October 21, 2022
The Return of the Pharaoh by Nicholas Meyer
Dr. John Watson, long-time chronicler of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and his second wife Juliet find themselves wintering in Cairo while Juliet recovers from tuberculosis. After Juliet checks into the sanatorium, Watson finds himself at loose ends and begins visiting Cairo locations that other Englishmen frequent. At the Shepheard's Hotel bar, he unexpectedly runs into the great detective himself, in disguise as a Colonel Arbuthnot (complete with Watson's gravy-stained regimental tie). Holmes is on a case, searching for a missing duke who came to Egypt on the hunt for treasure. Watson is immediately swept up in the case and the pair find themselves entangled in the frenzy for Egyptian artifacts and treasure, as well as murder.
Not as good as the SH canon but not bad. Meyer wrote The Seven Percent Solution before this, another Holmes and Watson story. Ancient Egypt interests me, so that was an added draw. My only real complaint was the duchess who spends a lot of time fainting or going catatonic at the most inopportune times. Seriously? Were women in the early 20th century really that delicate that they'd pass out rather than trying to get themselves out of a life-threatening situation?
Shepheard's Hotel, a favorite Cairo hangout for Englishmen
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