Book Six of The Masked Man of Cairo Out Now!!!

 

It's been a while since I posted, and that's because I've been busy traveling and writing. I have just released The Case of the Disappearing Dervish in ebook and paperback. A blurb is below.

A religious scandal. A deadly homecoming.
Moustafa Ghani El Souwaim has come far in life. Raised illiterate in a remote village in the Soudan, he set out at sixteen to better himself. His journey took him to the great archaeological sites of Africa, where he became a leading researcher versed in several ancient and modern languages. His life took an even stranger turn when he teamed up with Sir Augustus Wall and his street boy sidekick Faisal to solve murders.
Now there’s been a murder in his village. A local religious mendicant has been found bludgeoned to death and Moustafa’s cousin, who is in the same religious order, has vanished and is assumed to be the killer. Moustafa must return to his roots to clear his cousin’s name and reunite with the family he left behind.
But can Moustafa really go home again after having changed so much, and does that home even want him?

 

You can get it here. Kindle Unlimited members get to read it for free! 

Cordelia Cracks the Case out Now!

 

My latest Cairo mystery is out now. Many of you wanted to hear more about Cordelia, the chief of police's younger sister. She gets a bit overlooked by the guys in the series, even though she's literally been a life saver, so I've given her a case of her own. Cordelia Cracks the Case! If it does well, I'll write more of her adventures. A blurb is below.

Proving yourself can prove deadly
Cordelia Russell hates living life in the shadows. After the Great War, the soldiers got victory parades while the nurses got forgotten. Moving to Cairo to live life on her own terms, Cordelia finds herself overshadowed by her older brother, the chief of the colonial police.
So when she uncovers evidence of a murder at her hospital and no one believes her, Cordelia sets out to solve the case herself. As the Egyptian streets convulse with independence demonstrations and the murderer seeks to silence her, Cordelia finds herself in more danger than she’s seen since the war.
A favorite character from the award-winning Masked Man of Cairo series gets her own series of cases! Join the adventure today!

 

Click here to check it out 

My Travel Year: A Look Back and a Look Forward

 

My 2023 was a busy one for travel, with lots of trips to familiar and not-so-familiar spots.

I went twice to Tangier, my favorite North African city, to show my nephew around. We did some day trips to Asilah and Tetouan and some short hikes. Now he loves Morocco as much as I do! I also went to Egypt for research and my usual Oxford summer stay.

The big trip, however, was living for almost three months in Victoria, British Columbia. I'm Canadian but moved out of the country when I was eight and this was the first time I'd gone back for a significant period. While the town itself was only OK (little culture, too many junkies) the surrounding nature was fantastic. The temperate rainforest of the Pacific Northwest has to be seen to be believed. I never knew there were that many shades of green!

 

 

 

So what's on the agenda for 2024? Next week I'm off to Egypt again to write Book Six of The Masked Man of Cairo series. The Case of the Disappearing Dervish sees Moustafa having to go back to his village in Nubia to find a lost relative. Sir Augustus and Faisal come along to help. Much of my trip I'll be studying the Nubian villages along the border. Sadly, I can't get into the Sudan given the current situation. I hope it improves soon. The Sudanese people have endured way too much war in recent decades.

There will also be a return trip to Canada, Morocco, Oxford, and maybe a new country. It's been a while since I've gone to a country I've never visited before. My wife and I are thinking Hungary. I've heard Budapest is beautiful. Have any of you been there?

I'll post occasionally here on the blog, but for travel photos the best place to follow me is on my Instagram account. I also include travel articles in my newsletter. You get two free ebooks just for signing up!

Hope you have a great travel year! What do you have planned?

My Latest Cairo Mystery Novel Now Available in Print!

 

 

My latest book, The Case of the Dastardly Djinn, prequel to the Masked Man of Cairo historical mystery series, is now available in print. While the bulk of my sales are in ebooks, some readers do prefer print so I try to serve these readers as well. You can get in on Amazon US, Amazon UK, and all the other Amazons.

The first in my Weimar mystery series, A Winter Murder in Berlin, should be out soon. I'm just waiting for the cover artist. Later in the year I'll come out with book two in that series and another Cairo novel. Stay tuned!

