Books Set in Egypt
Join me as we journey around the world in our book club. This month we are in Egypt!
Our featured reads this month transport you to the intrigue and allure of early 20th-century Egypt. In Covert in Cairo by Kelly Oliver, British intelligence agents Fiona and Kitty must navigate espionage, murder, and mummies in a 1917 whodunit bursting with danger and wit. Meanwhile, The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis sweeps across decades as a former archaeologist and a young Met Gala intern join forces to solve a modern-day museum mystery tied to a powerful female pharaoh and secrets buried deep in the Valley of the Kings.
Book Club Pick – Egypt
Covert in Cairo by Kelly Oliver
What is Covert in Cairo about?
Cairo. Christmas 1917.
Following a tip-off from notorious spy Fredrick Fredricks, Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane of British Intelligence find themselves in the hustle and bustle of Egypt. But ancient mummies aren’t the only bodies buried in the tombs of Cairo.
When a young French archeologist is found dead in a tomb in the desert with his head bashed in, and an undercover British agent goes missing, the threat moves closer to home.
As they dig deeper, soon Fiona and Kitty uncover a treasure trove of suspects, including competing excavators, jealous husbands, secret lovers, and belligerent spies! Fiona wonders if the notorious Fredrick Fredricks could be behind the murders? Or is the plot even more sinister?
One thing is clear – If Fiona and Kitty can’t catch the killer, they might end up sharing a sarcophagus with Nefertiti.
Kelly Oliver on Literary Escapes Podcast
Want to know more about Jeannine and her books? Listen to the conversation on the Literary Escapes Podcast!
Author Interview with Kelly Oliver (coming soon)
Companion Book
Each month we choose two books to read from our destination. Here’s the second book!
The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis
Genre: Historical Fiction
Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity. That is until an unbearable tragedy strikes.
New York City, 1978: Nineteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who’s in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala, hosted at the museum and known across the city as the “party of the year.”
Meanwhile, Charlotte is now leading a quiet life as the associate curator of the Met’s celebrated Department of Egyptian Art. She’s consumed by her research on Hathorkare—a rare female pharaoh dismissed by most other Egyptologists as unimportant.
The night of the gala: One of the Egyptian art collection’s most valuable artifacts goes missing, and there are signs Hathorkare’s legendary curse might be reawakening. Annie and Charlotte team up to search for the missing antiquity, and a desperate hunch leads the unlikely duo to one place Charlotte swore she’d never return: Egypt. But if they have any hope of finding the artifact, Charlotte will need to confront the demons of her past—which may mean leading them both directly into danger.
More Books Set in Egypt
Beyond our two featured titles, this list of additional books offers even more unforgettable journeys through Egypt’s golden sands and ancient secrets. From cozy mysteries steeped in archaeological intrigue to sweeping historical dramas and magical adventures, these novels bring the allure of Egypt to life. Whether you’re chasing down a killer at the Mena House, unraveling ancient curses, or getting swept up in palace intrigue, these stories promise a rich literary escape filled with history, suspense, and heart.
Which book will you choose for a literary escape to Egypt?
Murder in Cairo by Martha Bond
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Young sleuth, Lottie Sprigg, accompanies her employer to Cairo – a city flushed with excitement after the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. But a shadow looms after the untimely death of Lord Carnarvon – could the Pharaoh’s Curse be real?
Fears are confirmed when a wealthy hotel guest is poisoned. While some blame the long-dead pharaoh, Lottie’s suspicions fall on her fellow guests. They’re all up to no good, but can she work out why?
Another murder leaves the Cairo police baffled. Lottie’s gathered some clues and thinks she’s on the right track. But before she can act, her beloved dog, Rosie, is in danger…
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her globetrotting parents—who frequently leave her behind.
When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and a golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there’s more to her parent’s disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.
With her guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent’s disappearance—or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.
Murder at the Mena House by Erica Ruth Neubauer
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Egypt, 1926.Fiercely independent American Jane Wunderly has made up her mind: she won’t be swept off her feet on a trip abroad. Despite her Aunt Millie’s best efforts, the young widow would rather gaze at the Great Pyramids of Giza than into the eyes of a dashing stranger. Yet Jane’s plans to remain cool and indifferent become ancient history in the company of Mr. Redvers, a roguish banker she can’t quite figure out . . .
