The Egyptian Antiquities Murder

In Rosett’s lively third High Society Lady Detective mystery set in 1920s England (after Murder at Blackburn Hall), Olive Belgrave, who was once an unemployed gentlewoman but is now a full-fledged private investigator, is summoned to London’s upscale Mayfair neighborhood by Lady Agnes, whose uncle, Lord Mulvern, an “eminent Egyptologist and possessor of a cache of mummies,” died a month earlier. A brief note the uncle left behind suggests he was driven to suicide by a mummy’s curse. Unfortunately, the tabloids are still cranking out scandalous stories with headlines such as “Mummy haunts Mayfair town house.” Over tea, Lady Agnes tells Olive, “I want you to get to the bottom of this curse nonsense... Oh, I don’t want you to debunk the curse. I want you to prove Uncle Lawrence was murdered.” Suspects abound. Olive’s good friend, clever Jasper Rimington, is on hand to serve as a sounding board and to provide a bit of backup. A good plot, elegant prose, and a charming narrative voice all add up to a winner. Readers will eagerly await Olive’s next adventure. (Self-published)