My Adventure Travel Year, A Look Back and a Look Forward

Medieval city gate, Cairo

With the threat of Covid dwindling, and my own immune system bolstered by vaccinations and a contracting a mild case, travel picked up for me in 2022. It started with a trip to Essaouira, an old pirate port on Morocco's Atlantic coast. I later returned to Morocco to go to two other ports, Asilah and my old haunt of Tangier. I hadn't been to Tangier for more than three years so it was great to see my Moroccan friends again.

Essaouira

I also popped over to Berlin in the dead of winter for some book research. Berlin is not at its best in winter--cold, damp, and often foggy--but that's when my character shows up and so I had to method act that part. The first thing I discovered is I wasn't describing the weather as bad as it really was! Still, I enjoyed my trip.

And of course I went to Egypt. Only one trip this year, sadly, but it was a nice long one that was very fruitful for my book research and filled with good times with all my Egyptian friends.

So what's on deck for 2023? I'm thinking of going to the old walled Moroccan city of Taroudant south of the Atlas mountains. In the spring I'll revisit Berlin to work on book two of my Berlin series. There will also be a trip to Egypt, although I don't know when I'll slip that in.

The big news, however, is that I will be spending the last four months of the year in Victoria, British Columbia. Canada's west coast is rich in wildlife, nature, and several enduring First Nations cultures. I'll be exploring all of that.

To keep up with my travels, you can subscribe to my monthly newsletter (and get two free books to boot), or follow me on Instagram or Tiktok.

Essaouira

Asilah

Asilah is famous for its street murals

The Masked Man of Cairo Gets a Sequel!

 

The next book of my Masked Man of Cairo historic mystery/adventure series is out, and it's a prequel! The Case of the Dastardly Djinn is set in 1917, two years before The Case of the Purloined Pyramid. Faisal has to solve a mystery without the help of Sir Augustus and Moustafa, but he doesn't have to face danger alone. A blurb is below.

 

A homeless boy. A hunted girl.

Cairo, 1917. In a city plagued by poverty and war, ten-year-old Faisal begs and steals to survive, hiding at night from the things that prowl after dark. The nimblest and most clever of the street boys, he’s terrified of the unseen spirits he’s convinced haunt the ancient city.

But when he discovers a girl his age left homeless by a terrible tragedy, Faisal decides to do what no one ever did for him—help. With no shelter and facing the many dangers of Cairo’s darkened streets, Faisal’s loyalties are tested when together they uncover a criminal ring more sinister than his worst superstitions. 

This prequel to the Masked Man of Cairo mystery adventure series will thrill new readers and long-time fans alike!

A portion of the proceeds from this book will go to help Egyptian street children.    

Available now in ebook. Print edition coming soon!

My Travel Year: A Look Back and a Look Forward

Cat and cat, Cairo

 

This past year wasn't the best for travel, as you all know. Despite all the restrictions, I did manage to make it to Egypt twice. I have a private flat where I can safely stay in the center of Cairo, and the travel restrictions are light to get into the country. You just need to show a negative PCR test and proof of vaccination.

The main destinations for these trips have been the northern parts of the country, taking in the early medieval monasteries at Wadi Natrun, the famous port of Alexandria, and the battlefield at El Alamein. I also briefly went south to Asyut to arrange a donation for someone to the Lilian Trasher orphanage, which briefly appeared in The Case of the Karnak Killer.

I also went to Oxford for my usual summer working vacation. English beer, country walks, and work in a medieval library. Not a bad life!

The South African variant put the spanner in the works of a couple of planned trips. I wanted to go to Berlin to research my Weimar mystery series, but they were going into partial shutdown so I cancelled those plans. I also had to cancel a trip to Essaouira in Morocco. The country decided to close its borders again to avoid the latest wave. I haven't been back to Morocco since this whole thing began and I'm missing it!

Tomb of a Mamluk ruler, Cairo

 

As I write this I'm recovering from a mild case of covid. Did I get it on one of my trips? Nope, I got it while supposedly staying safe at home in Madrid. Oh well!