While the Mena House has its share of charming guests, Anna Stainton isn’t one of them. The beautiful socialite makes it clear that she won’t share the spotlight with anyone—especially Jane. But Jane soon becomes the center of attention when she’s the one standing over her unintentional rival’s dead body. Now, with her innocence at stake in a foreign country, Jane must excavate an elusive killer before her future falls to ruin in Cairo, and the body count rises like the desert heat . . .
The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She’s on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: Prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband but of a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.
Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, their beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, in which she helps ease the transition between life and death for her clients.
But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a career Dawn once studied for but was forced to abandon when life suddenly intervened. And now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the choice she once made.
After the crash landing, the airline ensures that the survivors are seen by a doctor, then offers transportation to wherever they want to go. The obvious destination is to fly home, but she could take another path: return to the archaeological site she left years before, reconnect with Wyatt and their unresolved history, and maybe even complete her research on The Book of Two Ways—the first known map of the afterlife.
As the story unfolds, Dawn’s two possible futures unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts long buried with them. Dawn must confront the questions she’s never truly asked: What does a life well lived look like? When we leave this earth, what do we leave behind? Do we make choices . . . or do our choices make us? And who would you be if you hadn’t turned out to be the person you are right now?
Cleopatra’s Tomb by Nellie H. Steele
Genre – Mystery
An unexpected package with a mysterious note and an ancient artifact catapults Maggie Edwards into an unbelievable adventure.When her archeologist uncle sends her a strange item, Maggie is unknowingly plunged into a world of danger. A terrifying phone call alerts her to the danger both she and her uncle face.
After a break-in at her apartment, Maggie has nowhere to turn. She is forced to trust her uncle’s self-proclaimed associate. Is he leading her one step closer to finding Ollie alive or deeper into the dangerous web of the tomb raiders?
The tiny scarab could lead Maggie to the biggest archeological discovery of the modern world… if she lives long enough to find it.
Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
Genre – Historical Fiction
Nefertiti and her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, have been raised in a powerful family that has provided wives to the rulers of Egypt for centuries. Ambitious, charismatic, and beautiful, Nefertiti is destined to marry Amunhotep, an unstable young pharaoh. It is hoped that her strong personality will temper the young ruler’s heretical desire to forsake Egypt’s ancient gods.
From the moment of her arrival in Thebes, Nefertiti is beloved by the people, but she fails to see that powerful forces are plotting against her husband’s reign. The only person brave enough to warn the queen is her younger sister, yet remaining loyal to Nefertiti will force Mutnodjmet into a dangerous political game—one that could cost her everything she holds dear.
The Earl’s Egyptian Heiress by Heba Helmy
Genre – Historical Romance
Ranya Radwan’s mission is clear: restore her family’s honor by retrieving the deed to their business from the Earl of Warrington. Until she finds herself enthralled by the new earl, Owen. Accompanying him from Egypt to England to find the deed, Ranya’s swept into an unfamiliar world of society balls and luncheons, but is captivated waltzing in Owen’s arms. Yet her duty to her family means returning to Egypt, not following her heart…
Windswept by Annabelle McCormack
Genre – Historical Fiction
A British nurse in WWI Egypt races to deliver explosive intelligence that could decimate the Allied war effort in this novel of suspense, adventure, and love.
1917. When British nurse Ginger Whitman finds a wounded enemy soldier hiding in her hospital camp in Palestine, she knows she should turn him in. But he’s desperate and dying—and he claims he’s a spy with a message about a critical plot against British forces.
Then the arrival of mysterious intelligence officer Major Noah Benson offers a chance of help. But Noah is as charming as he is dangerous and Ginger’s heart is at risk. With a deadly enemy hunting her, Ginger is caught in a crossfire of secrets and lies. Trusting the wrong person could do more than cost her life: it could change the course of the war.
Windswept is the first novel in the Windswept WW1 Saga, a historical fiction series featuring a strong female protagonist. A story of spies, family drama, romance, and epic adventure, it is set in the British Middle Eastern front of the First World War. This novel contains violence and romantic, steamy moments.
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