Book 14 of the Barker & Llewelyn series is another good mystery set in 1893, the heart of the Victorian Age. Here our private Enquiry Agents (don’t call them detectives!), are contacted by a woman whose wife has disappeared after he failed to come home from his nighttime volunteer job as the British Museum. This leads us to the mystery of the throw-away mummy at the museum, which on closer examination may actually be the mummy of Cleopatra. Not only that, inside the mummified body there is a large and heavy object (a massive ruby), which may even have come from the legendary King Solomon Mines. Lots to get one excited about Egyptology in this book as our intrepid enquiry agents must try and figure out multiple murders, stolen Egyptian artifacts, as well as both a gang of thugs and Scotland Yard. A rousing read, and certainly a worthy successor to the works of Sherlock Holmes. Even though it is Book 14, it is not problem to read it as a standalone mystery. Very good work by author Will Thomas.
