Book Review: Year of The Hyenas

Two book reviews in one day. You should all feel very privileged...or bored.

Year of the Hyenas by Brad Geagley is based on an intriguing concept. Take your typical detective story and transport it through time. Drop the story back in ancient Egypt, specifically in the city of Thebes. The idea, as I said, is interesting. The problem is that without strong writing and an interesting story, it is still just a typical mystery novel with a more exotic setting.

The story is that of Semerket, the former Secretary of Investigations and Secrets. I say former, because his wife has left him and married another man, driving him to become a drunk who was no longer able to hold his job. After a priestess is murdered and dumped in the Nile, the vizier has no choice but turn to the drunk, who, based on his former reputation, is the only man who can solve the case. As is to be expected, nothing is as it seems, and the conspiracy reaches to the highest levels of government. Does any of this sound familiar yet? Save for the considerably more literal than usual deus ex machina toward the end, this novel was a virtual blueprint for the generic detective novel.

The verdict: While the plot, characters and tone of Year of the Hyenas were not innovative, the book is still interesting enough, in both the novelty of its setting and in story, to make it worth the time I spent reading it. Of course, it didn't take that long to read it, either.


Until later...