Mr. Impossible
This delightful Regency-period romance is set in Egypt. Daphne Pembroke, a scholar of Egypt’s history who was recently widowed, has come to visit the ancient sites and to work on deciphering hieroglyphs. She is accompanied by her brother Miles, who has assumed the guise of the scholar in the family, as it would not be seemly for a woman to have such studious pursuits. When Miles buys Daphne a particularly fine papyrus that supposedly refers to the resting place of a pharaoh, they land themselves in the midst of nefarious schemes of a Frenchman and an Englishman, both of whom lust after the glory that would come from discovering (and taking) the riches to be found in a pharaoh’s tomb. When Miles is kidnapped, Daphne turns for help to Rupert Carsington, fourth son of the Earl of Hargate, who tends to leave a whirlwind of trouble in his wake. She will provide the brains and he will provide the brute strength in their efforts to rescue Miles.
The relationship between Daphne and Rupert is a delight to watch unfold. There are some very engaging secondary characters (including a mongoose). The setting and the vivid descriptions of travel through desert and on the Nile are absorbing. This is the second in the Carsington series, following Miss Wonderful, but it is not necessary to read that book to enjoy this one.