Here's hoping 2022 will be better than 2021. If the latest variant subsides, and isn't replaced with another one, then I will go to Berlin and Essaouira this year. I also will be returning to Egypt sometime in the first half of the year. No set plans yet. I'm adopting a wait and see attitude.

If you want to hear more about my travels, you might enjoy my newsletter.

Commonwealth cemetery, El Alamein

Fancy turn-of-the-century buildings like this are a common sight in Alexandria

Faisal is Growing!

Everyone's favorite street urchin has been slowly growing up through the Masked Man of Cairo historical mystery series. Now he's growing in a different way. As I mentioned in a previous post, my plans for book 6 were put on hold thanks to a coup in the Sudan, so I'm working on a set of prequel novellas about each character before they met.

The Case of the Dastardly Djinn, in which a younger Faisal has to solve a case without the help of Moustafa or Sir Augustus, was supposed to be a 30,000 word novella, but now it looks like it will be a short novel coming in at about 40,000 words. I figured that since the average Masked Man of Cairo book comes out to about 90,000 words and each of the three characters gets an equal share, that 30,000 words would do. Now I realize that since they are in lots of the chapters starring one of the other characters, that their page time is much greater.

Live and learn!

The Case of the Dastardly Djinn will come out some time in the first quarter of 2022.

Now Available: The Case of the Asphyxiated Alexandrian!

 

Book Five of my Masked Man of Cairo historical mystery series is now available. The Case of the Asphyxiated Alexandrian takes our heroes to Egypt's fabled port.

So what's Book Six going to be? We'll see. I'm thinking of heading either to the isolated Coptic monasteries of Wadi Natrun or heading south all the way to the Sudan. I'll keep you posted.

A mysterious murder. A lost pharaoh.
Sir Augustus Wall came to Egypt to escape his old life, but when a comrade from the trenches is found murdered in a Cairo hotel, Augustus realizes his past has finally caught up.
Now he must discover the reason for the baffling murder, leading him and his friends Moustafa and Faisal on a dangerous hunt for the most sought-after treasure in Egypt.
The long-awaited fifth book in the Masked Man of Cairo series sees the trio on their greatest adventure yet!

Book Five of The Masked Man of Cairo Available for Preorder!

Book Five of my Masked Man of Cairo historical mystery series is now available for preorder and will be released September 10. The Case of the Asphyxiated Alexandrian was written in Cairo and Alexandria and edited in Madrid and Oxford. Only the first two locations show up in the book, though. A blurb is below.

A mysterious murder. A lost pharaoh.
Sir Augustus Wall came to Egypt to escape his old life, but when a comrade from the trenches is found murdered in a Cairo hotel, Augustus realizes his past has finally caught up.
Now he must discover the reason for the baffling murder, leading him and his friends Moustafa and Faisal on a dangerous hunt for the most sought-after treasure in Egypt.
The long-awaited fifth book in the Masked Man of Cairo series sees the trio on their greatest adventure yet!

 

I'm back in Cairo later this year and will be working on the further adventures of Sir Augustus, Moustafa, and Faisal.

My next Cairo book is finished and in edits!

I've finally finished The Case of the Asphyxiated Alexandrian (Masked Man of Cairo Book 5). I started it nearly a year ago after visiting Alexandria, but with various distractions including lockdown and a pile of ghostwriting assignments, I only managed to finish it yesterday. Now I'm busy editing it and consulting with my cover designer. Then it will go to my wonderful beta reading team before going up on preorder in July for an August release date.

Thanks to everyone who has been bugging me about when they can read the further adventures of Sir Augustus, Moustafa, and Faisal. You don't have long to wait!

My Latest Historical Mystery Novel is out Now!

The fourth in my Masked Man of Cairo series, The Case of the Karnak Killer, is out now as an ebook. The print edition is coming in July. A blurb is belo.

