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Mystery author #39: Michael Pearce

Title: Death of an Effendi
Series detective: Gareth Owen, head of Cairo's Political CID
No. in series: 12
Year of publication: 1999
Type of mystery: Murder, political intrigue, historical
Type of investigator: Police
Setting & time: Cairo, Egypt; 1909

Story:
Owen is sent to keep an eye on a Russian businessman during a conference, but the man is short during a bird hunt and Owen suspects it is murder and not an accidental shooting. But proving it is another matter, especially when a man who may possibly have important information is being kept out of reach. It takes some clever manoeuvring to get to him, and what is revealed is a curious story of idealism, business and politics, but it it may be a small thing for Owen compared with the wrath of his girlfriend when one of the witnesses turns out to be a beautiful woman.

Review:
Pearce writes with a wonderfully light and airy touch, and his characters are three dimensional and human. He manages to tell a light-hearted story about a very serious matter, in a story that is at once character driven and full of plot. I will definitely be on the lookout for more.

Rating: An excellent twisty murder mystery. 3+ stars.
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Comments

Anonymous said…
I loved all this series when I read it some years ago. I discovered recently that he writes at least one other series, too.
November 09, 2007 11:42 am
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