headline Hachette, London 2009

Although I have only now come across this author he has written more books than I can count, mostly historic novels. This “Ancient Egyptian Mystery” is the last of a series of 7. If you take into account that Doherty is headmaster of a London school, at least this novel is far too interested in depicting cruelty and atrocities in ancient Egypt, showing a quite sinister predilection of the author.

The story is set during the reign of Hatschepsut, her first minister and lover Senenmut, Thutmosis II. and the old general Imhotep.  And so it is quite natural to compare Doherty´s story to “Mara, daughter of the Nile” by Canadian author Eloise McGraw, written in the sixties, with the same tableau of persons, but far, far better.