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Rating: 
Summary: Egypt as You Never Imagined It
Review: Michael Pearce's Mamur Zapt mysteries are funny, beautifully written sketches of life in Egypt in the early years of the 20th century. The books have all the panache and originality of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Why they haven't made it onto the big screen, or been turned into a Mystery! series on public television I can't imagine.The central character is Gareth Owen, a young Welshman who is the Mamur Zapt -- the title given the (British) head of Cairo's secret police. The central theme is the tension between the British who governed Egypt at the time and the Egyptian people in whose name they governed. "The Return of the Carpet" is the first in the series. Frequent appearances are made throughout the series by the Mamur Zapt's Egyptian counterpart in the office of the city prosecutor, by Owen's bosses, by members of Eqypt's dissolute royal family, by Owen's aristocratic and fiercely independent Egyptian paramour and by assorted members of Cairo's working class. The stories are racy, wittily understated and steeped in the attitudes and rhythms of daily life in the Cairo of 100 years ago. Pearce's voice and his ear for dialogue are spot-on. The humor emerges naturally in his exploration of the complex relations between the English and native Eqyptians of all classes. This is popular literature of the highest order. The books are, if possible, even more entertaining if you listen to the audio recordings produced, I believe, by Recorded Books.
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Summary: This book is no longer out of print
Review: Post Mortem Books has reissued this title in a limited edition of 250 signed numbered copies priced at 25.00 (pounds sterling). If you need to fill that gap in your collection, contact me at the email address given.
Rating:
Summary: Egypt as You Never Imagined It
Review: The place is early-twentieth century Egypt, nominally part of the Ottoman Empire, in fact ruled by the British. Among the plots and nationalist tensions, young Captain Owen, formerly of the British Army in Egypt, is appointed the Mamur Zapt: a formerly Turkish post in charge of the political police. A case of granades goes astray from an Army storage. The biggest fear--that the weapons will be used by terrorists for assasinations--seems accurate. Owen, inexperienced but intelligent, is hampered by many foreign and local fingers in the heady Egyptian pie in the investigation. This pleasant tale of suspense, local color, politics, and adventure is told with touches of humor and restraint of the old English tradition. --inotherworlds.com
Rating: 
Summary: A tale of suspense and color in 1908 Egypt
Review: The place is early-twentieth century Egypt, nominally part of the Ottoman Empire, in fact ruled by the British. Among the plots and nationalist tensions, young Captain Owen, formerly of the British Army in Egypt, is appointed the Mamur Zapt: a formerly Turkish post in charge of the political police. A case of granades goes astray from an Army storage. The biggest fear--that the weapons will be used by terrorists for assasinations--seems accurate. Owen, inexperienced but intelligent, is hampered by many foreign and local fingers in the heady Egyptian pie in the investigation. This pleasant tale of suspense, local color, politics, and adventure is told with touches of humor and restraint of the old English tradition. --inotherworlds.com
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