Eater of Souls: A Lord Meren Mystery (The Lord Meren Mystery Series) - Hardcover

Robinson, Lynda S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0802732941 ISBN 13: 9780802732941

Publisher: Walker & Co, 1997

Synopsis

In ancient Egypt during the fifth year of King Tutankhamun's reign, Lord Meren, eyes and ears to the young pharaoh, investigates a series of murders which may involve Ammut, the Eater of Souls from the "other side"

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Reviews

YA. Set in Egypt during the fifth year of the boy king Tutankhamun's reign, this mystery packs a double wallop. Not only is there a serial killer that could, in fact, be Ammut, the Eater of Souls from the "other side," but there is also a wonderful view of ancient Egyptian culture. Lord Meren, the Eyes and Ears of the Pharaoh, investigates secrets, crimes, and intrigues in order to protect the young king. Meren is aided by his adopted son, 18-year-old Kysen, and a superhero type charioteer, Abu. Two teenage daughters and their concerns round out the characters and invite modern teens to draw comparisons. While trying to solve the riddle of Queen Nefertiti's death, Lord Meren must investigate the grotesque slayings of the "Devouress." Part crocodile, lion, and hippo, the killer slices and dices its victims and then eats their hearts. From wigs, clothing, and jewelry, to the mound of refuse and sewage outside the walls of each home, ancient Egypt comes sharply into focus. In this well-crafted book, Robinson breathes life into the two-dimensional pictures most YAs associate with Egypt of the Pharaohs. The fourth in the Lord Meren series, and first in a trilogy of Lord Meren/Nefertiti mysteries, it will send many teens looking for Murder at the Feast of Rejoicing (1996), Murder at the God's Gate (1995), and Murder in the Place of Anubis (1994, all Walker).?Carol DeAngelo, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

When the boy pharaoh Tutankhamen wants to know who poisoned Nefertiti, Great Royal Wife of Akhenaten, Tutankhamen's heretic predecessor on the Egyptian throne, he naturally turns to Lord Meren, his Eyes and Ears. But Meren, just as zealous as his king to root out the mystery behind Nefertiti's death, has his hands full already with a brutal series of killings in Memphis. The victims--an inoffensive farmer, a tavern woman, a thief--don't seem to have anything to do with each other--except that they've all been stunned, slashed and hacked to death with razor-sharp claws, and relieved of their hearts. A terrified witness identifies the killer by her crocodile head, lion's paws, and hippo's hindquarters as the goddess Ammut, the Devouress, Eater of the Dead, against whom there can be no remedy. But when Prince Mugallu, the quarrelsome Hittite king's emissary, becomes the latest victim, Meren finds himself with a potential diplomatic disaster--just at the time that he's trying to repel Lord Reshep, the fawning, narcissistic suitor who's attached himself to Meren's willing daughter Isis. (Now why doesn't the Devouress dispatch him?) Lord Meren's fourth case (Murder at the Feast of Rejoicing, 1996, etc.) taxes all his skills as investigator, statesman, warrior, householder, and father, while displaying his author's powers of invention and intrigue at their peak--and still leaving plenty of mystery for two promised sequels on Nefertiti's murder. (Mystery Guild featured alternate) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Another in Robinson's series featuring "the pharaoh's eyes and ears," Lord Meren. Although the overriding premise of this new trilogy will be the investigation by Lord Meren into the death of Nefertiti, that plotline is only suggested here. Lord Meren has other things on his mind at the moment, namely the appearance of Eater of Souls, a creature of the netherworld who is responsible for a series of gruesome murders in Memphis. The passages that are written from the Devourer's perspective are compelling and suitably grisly--Stephen King on the Nile. Some readers may stumble a bit as they try to wade through Robinson's cast of characters, which is almost as large as the pantheon of Egyptian gods. But her descriptions of ancient Egypt are sure and sharp, and she also has a fine knack for showing how, despite the trappings of different times, human nature--complete with fears, foibles, and occasional bursts of nobility--has changed very little through the ages. A satisfying historical novel for Egyptologists or just-plain mystery buffs. Ilene Cooper

Tutankhamun's investigative agent Lord Meren suspects that the death of Nefertiti, wife of Akhnaten, was murder. As he searches among those at court for a murderer, he disturbs the status quo. Meanwhile, several horrible deaths terrify the public. First of a trilogy on Nefertiti's death, this is another entrancing historical. From the author of Murder at the Feast of Rejoicing (LJ
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Walker & Co
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0802732941
• ISBN 13: 9780802732941
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 229