A scandal in America. A murder in Cairo.
Sir Augustus Wall, antiquities dealer and amateur sleuth, is hired to track down a blackmailer who threatens the reputation of an American millionaire. When blackmail turns to murder, he must travel up the Nile by steamboat to find the killer.
Joining him are Faisal, a street urchin who makes himself equally useful and troublesome; Heinrich Schäfer, a leading Egyptologist; and Jocelyn Montjoy, an adventurous woman who has captured his heart.
But complications set in before the hunt even begins. Unwelcome fellow passengers threaten to derail the investigation, and Augustus has fallen out with his right-hand man, Moustafa Ghani. Can a new team of investigators help him solve his most challenging case yet?

You can get the book here.

My next newsletter comes out next week!

What's this place? If you've read The Case of the Shifting Sarcophagus you might recognize it. Read all about this little-known spot in Cairo in my next newsletter, coming out next week. Every issue contains a short story, travel article, and a coupon for a free or discounted book. And even better, I never share your information, because that would be a really lousy way to treat my readers. Click here to subscribe!

My Third Cairo Mystery Novel is out Now!

The Case of the Golden Greeks, the third in my Masked Man of Cairo historical mystery series, is out now. A blurb is below.

They thought the case was solved.
When an eminent Egyptologist is murdered giving a lecture in front of a packed hall, Cairo’s chief of police quickly rounds up those responsible.
Or at least some of them.
Sir Augustus Wall, antiquities dealer and amateur sleuth, knows there’s more to the crime than it seems. With little to go on but an exotic murder weapon, a map of a desert oasis, and some gilded Greek mummies, he sets out across the Sahara with his assistant Moustafa Ghani and the street urchin Faisal, who is the only person to have seen the killer’s face. They soon find themselves in the midst of international intrigue on Egypt’s remote border with Libya.
Can they discover what mystery lies beneath Bahariya Oasis?

The Case of the Golden Greeks is available on Amazon, Amazon UK, and all the other Amazon branches.

Travel Tuesday: Khan el-Khalili Souk in Cairo

Whenever I'm in Cairo, I like to visit Khan el-Khalili, the marketplace in the old medieval part of town. It was founded in the late 14th century and got a major remodel under the Mamluk Sultan al-Ghuri (reigned 1501-1516). While at street level a lot of the shops are stuffed with tourist trinkets and day to day wares, if you look up you'll be rewarded with some fine examples of Islamic architecture.

Bab al-Badistan, built 1511.

Meshribiyya, screened windows that allow women to look out without being seen by the people outside.

There are so many mosques in the area I 'm not sure which one this is.

Travel Tuesday: Treasures of the Egyptian Museum

Shabtis were put in tombs to act as servants in the afterlife.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I got back from Egypt last week, which means I have plenty of pictures for Travel Tuesday posts!

When I'm in Cairo I always reserve a couple of afternoons to wander around the National Museum. It's absolutely huge and no matter how many times I go there, I always see something new. A new National Museum is being constructed on the Giza Plateau near the pyramids. I passed the building the last time I went up there. It's a sleek, modern building that's even bigger than the existing museum. As with many government projects, it's behind schedule, but when it finally opens it promises to be stunning. In the meantime, we have the old museum to enjoy.

Stela of the Buchis Bull, showing one of the Ptolemaic pharaohs giving offerings to the sacred bull in their burial place in Armant. The Buchis bulls were manifestations of the god Ptah.

Two male figurines made of gold during the Late Predynastic period. Yep, these two guys are older than the oldest pharaoh!

Column of painted limestone carved to look like a lotus flower.

Back from Egypt

Medieval mosque in Old Cairo

I just got back to Madrid after nearly a month in Egypt. I was there working on the third of my Masked Man of Cairo neo-pulp mystery series, The Case of the Golden Greeks. It's about halfway done.

Egypt was as wonderful as usual. I spent a lot of my time in Cairo hanging out with Egyptian friends and exploring the old medieval neighborhood where Sir Augustus Wall has his antiquities shop and gets into many of his adventures. Then I went to the Western Desert for a week, ending up in Bahariya Oasis, the site of much of the plot for Book 3. A long drive from Cairo (or ten days by camel), Bahariya Oasis has become famous for the discovery of the Golden Mummies, a collection of beautifully preserved gilded mummies from the Greco-Roman period.

One of the Golden Mummies of Bahariya Oasis, courtesy Wikimedia Commons because I wasn't allowed to take photos. One wonders who they got a shot.

