The Right Hand of Amon

Lieutenant Bak #1

by Lauren Haney

WHEN KINGS WALKED AS LIVING GODS

It is the eighteenth dynasty of Queen Maatkare Hatshepsut, divine ruler of a sun-seared realm. And blood flows as freely as the great, winding Nile that nourishes this ancient land of intrigue and danger.

Lieutenant Bak is a loyal servant of the royal house of Egypt--commander of the Medjay police in the frontier fortress city of Buhen. A man of honor and ability, it is he who must oversee the corps assigned to accompany the golden idol, the god Amon, on its journey up the Nile to heal the ailing son of a powerful tribal king. But the mighty river has yielded up a sinister treasure the body of a brave soldier horrifically slain for reasons unknown. And only the drawings of a missing mute boy can help Bak unravel the mystery of the officer s foul death--before it leads to fargreater crimes that could imperil an empire.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Egypt, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Historical, Africa

300 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1997

About the author

This is a pseudonym for Betty Winkelman.

Lauren Haney, a former technical editor in the aerospace and international construction industries, is the author of several ancient Egyptian mysteries featuring Lieutenant Bak. She lives in Sante Fe, New Mexico, and travels to Egypt at every opportunity.

Haney's novels have been published in German, English and French, and in the Czech Republic. The german editions of her novels have been published unter her real name Betty Winkelman.

Reviews

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read an ancient Egypt set mystery so I didn't really have a frame of reference going in, but The Right Hand of Amon (Lieutenant Bak #1) by Lauren Haney was okay. It may not be a favorite by any stretch though it's still a solid read. I appreciated the details about the era, but I wasn't particularly invested in any of the characters. I probably won't be back for the rest of the series.

[Dorothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have previously read two ancient Egyptian mystery series - P.C. Doherty's Lord Amerotke series and Linda S. Robinson's Lord Meren. I loved them both. I love learning about an era which fascinates me and being entertained by a mystery at the same time.

This series, of which "The Right Hand of Amon" is the first book, seems to have a very different focus. It takes place far away from the halls of power for one thing whereas the other two are steeped in the machinations of the ruling class. It offers a sympathetic view of the day-to-day life of ordinary Egyptians and those who live in territories controlled by them.

The protagonist here is Lieutenant Bak, the commander of the Medjay police in the frontier fortress city of Buhen, and it seems he will have mysteries aplenty to solve! He is an appealing character and may well grow on me, although this first effort by his creator I would only rate as fair. I have the next three books in the series "to be read" and I'll be interested to see how the character of Bak develops.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book of what looks to be an interesting series of mysteries taking place during Egypt's 18 Dynasty. It was a bit slow going at first, but by the end I was fully engaged.

[Lexie Conyngham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars. This book began, for me, desperately slowly. The setting was very good, but I had intended to read 30 pages at the first sitting and by p.4 I was looking at my watch and thinking of other things. I could not distinguish the characters or care much about them. It took until I was about halfway through for me to think I quite liked Bak, the main character (and to wonder if everything in the town smelled of lentils and onions - perhaps it did), and to start to be interested in which of the suspects might have done it. Bak's colleagues, though, remained a mystery to me all the way through. There were moments of excitement, all of them involving the river, and a mysteriously cold and slimy snake. I did feel I was in Ancient Egypt, and I ended up wanting Bak to find the murderer and save the day, and I was interested in the murderer, so the book was a success in the end. Hard work at first to get there, though!

[Ashley (BooksViaAshley) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little mystery that brings to life the daily aspects of ancient Egypt. I enjoyed it and will read more of this series!

[Jenks · Rating 1 out of 5]

It took me the longest time to finish this. I think I was experiencing something similar to Paul Doherty and instead I felt like watching paint dry.
Not for me and I’ll sadly not be finishing the series.

[Barbra · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love ancient Egypt and a mystery this is the series for you. The series takes place in Ancient Egypt, circa 1463 B.C. 18th Dynasty during the dual reign of Maatkare Hatshepsut and her stepson/nephew Menkheperre Tuthmose, with Queen Hatshepsut exercising full power. The setting takes place in and around the Belly of Stones, and the ruined fortresses of Buhen and Iken, located about two hundred miles south of present-day Aswan on the Nile River.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a tale of ancient Egypt with murder and kings and how times past can haunt one. Lt Bak is the head of the local police force with the murder of a well connected fellow officer to solve before the visiting king arrives.

This was mystery at its best! Twists and turns with plausible explanations not solved by magic or the hand of god(s) to end the tale.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun change of pace mystery set in ancient Egypt. Bak, a medjay ( policeman) who encounters a dead body
floating in the Nile. This sets him on a trail to finding out who the dead man is, and ends up leading to
a possible assassination of a King. Fascinating novel that I enjoyed very much.

[Katie Tillwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good murder mystery, set in exotic ancient Egypt. Good detail, great main character.

[S Beverage · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this a while ago, but I remember it being thoroughly enjoyable. I really liked the way the author brought ancient Egypt to life, and the characters were strong, and the plot moved well.

[Pam Bales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting Egyptian historical fiction, it's a police procedural from the distant past. If you enjoy these two things, this could be the series for you.

[Fabián Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una novela que ofrece lo que promete: una investigación policial en el antiguo Egipto. Ni más, ni menos.

No es una obra maestra de la literatura (los personajes están dibujados con trazo grueso y a la prosa le falta chispa), pero tampoco creo que pretenda serlo. Busca ser un "whodunnit" sin más pretensiones.

En este sentido, como digo, cumple: hay un buen elenco de sospechosos, algunas pizcas de acción y un par de pistas falsas bien colocadas.

