Paul Doherty - The Season of the Hyaena

Tutankhamun is shortly to be crowned Pharaoh, legitimising his reign by marrying his half sister Ankhesenamun, the daughter of Akenhaten and Nefertiti.   However, a rebellion is afoot by those still faithful to Aten worship, seemingly led by someone claiming to be be Akenhaten.  Chief of Police Mahu, along with Horemheb and Rameses, Egypt's fearsome generals, have to crush the rebellion to ensure that Egypt can return to the safety and peace enjoyed before Akenhaten started his heresy, but Mahu senses that the affairs of Egypt are more complicated as the Royal Circle itself appears split into different factions and attitudes.

My rating: 7/10

Couldn't resist this, crime fiction set in one of my favourite eras, 18th Dynasty Egypt, is few and far between.  I don't agree with a lot of Doherty's premises, but that doesn't prevent it from being a well structured and exciting story, and he does describe the period really well.  What I didn't like was the somehow rather modern vernacular he used sometimes, which if overused can turn serious crime into comedy - and this isn't really a light-hearted story.

It's surprising that, considering that his period in time is one of the most puzzling, and has the most gaps to fill by talented authors, that there aren't similar tales.  And no-one has really completely satisfied the question about the identity of the king portrayed on Tut's middle coffin, or who was the mummy in AV 55 - Doherty has an answer to this, but is a hurried afterthought at the end, which could have been weaved into the story better.

(Late note.  Of course, this is the last of 3 in a series based on Egyptian Pharaohs, so likely the "afterthought" was actually referred to and used in the other 2.  No excuse, it is one of my big bugbears.  All the same, it is a short sub-plot and the book can be taken on its own, so I'm not changing the rating)
 
Next: Adam Creed - Willing Flesh, for SHOTS.