Drinker of Blood (Lord Meren Mysteries) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "His wife had always hated the night, for demons and lost spirits of the dead roamed in the darkness, but Bakht had always liked it..." (more)
Key Phrases: great royal wife, independent reign, thy majesty, Horizon of the Aten, Two Lands, Queen Tiye (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Robinson's books about Lord Meren, Eyes and Ears of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun, have been justly praised as one of the most engrossing and sophisticated historical mystery series running. This fifth entry (after Eater of Souls, 1997) is the first to disappoint, one in which the ever wily Meren conducts two investigations that never quite come together satisfactorily. First, he's secretly consumed with finding the person who poisoned Queen Nefertiti. He's narrowed the suspects to three men, but, to prevent the assassin from attacking the current pharaoh, he doesn't want to tell the teenage Tutankhamun about his investigation. Meanwhile, Tut commands Meren to investigate the death of a favorite guard who mysteriously died in the baboon pit at the royal zoo. Because he doesn't want to be deflected from his clandestine investigation of Nefertiti's death, Meren delegates the task to his aide Abu, who delegates it even further. While Meren relentlessly tracks down his three suspects, he must accompany Tut on a war party at the border. There, someone who sounds like Meren tries to kill Tut with Meren's own knife. Accused of the attempt, Meren escapes arrest and finds asylum with a crafty pirate, leaving his adopted son, Kysen, and daughter, Bener, to prove his innocence. The story is told from the alternating third-person viewpoints of Meren and Nefertiti, but the unmasking of Tut's assailant and his guard's killer are tied only peripherally to the former queen's murder. The plot, then, ends with an anticlimax that might have some readers feeling that, uncharacteristically, Robinson has led them through her usual intricate maze of political intrigue and religious infighting for naught. Major ad/promo.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

The setting is ancient Egypt during the reign of the boy-king Tutankhamun. Lord Meren has been Tutankhamun's mentor since the boy's parents, Pharaoh Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti, died mysteriously several years earlier. Meren is convinced Nefertiti was poisoned, perhaps as revenge against her much-reviled husband or possibly because she was too beautiful and powerful for her own good. Meren is determined to find Nefertiti's killer, but every time he identifies potential witnesses, they die mysteriously. Clues disappear, leads dry up. Meren knows the killer is someone both evil and powerful, but he doesn't realize how evil and powerful until the killer creates a scandal that puts Meren's reputation and even his life in jeopardy. Determined to prove his innocence, Meren launches a daring scheme. If it fails, it will bring about his destruction, but if it succeeds, Meren will uncover Nefertiti's murderer and regain his rightful place in Tutankhamun's court. Robinson's fifth Lord Meren mystery is a mesmerizing blend of tantalizing suspense, high-speed action, and gripping historical intrigue. She has a unique ability to make ancient places and people seem familiar, real, and alive. Her masterful plotting, in-depth knowledge of this period in history, and obvious enthusiasm for her subject give her latest book a rare and welcome energy and freshness. An outstanding thriller. Emily Melton --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press (June 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446677515
• ISBN-13: 978-0446677516
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #243,530 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 5 in The Lord Meren Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A mystic trip into the court of the "Boy King" Tutankhamun, May 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Drinker of Blood (Lord Meren Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I thought that this wonderful novel by Lynda Robinson was the greatest of the Lord Meren series. She has taken us back into an era long since gone, but not forgotten. At least by those of us who cherish any insight into Ancient Egypt. I felt as if I was right in the middle of the royal court in Thebes, looking at the "Living God" and all the courtiers. I found her re-use of characters from the previous novels most refreshing. It made me go back and read those books again just to make sure I missed nothing. I have studied Ancient Egypt since I saw King Tutankhamun's treasure in New York City in 1978 and I was 8 years old. I'll never be able to forget what I saw at that exhibit and Lynda Robinson has helped me relive it again through her very descriptive plot lines. I can not wait for the next Lord Meren book to come out, as I look forward to all the plot turns and twists.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Thus Far in This Egyptian Historical Mystery, May 16, 2001

By	P. Bigelow (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Drinker of Blood (Lord Meren Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Drinker of Blood is the fifth mystery involving Lord Meren, the Eyes and Ears of Pharoah Tutankhamun. In this outing, Lord Meren continues his search for the murderer of Tutankhamun's sister-in-law, Queen Nefertiti. He must, however, conduct his search in complete secrecy because the Queen had been married to the heretic Pharoah Akenaten whose reign was disastrous to the people, the land, and the royal family. Lord Meren dares not make public his knowledge and suspicions lest he disturb the peace and prosperity of the current Pharoah's reign. As Lord Meren gathers evidence, he is foiled at every turn by the person responsible for the Queen's death. Indeed, his very life is threatened the nearer he moves toward the truth.

