City of the Dead by T.L. Higley

City of the Dead by T.L. Higley ISBN-13: 9780805447316 Trade Paperback: 400 pages Publisher: B&H Books Released: March 1, 2009

Source: Review copy from the author as a part of her Great Book Giveaway.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Up from the sands of Egypt rises the Great Pyramid, where Hemiunu, Pharaoh’s Grand Vizier, commands the historic building project as he orders his life—with justice, truth, and precision. But when a series of murders at the site threatens chaos, Hemi turns his attention to hunting down the killer...a killer who may be closer than he expects.

Has someone decided to seek justice for or remove all remembrance of a past injustice that Hemi and his closest friends have been ordered to never discuss? The killer's targets are those who know that a past death was not an accident...


My Review:
City of the Dead is a Christian historical suspense novel with a romance. This is the second book in the Seven Wonders series, but it's a stand alone novel. The only connection between the novels in this series are that they take place near one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.

The characters were likable or interesting, complex, and acted in realistic ways. The historical and setting detail helped to bring the world alive in my imagination, but there weren't as many details as in some of this author's books. This may be because there are conflicting views about the pyramids and not as much information available about this time and place compared to some of her other stories. Also, I had a hard time getting immersed into this story because I found the rather casual way almost everyone seemed to treat each other as doubtful.

The mystery was very suspenseful due to physical danger to various characters, and I remained unsure of whodunit until the end. The romance was believable, but the focus wasn't on the two spending time together and falling in love. I appreciated that both characters were likable and also liked and respected each other from the start.

There was a Christian element to the story. The love interest character was a part of a group of Egyptians who still remembered the One True God (from teachings passed down after the confusion of languages at Babel) and that He promised to send a Redeemer to take away their sins. Hemiunu knew that he wouldn't get into the afterlife when judged by Egyptians gods, and he's interested in their beliefs when he encounters the sect.

There was a very minor amount of "he cursed" style of bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this exciting and well-written novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt on the author's website.