A Cruel Deceit

From far and wide, they have come to the capital city of Waset for the opulent Feast of Opet-- sovereigns and supplicants, the pious and proud, gathering for the eleven-day-long revelries. While greeting friends and fellow Medjay officers at the bustling harbor, Lieutenant Bak is distracted by foul murder, the discovery of the body of a Hittite horse trader, his throat savagely cut. Bak has no authority to investigate what could be a simple matter of Hittite politics -- until similar murders occur within the sacred precinct of the Lord Amon. Though this city is not his own, Bak eagerly agrees to aid in the investigation. But his determined search for connections embroils him in a terrifying conspiracy that points to the court of Queen Hatshepsut herself. Untold others may be joining the ranks of the dead before the villain is done -- with Lieutenant Bak numbered among them.

Lauren Haney, a former technical editor in the aerospace and international construction industries, is the author of four ancient Egyptian mysteries featuring Lieutenant Bak: The Right Hand of Amon, A Face Turned Backward, A Vile Justice, and A Curse of Silence. She lives in Sante Fe, New Mexico, and travels to Egypt at every opportunity.