A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djeli Clark
Set in 1912 in an alternate-universe Cairo, Special Investigator Fatma el-Sha'arawi of the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities is called in to investigate the suicide of a djinn. She quickly realizes that something isn't right about the case and begins to follow the trail of the djinn's contacts, which leads her through the bizarre supernatural underworld of Cairo.
At just 43 pages, this falls somewhere between a short story and a novella. An interesting aspect is that when the local populace let magic into their midst, they were able to evict their British colonizers. There are steampunk elements, supernatural beings, and a skillful use of myth, magic, and religion to advance the story. The main character is erudite, smart and confident, and she picks up a supernatural being who assists her and whose powers are interesting to say the least. This is a fast-paced read as the characters race to save the world as they know it.
This was a perfect antidote to the historical mystery that I was reading and gave up on (see next review). The author has several more novellas set in this parallel world, not necessary about the same set of characters. I already downloaded her next novella, The Haunting of Tram Car 015.
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