The Point in the Market (Mamur Zapt Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Michael Pearce (Author)

Book Description

Series: Mamur Zapt Mysteries | Publication Date: April 10, 2005

It's World War I. Britain has ruled Egypt since 1881 under a shadow government headed by its Agent and Consul General under the nominal authority of Egypt's hereditary ruler the Khedive. The head of the Secret Police is the Mamur Zapt, an office currently held by a Welshman, Captain Gareth Cadwallader Owen. And as the clouds of the war further darken Egypt's sun-lit skies, he has his hands full. On the professional front, there's all that commotion that started in Cairo's Camel Market. On the personal side, Owen has married his longtime lover, the lovely Pasha's daughter, Zeinab, a move with serious consequences for both of them and riddled with political and social pitfalls. Neither can be fully accepted by the other's culture and community. Against this, the perils of the Great War pale....

This remarkable series is penned by a former Anglo-Egyptian civil servant who succeeds in bringing a vibrant, conflict-packed age to life in a manner that illuminates the situation we face today.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Pearce delivers another sizzling installment in his excellent Mamur Zapt series. As chief of Cairo's secret police (the Mamur Zapt), Welshman Gareth Owen continues to delicately straddle a cultural divide made more precarious by the onset of World War I. Caught betwixt and between Egyptian, Turkish, and British social and political interests, he investigates both the murder of one of his local agents and a rash of inexplicable fires plaguing the foreign owned and operated liquor houses. In addition, Owen struggles with divided loyalties and emotions made all the more complicated by his recent marriage to Zeinab, the independent and outspoken daughter of a local Pasha. Set in an exotic locale at a pivotal point in history and populated by a memorable international cast, this intelligent whodunit shines as much for its cosmopolitan setting and characterizations as for its tautly woven plot. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Michael Pearce grew up in the (then) Anglo-Egyptian Sudan among the political and other tensions he draws on for his books. He returned there later to teach and retains a human rights interest in the area. In between whiles his career has followed the standard academic rake's progress from teaching to writing to administration. He finds international politics a pallid imitation of academic ones.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 214 pages
• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (April 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590581377
• ISBN-13: 978-1590581377
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #436,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Historical Middle East drama, July 4, 2005

By 

Cory D. Slipman (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Point in the Market (Mamur Zapt Mysteries) (Hardcover)

"The Point in the Market" is a succinct novel set in 1915 Egypt in the middle of the Gallipoli campaign of World War One. Egypt has been ruled by the British Consul General since 1881. The hereditary Egyptian ruler, the Khedive, has been set up as a figurehead.

Captain Gareth Owen is serving as the Mamur Zaput, head of the Sultan's secret police. One of his underlings, an uneducated camel driver Sabri, who had done undercover work for Owen is found murdered, his body hidden in the Cairo camel market. Owen whose jurisdiction generally involves political matters feels it's his personal responsibilty to investigate the crime.

Egypt at this time is a country of mixed allegiances. Ruled for many years under the Ottoman Empire, many of the traditional rulers, the pashas, are of Turkish background. Under the resented rule of the British who are on opposite sides as the Turks in WW 1, the Egyptians have a problem in picking up guns against their fellow Muslims. This conflict of loyalties makes it difficult for Owen to get cooperation in his inquest. Locals feel that he has ulterior motives other than looking after the murdered Sabri's family who seek vengeance for his death.

All the while Owen's new wife Zeinab, daughter of a pasha and of Turkish-Egyptian extract is being stonewalled in society much as her husband is, for having married a foreigner. More of a modern woman she is frustrated in the inability of women to attain meaningful positions in society. The influx of wounded soldiers pouring into Cairo from the surrounding battlefields gives her an opportunity become involved in hospital administration.

Working within the framework of a confusing system, Owen painstakingly tracks down clues and information to help him solve, what turns out to be, a politically motivated crime.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great Mamur Zapt historical mystery, April 12, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Point in the Market (Mamur Zapt Mysteries) (Hardcover)

The British presence in Egypt has in fact ruled the country, but not in name until now; with World War I raging on two continents, Egypt has become a protectorate of the British Empire. The Khedive has been ousted and replaced by a sultan who answers to the British. Captain Gareth Owen, the Mamur Zapt (head of the secret police) has enough work to keep a dozen people busy. One of his spies Sabri was murdered; the inquiry has led Gareth to believe the man had information to sell to him.

Owen married his lover, the Pasha's daughter Zeinab, who is ostracized by her former friends for entangling herself with the Welsh expatriate. A number of fires in liquor houses have swept through the city and Owen learns that it is not the heat or the arid conditions that are the cause but a person and Owen wants to apprehend him before a tragedy engulfs the entire area. The Egyptians await an attack of the Turks so that they can align with the victors. With all this and more going on, Owen remains steadfast that justice will prevail for Sabri and comes up with an ingenious plan to achieve his goal.

The fifteenth Mamur Zapt historical mystery retains the uniqueness, excitement and freshness that are the character traits of all the novels in this exciting series. Zeinab is a "modern" woman who demands freedom to make choices while Owen is a mother hen worried that his beloved might be hurt by those who scorn her marriage by an Englishman. They make quite a couple. The Egyptian culture during World War I is exquisitely detailed as if Michael Peace was there. All this wealth of information is adroitly used to enhance the who-done-it so that fans of historical novels and those of historical mysteries receive quite a treat.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cultural conflict, romance, and intrigue, August 8, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Point in the Market (Mamur Zapt Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Another Mamur Zapt mystery will appeal both to prior fans and newcomers; for you needn't be a Mamur Zapt expert to pick up The Point In The Market as an introduction to the mystery setting. The changing Mamur Zapt is head of the Secret Police in Egypt, currently fielded by Welshman Gareth Owen, who has married his longtime lover Zeinab but finds both social and political dangers abound in his actions. Blend cultural conflict, romance, and intrigue and you have a novel packed with intriguing sub-plots and action.