I'll be working on the novel for the next couple of months, and getting into some ghostwriting projects as well. Enjoy these pictures from my trip, and check out my Facebook and Instagram pages for more. More posts about Egypt coming soon!

Rear and side wall of the tomb Nr. 54, Valley of the Golden Mummies, el-Bahriya, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Bahariya Oasis.

Late Period tomb in Bahariya Oasis

Roman fort on the old caravan route to Bahariya Oasis.

Back to civilization! A pleasure boat on the Nile.

All photos copyright Sean McLachlan unless otherwise noted.

My Travel Year: A Look Back and a Look Forward

The Duomo in Florence, Italy

Is January 17 too late to write a retrospective? I'm not sure.
As my regular readers know, I'm a bit of a travel junkie. Well, this year I only got half a fix. While I did some fun trips, I didn't get to any new countries. I hope to remedy that in 2019.
In 2018, I went to Tangier twice, because it's a great place for a writing retreat. I know the city well, I have friends there, but it's also quiet and I can get some peace and work. I also traveled around Spain a bit, most notably the historic city of Córdoba. The highlight of the travel year was visiting Florence. I have been around Italy a bit, but I had never seen the jewel in its crown and I must say I was totally blown away. I must get back there sometime. Anyone who lives art, architecture, and history will be absolutely stunned for the entire time they are in Florence.
So what's up for 2019? For the next three weeks I'll be in Egypt to work on my next Cairo mystery novel. I'll be based in Cairo seeing friends, but I'll also be exploring places I haven't seen before in the Western Desert. This will be my fourth trip to Egypt but there's still heaps I haven't seen.
I also hope to go to Morocco again, although probably Fez instead of Tangier. I've never seen Morocco's most ancient and religious city even though I've been to the country at least ten times. There will also be some more travel around Spain, the usual England summer stay, and hopefully a second trip to Egypt near the end of the year.
So when will I fit in that new country I want to see? I don't really know, but Tunisia is calling my name!
I write up my travels on the Black Gate blog, so if you'd like to read more, head on over there and put my name or one of the place names I mentioned into the search field. You'll get plenty of reading and pictures. I also put travel stories in my newsletter, as well as pictures on my Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The interior of the great mosque in Córdoba, Spain

The Case of the Shifting Sarcophagus Out Now!

The second book in my Masked Man of Cairo series, The Case of the Shifting Sarcophagus, is out now. It's the next adventure for Sir Augustus, Moustafa, and Faisal, who we met in The Case of the Purloined Pyramid. I'll be writing the third book in the series late this year when I go back to Egypt. A blurb is below.

An Old Kingdom coffin. A body from yesterday.
Sir Augustus Wall had seen a lot of death. From the fields of Flanders to the alleys of Cairo, he’d solved several murders and sent many men to their grave. But he’s never had a body delivered to his antiquities shop encased in a 5,000 year-old coffin.
Soon he finds himself fighting a vicious street gang bent on causing national mayhem while his assistant, Moustafa Ghani, faces his own enemies in the form of colonial powers determined to ruin him. Throughout all this runs the street urchin Faisal. Ignored as usual, dismissed as usual, he has the most important fight of all.

Available as an ebook on Amazon, Amazon UK, and all the other Amazons. Print edition coming soon!

My Second Cairo Mystery Novel is in the Editing Stage!

The Case of the Shifting Sarcophagus, the second in my historical mystery series The Masked Man of Cairo, is now in the editing stage. I finished the rough draft a couple of days ago, finally squeezing out some time from my busy ghostwriting schedule.

The sequel to The Case of the Purloined Pyramid sees Augustus, Moustafa, and Faisal teaming up again to solve another murder. This time an Old Kingdom sarcophagus appears in Augustus' house while he is asleep. He opens it to find the former chief of Paris police dead inside! How did such a huge sarcophagus get into his house unnoticed, and why did the murderers deliver the body to Augustus? You'll find out when it's released.

If you want to know about the release of this and other books of mine, consider signing up for my newsletter. It comes out every two months or so and includes a short story, travel article, news, and a coupon for a discounted or free book.