Sunrise on the Mediterranean

One second, savvy 26-year-old English-American time-traveler Chloe Kingsley is in 1996, the next she finds herself being pulled up from the sea in ancient Israel. In this colorful, well-researched third installment in Chloe's time-traveling adventures (Reflections in the Nile, Shadows on the Aegean), she is transported into biblical times at the beginning of King David's reign. In neighboring Egypt, internecine conflicts surround the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten. The book starts off slowly, as Frank recapitulates the previous stories and explains how Chloe, a contemporary artist and one-time U.S. Air Force pilot, and Cheftu, her husband, a 19th-century French doctor whom she met on a previous time travel trip, have become separated. Added to this already convoluted setup is the character of RaEm, a dangerous ancient Egyptian woman who has been inhabiting Chloe's body in the 20th century and who is now stuck with Cheftu in the same time period as Chloe, on a deserted island somewhere near Egypt. The tale picks up steam once the author is fully embarked on her quest to fill some crucial gaps in ancient history via an intriguing plot in which people with modern knowledge interact with important historical figures. Chloe assists David's people in the invasion of the city that becomes Jerusalem, and designs the symbolic star of David; Cheftu becomes scribe to King David and a writer of the Old Testament; and RaEm connives to become Pharaoh's co-regent and attempts to use 20th-century scholarship to make a frightening change in the course of history. The juxtaposition of modern-day observations and expressions and archaic situations (""there was no direct translation for my words: Duh!"") gives a good shot of humor to the clever, suspenseful narrative. (Sept.)