Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 12/1/2015 + 1182 more book reviews

This was an okay thriller from Child. I've read a couple of his other stand-alone novels and to me they just don't seem as well-written as the novels he co-writes with Douglas Preston. Anyway, in this one, Jeremy Logan, an "enigmalogist" or an investigator who specializes in analyzing phenomena that have no obvious explanation, is contacted by an old colleague named Dr. Ethan Rush, who invites him on an expedition into the Sudd in southern Egypt. The expedition, led by famed archaeologist Dr. Porter Stone, seeks to finally locate and excavate the long-lost tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Narmer, located at the bottom of the swamp. Along for the ride is Rush's wife, Jennifer, who experienced a near death experience that lasted for 14 minutes when she was in an auto accident. This left her with amazing psychic abilities. She and Logan are part of the expedition to try to help locate the tomb and to communicate with any spirits within the tomb. Jennifer appears to get possessed by the spirit of Narmer leading to possible catastrophe. But is it Narmer that has possessed her, someone else, or is it all in Jennifer's mind?

This was a pretty fast read and for the most part enjoyable. However, it didn't really grab me like some of the Preston/Child novels. I did find the information about the Sudd, a vast swamp formed by the White Nile's Ba?r al-Jabal section, to be fascinating. Child references Alan Moorehead's book about early explorations of the Nile, The White Nile, for further descriptions of the Sudd and how it hindered early explorations. I need to read it! Also, the information about Narmer was also interesting. He was evidently the first Pharaoh of Egypt to unify upper and lower Egypt.

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