Secrets of the Nile: A Lady Emily Mystery (Lady Emily Mysteries Book 16)

Lady Emily and her husband Colin Hargreaves travel to Egypt during British colonial rule with Colin's mother as guests of Lord Bertram Deeley, a renowned collector of antiquities. Deeley hosts a lavish Nile cruise to his home in Luxor, but collapses from cyanide poisoning on the first night after offering a welcome toast. Emily and Colin investigate the murder among Deeley's closest friends, each of whom had potential motives: an archeologist whose dig Deeley had withdrawn funding from, a politician whose career Deeley had secretly damaged, an English aristocrat's traveling companion, and Mrs. Hargreaves herself, who may have rejected Deeley's advances years earlier. A crucial clue emerges from several ancient ushabtis—three-thousand-year-old sculptures connected to a hidden story from Ancient Egypt involving a sister's loyalty to her brother, betrayal, and revenge. Emily and Colin ultimately gather their fellow travelers to reveal the killer's shocking and brilliant motive.