour went into to bring places and sites to life is there for all to see. The novel was likewise skillfully constructed and cleverly executed. And the level of tension is well sustained throughout the novel -- Haney successfully builds on the tension, never missing a beat. And there is our police detective, Bak: a very appealing, clever, wily and credible sleuth. Definitely, the Lieutenant Bak series is an absolutely wonderful mystery series, and "A Place of Darkness" is an absolutely wonderful and riveting read.

Lieutenant Bak has much to be excited about. Acting on his suspicions, Bak has managed to foil the smuggling activities of Nenwaf, and recapture valuable jewelry taken from one of the tombs surrounding the ancient temple of Nebhepetre Montuhotep near Waset. The same site where Maatkare Hatshepsut, the only female ruler of Egypt, is having her own temple built.

No sooner is this accomplished then Commander Thuty calls his officers into a meeting to announce that he us being to transferred to Mennufer and would like to take them with him. For Bak this means not only an opportunity, but the easing of the exile to which Hatshepsut had sentenced him. Thuty then asks Bak to take the recovered treasure back to Waset and offer his help to Amonked, the Storekeeper of Amon, who is an old friend.

Lieutenant Bak heads to Waset in the company of Hori, a young scribe, and Kasaya, one of Bak's police officers. He finds that the building of the new temple is plagued with serious problems. One or more people have disguised themselves as 'malign spirits,' and have caused considerable death and injury. Amonked asks Bak to look into the sabotage. While investigating the site a body is discovered, that of the architect Montu. Tension grows worse, and the workers are threatening to walk off.

In short order Bak is dodging attacks on himself as he tries to put together the pieces of an intricate puzzle that point to a cold and calculating mind. Convinced that the interference at the site is connected to the tomb robberies, the young lieutenant and his companions comb the construction site looking for clues to fabulous treasure. There he believes he will find his answers.

In this fifth in her series of 18th dynasty mysteries about Lieutenant Bak, Lauren Haney demonstrates the same level of skill that keeps her a success. These tales are richly complex, combining an engaging plot with countless interesting characters and a fine command of historical detail. Her stories lack the political background of Lynda Robinson's books, but compensate by giving us a wonderful vision of the real workings of the ancient world.

Lauren Haney has created a real gem in Lieutenant Bak, her protagonist in four previous mysteries. This fifth novel finds Bak leaving behind his appointment as head of the Medjay police at the fortress of Buhen and instead finds him investigating the mysterious deaths occurring at the building site of the memorial temple for the divine Queen Maatkare Hatshepsut. Accompanied by his two youthful assistants Kasaya and Hori, bak tries to expose the "malign spirit" plaguing the site as a man with more human motivations-the theft of relics from plundered tombs.

One of the amazing things that Haney accomplishes in these novels is bringing the people and places of 18th dynasty Egypt a gritty realism, while conveying that this ancient culture already has a magnificently old history filled with culture and traditions which were already being lost in time. At times the prose gets as dry as the Egyptian desert, but overall it is a wonderful read that leaves you with a renewed appreciation for ancient Egypt.

Writing instructors will tell you that the most important elements in mysteries are great plots and memorable characters. In Lauren Haney's enjoyable novel, A Place of Darkness, setting is equally important. Her ancient Egypt setting is so strong, in fact, that it outshines most of her characters. The primary story takes place at the construction site of Djeser Djeseru, a memorial temple for divine Queen Maatkare Hatshepsut. Lieutenant Bak is asked to investigate the cause of a series of accidents at the site, supposedly brought on by a malign spirit, or so the frightened workers believe. When one of the temple's senior architects is murdered, Bak's quest takes a sinister turn. He also realizes that stolen artifacts he'd confiscated a few days earlier in Buhen might have come from ancient tombs beneath Djeser Djeseru. The victim wasn't a nice guy, and no one, including this reader, minds that he's gone. Bak, however, is a conscientious man who cares about his reputation, so he risks life and limb to find a killer who also might be causing the accidents.

Haney provides plenty of geographical detail in this story. For someone who knows almost nothing about Egypt, I found the descriptions educational, although I did become a little bogged down with all the site names and references to previous royalty. Also daunting was the long list of characters provided (36 in all) before the first chapter. Although Haney does a great job of introducing people at a measured pace, I had to consult the list several times to keep them straight. Having said that, Haney's talent for detail also portrays such a gritty portrayal of life for construction workers in ancient Egypt that I could almost feel their aches and pains and smell the sweat.

A Place of Darkness sits in the middle of this eight-book series, but it works well as a stand alone. Haney provides just enough casual references to past events in Bak's professional life to pique my interest in reading the earlier books. If you're curious about temple building and want a close look at the immense amount of toil involved, A Place of Darkness is the book for you.

Haney's police detective, Bak, is male, but he lives during the time of 18th century B.C.E. Queen Maatkare Hatshepsut, and his investigations reveal fascinating details about life during her reign. In this case, Bak is at the building site of the queen's partially completed new memorial temple of Djeser Djeseru (Deir-el-Bahri) where a series of fatal accidents and whispers of a malign spirit are plaguing the construction effort. The author includes a descriptive list of some of the personalities and Egyptian gods and goddesses of the period, and a plan of the current excavated Hatshepsut temple.

Another Officer Bok treasure. What a good book. I wish there were some in the series that I had not read so that I could. Go ahead, you know you want to. You will thank me.