City of Refuge

By Diana Wilder

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Diana Wilder’s Police Commander Khonsu joins the surprisingly crowded ranks of fictional ancient Egyptian protagonists who are working stiffs, but readers familiar with the novels of P. C. Doherty or Lauren Haney will welcome the addition! In The City of Refuge, Commander Khonsu is assigned to protect the large party (headed by a nobleman from Pharaoh’s court), which is making its way to the abandoned city of Amarna with the intention of re-opening its abandoned stone quarries. Not all is as it seems, either in the expedition or in the empty city itself, and Wilder does an expert job of playing out a tense plot without letting any of her characters lapse into stereotypes. Intrigue and murder keep the narrative bubbling, and Khonsu himself is an increasingly absorbing hero. Highly recommended, and not just for fans of ancient Egypt.