42. The Mamur Zapt and the Return of the Carpet by Michael Pearce (Mystery)

World Lit Challenge: Egypt

The first in a series of mysteries set in pre-war Cairo (pre-WWI, that is.) The protagonist, Captain Gareth Cadwallader Owen, is the Mamur Zapt, or head of the city’s Political CID—the Secret Police. This first book is set in 1908, just before the yearly return of the Holy Carpet from Mecca, and terrorism is always a threat, especially to the British, whose rule of Egypt is ostensibly “indirect”, but not indirect enough for most Egyptians. As Mamur Zapt, Owen has to navigate a plethora of different cultures and languages, as well as four competing legal systems. One attempted assassination and the ominous disappearance of a large quantity of Army weaponry make Owen’s job harder than ever.

I enjoyed it quite a bit, partly because it’s a nice spy mystery, but mostly because I love books set in other times and cultures. Michael Pearce does a good job of imparting information without being too didactic or ruining the story, and he has a good reputation for historical accuracy. It probably doesn’t hurt that he grew up right next door to Egypt, in then-Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. This book made a lovely introduction to 1908 Egypt. The writing is fast-paced and undemanding, and Pearce does a good job of balancing dialogue with lively descriptions of Cairo.

The mystery is political rather than domestic, which makes a nice change for me, since I go in more for “cozies” than spy thrillers or police procedurals. I like the protagonist, Captain Gareth Cadwallader Owen, very much, and I’d be happy to see more of him. Not enough to shell out $15 each for the other 14 novels in the series, but more than enough to get them from the library.

Books read: 42/100 (42%)
Pages read: 11,850/25,000 (47%)
Days passed: 131/365 (36%)

Tags: 50 Book Challenge 2007, Mamur Zapt, Michael Pearce, World Lit Challenge