This is, by far, the best entry in this excellent series. The story is in two voices - Lord Meren's and Queen Nefertiti's. As the reader is given insights into Queen Nefertiti's life as the Pharoah's "beautiful one," Lord Meren is seeking clues to who her killer is. The story moves quickly despite the two different times and voices. As in the past, Robinson's research and knowledge provides the historical setting while her imagination provides the danger.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dead men tell no tales, December 6, 2002

By	Michele L. Worley (Kingdom of the Mouse, United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This picks up the inquiry begun at the end of MURDER AT THE FEAST OF REJOICING, for which groundwork was laid in EATER OF SOULS. The title comes from Kysen's observation on the nature of the quarry, as lead after lead is snuffed by the murder of witnesses. The conclusion is in the next book, SLAYER OF GODS. I'll be assuming for the rest of this review that the reader already knows the series characters and the long-term investigation being pursued by Lord Meren, the Eyes and Ears of Pharaoh, and his adopted son Kysen.

The first Meren novel to be told in a non-linear braided format, the first thread of the narrative follows Nefertiti, beginning on the day in the reign of Amunhotep the Magnificent that Pharaoh and Queen Tiye selected this minor princess to be groomed as the consort of Pharaoh's weird younger son: Akhenaten. Almost supernaturally ugly himself, Akhenaten's appreciation for Nefertiti's beauty is one of the few normal facets of his character. Scorned by his father in favor of his older, more satisfactory brother Thutmose, Akhenaten turned to religion and theology; Egypt was to reap the harvest of Amunhotep's neglect when Thutmose's sudden death marked Akhenaten as the next pharaoh - a heretic who believed in only one member of Egypt's pantheon of gods, despite the power of the priesthoods and their pivotal role in Egypt's economy.

The second thread follows Meren's 'present', in year 5 of the reign of Tutankamun, Akhenaten's youngest brother - so much younger that he remembers Akhenaten only as a kindly, if distant, guardian. However, Tutankamun adored Nefertiti - and Meren, having seen enough damage done to the country, is protecting him from the knowledge that his beloved foster mother was murdered. If nothing else, the stability of Nefertiti's father, the vizier Ay, must not be risked in the face of an impending war with Hatti. His excuses having finally run out, Meren must finally take the king on a raid, letting him gain battlefield experience against bandits before he must face Hittite armies.

Not knowing that he's diverting resources from a far deeper inquiry, the king (who finds Meren's investigations a fascinating diversion) assigns Meren an unrelated task: to investigate the death of Bahkt: a minor royal guard, to be sure, but one who always had fascinating stories for a boy prince. Tutankamun knows that Bahkt *hated* baboons, and doesn't believe he'd accidentally fall into their cage in the royal menagerie. Meren's distraction from the king's tasks draws the wrong sort of attention...

Kysen's criminal informants in the Caverns - the slum around the Memphis docks - are deployed: Tcha the housebreaker is happy to be *ordered* to rob a merchant's house in search of information - but less than happy to find that the suspect has 8 Nubian guards, being a clandestine arms dealer. :) Examination of the government's accounts on another suspect reveals a pattern suggesting corrupt manipulation of foreign aid. (The equivalent, anyway - financial aid from pharaoh to a vassal state.)

The Nefertiti narrative isn't a mystery at all, but an unfolding tragedy - the wonder isn't that Nefertiti was murdered, but that *any* of her family - or the country - survived Akhenaten's reign. The 'present' narrative, following Meren, is a suspense story studded with some investigative trappings. Evidence *is* being presented fairly to the reader, but the manner of presentation isn't that of a normal investigation. For those reasons, the book isn't as appealing as its predecessors - not a nice, detached investigation. The feel is more like that of MURDER AT THE GOD'S GATE than the other books.