Death of an Effendi: A Mamur Zapt Mystery

Set in Cairo in 1909, Michael Pearce's Death of an Effendi: A Mamur Zapt Mystery, the 12th in this well-received historical series, finds Gareth Owen, the head of the secret police force tasked with maintaining political calm, entering the murky world of the Egyptian Russian community after the seemingly accidental fatal shooting of a Russian financier. Though the whodunit's resolution doesn't measure up to the intriguing opening, the author's trademark wit and humor are as much in evidence as ever.