THE CAIRO CURSE (Fredrick & Grace Mystery #2) by Pepper Basham will be published on February 1, 2023 by Barbour Fiction.
On their way to an Italian honeymoon, newlyweds Lord and Lady Astley take a detour to visit Fredrick's cousins in Egypt. Upon arrival in Cairo, it is clear that something is not quite right among the archeologist party at the Amarna site. Cousin Georgia's husband is determined to leave the site before season's end. The archeologists want to stay. Jewelry has gone missing, and artifacts from Amarna are showing up in unexpected places. When Grace accidentally stumbles upon an "undiscovered" tomb that appears to being excavated, it sets off a series of events that include multiple murders, kidnapping, and near-death experiences.
Normally I would not read a book that is labeled 'Christian fiction,' but I was intrigued that the mystery was set in Egypt. It took me until about the halfway point before I finally got into the story. For me, it dragged up until then. Yes, the reader is being introduced to the characters and is being set up with little clues that something fishy is going on. I was also confused about references to events in the first novel, THE MISTLETOE COUNTESS. Having not read the first novel in the series, I did not understand the references and could have used a bit more explanation. The action did pick up in the second half of the novel, and I got more into the story. I will admit to skipping over the really religious parts. I also didn't really like either of the main characters and couldn't really bring myself to care about what happened to them. Overall, the novel was well written and packed full of facts about Egypt.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.