PR specialist Cassie Cooper, who made trouble for her twin sister, Maddie, in Wilde's previous romantic adventure, Charmed and Dangerous
(2004), has planned an Egyptian costume benefit at Fort Worth's Kimbell Art Museum to celebrate the reunion of the separated amulet that once belonged to Kiya and Solen, Egyptian lovers from 3,000 years ago. The benefit gets off to a bad start with the stabbing and disappearance of a man in a mummy costume and the theft of Kiya's part of the amulet. When Dr. Adam Grayfield fails to appear at the party with Solen's section of the amulet, Cassie's boss threatens to fire her. In a comical, if less than credible scene, Adam's nerdy archeologist brother, Harrison, saves Cassie's job by asserting that the theft of Kiya's amulet was staged and party-goers must try to solve the mystery. Cassie and Harrison's search for Adam and the pilfered amulet is coupled with overblown romantic tension and outlandish encounters with their pursuers. The imperfections of the protagonists (Cassie is not model thin, and Harrison isn't a fierce tough guy) add realism to the read, which, if nothing else, is adequate escapist fare. Agent, Karen Solem at Spencerhill Associates. (May)
