Death Shall Come: An Ishmael Jones Mystery

In Green’s entertaining fourth Ishmael Jones Mystery (after Very Important Corpses), Ishmael, an extraterrestrial in human form and ace British secret agent, and his earthly companion, Penny Belcourt, travel from London to Cardavan House (“a really long way from anywhere”) at the behest of the Colonel, Ishmael’s contact at his principal employer, the super-secret Organization. The Colonel wants Ishmael to be on hand for the unveiling of an Egyptian mummy, the latest purchase of his father-in-law, George Cardavan, owner of the world’s biggest private collection of valuable Ancient Egyptian artifacts. The story soon settles into a comfortable country house mystery: when one of the bickering family members is found bludgeoned to death in front of the empty sarcophagus, Ishmael uses his intelligence, phenomenal strength, and exquisite sense of smell to track down who—or what—is responsible. Green once again smoothly blends science fiction with classic detection. Agent: Joshua Bilmes, JABberwocky Literary Agency. (Sept.)