A Cold Touch of Ice

August 1, 2004
Lord Kitchener's appointment as consul-general for Egypt in 1912 portends major changes for Gareth Owen, the head of the Cairo secret police, in Michael Pearce's A Cold Touch of Ice: A Mamur Zapt Mystery, the latest standout in the long-running series. Once again, Pearce seamlessly blends a whodunit plot with a vivid portrayal of colonial Egypt. The political tensions that plague the British overseers will resonate with readers following current events in Iraq. .

August 1, 2004
It is 1912, and the first uneasy stirrings signaling the impending world war are beginning to surface. In Egypt British domination is being questioned more than ever before, the Nationalist Party is growing stronger by the day, and foreigners, especially in Cairo, are suddenly unwelcome. Against this backdrop, Gareth Owen, the Mamur Zapt (the British head of Cairo's secret police), must solve the murder of Italian Sidi Morelli, a longtime Cairo resident. The victim's Cairene friends are deeply distraught because, they claim, "Sidi was one of us." But, clearly, the murderer did not feel that way, and with Owen himself beginning to experience subtle but unmistakable pressure because of his own Britishness, it becomes even more important to find out who killed Morelli and why. Although darker and less humorous than earlier Mamur Zapt stories, Pearce's latest installment in this excellent and popular series is well worth reading, as much for the timely insights into Islamic and Egyptian cultural and political history as for the wonderfully eccentric characters, flawless storytelling, and charming denouement.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)