Pero la gracia del libro, obviamente, es la ambientación. Resulta entretenido leer una novela situada en una época tan distante; eso le añade un punto extra a la investigación detectivesca. Tampoco toca el tema de forma erudita, sino más bien como apuntes tangenciales, pero creo que eso también es un punto a favor: el decorado egipcio no tiene un protagonismo excesivo, simplemente está ahí mientras se resuelve lo verdaderamente importante: el asesinato.

En otras palabras, una buena novela para quien le guste el género.

[Gregoire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Premier tome d'une série se situant en 1483 avant JC en Egypte et mettant en place des personnages qui auront à démêler des intrigues et meurtres
Je ne sais pas ce qui manque mais j'ai eu beaucoup de mal à m'immerger Je tenterai un ou deux autres opus pour cette Egypte ancienne qui fascine et que Lauren Haney tente de faire revivre plus que pour l'intrigue policière ...

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was never quite engaged with the mystery and some of the hypotheses from scant evidence turned into firm conclusions awfully fast. But I really enjoyed the grounded look at ancient Egypt with scarcely any focus on a pharaoh or nobility, but with lots of real-life details such as food, clothing, and small-scale politics. It's been a while since a book made a time period live like that for me.

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 From my collection-it has been so long since I first read this historical mystery series that I had pretty much forgotten them. Figured I would check them out to see whether or not to keep….while I liked the setting and historical detail, was rather underwhelmed by the “mystery”. Not awful but doubt I would want to reread them, so have freed up some space on that bookcase.

[Winnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very fun historical fiction ful of a large cast of interesting characters. I wasn't drawn to constantly read it, so it's more of a 3.5 versus a 4. Definitely would recommend to people who enjoy Egyptian fiction.

[Imran · Rating 3 out of 5]

২০০০ বছর আগের সেই প্রাচীন মিসরকে যেন স্বচক্ষে চোখের সামনে দেখতে পেয়েছি। মূলত বইটি ডিটেকটিভ উপন্যাস। একেবারেই যে খারাপ লাগছে তা নয়। স্লো বার্ন হলেও মোটামুটি ভালোই লেগেছে আমার। তবে বইয়ের বর্ননাভঙ্গি,লেখার ধরন,প্রাচীন মিসরের আবহ এবং অনুবাদ সহ সব মিলিয়ে সুন্দর ছিলো।

ব্যক্তিগত রেটিং- ৩.৫০/৫

[Amin Ebrahimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

۳/۵ ستاره
نسبت به کتاب قتل در پرستشگاه آنوبیس نوشته لیندا اس.رابینسون که آن هم ماجراهایش در مصر باستان اتفاق می افتاد، یک سر و گردن بهتر بود.
اما در کل رمانهای هنینگ مانکل در ژانر پلیسی معمایی چیز دیگری است.

[Virginia Adi · Rating 4 out of 5]

engaging characters

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great start to a series about a police lieutenant in ancient Egypt who solves crimes.

[Diann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed, but because it is not really clear how the first man killed actually could find out about the plot to kill a king - since the perpetrator was acting alone - dropped a star.

[Mansour Faramarzpour · Rating 3 out of 5]

متفاوت بود 👍🏻

[Carolyn Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good sense of time and place. I could really feel the heat.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a very interesting and to my knowledge well researched story set in Ancient Egypt.
A police officer checking up on a murder case accidentally uncovers a plot to kill Pharo. But since his only witness is a mute boy, it may be difficult to stop.
This book is unfortunately not suited to young audiences due to some references to prostitution. Thus the four stars rather than five.

[Amber Martingale]

My copy had exactly 300 pages. I can't really think of anything to say about this book...yet.

[John Kenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lieutenant Bak is a policeman on the frontier between ancient Egypt and Kush, what is now Sudan. The murder of a nobleman's son reveals a plot to assassinate the visiting Kushite king. Bak's task is to solve the murder and prevent the assassination from starting a war.

I really wanted to like this book more. The setting was unusual and full of potential - ancient Egypt, and the characters were well developed and credible.

The problems were in the structure. The plot at times becomes formulaic and clichéd. There's too much repetition in some descriptions - the smell of cooking onions and lentils is in every chapter. In other areas, the social order for example, Haney gives almost no description. Instead, the relationships and dialogue seem plucked out of the 20th century, given a change of costume and dropped into the 18th Dynasty. It makes things less challenging for the lazy reader perhaps, but Haney misses the opportunity to mine the richness of the era she chose.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good mystery about a police lieutenant in ancient Egypt. There is an incredible wealth of detail about the place and the people of that time, which I really enjoyed reading, despite the somewhat wooden nature of some of the characters. In this novel, L. Bak is appointed to find out who killed an army man....because it turns out his father is important (major advisor to the Queen). As Bak investigates the victim's life, he gathers a complex portrait of a man some revered and some hated. Bak must deal with resistant bureaucrats protecting their own and the upcoming visit of a foreign king, whose son was stationed there when he was young, all interruptions to his goal of discovering the killer.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

YES !!

I have found a new (well it is actually 15 years old) mystery series and it is set in ancient Egypt.

I am always thankful for authors who can handle all three - history, mystery and interesting characters.

Lauren Haney does a really good job -

From what I can tell from my own studies in ancient Egypt, Haney does a wonderful job of painting a time and place the is very accurate.

Top notch mystery - lots of suspects - lots of clues - and it all adds up to a satisfying read..

And finally, her characters are fleshed out and believable. They breath and have life and souls.

[Phair · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as enjoyable as Robinson's Lord Meren series but OK. An awful lot of characters to keep straight so luckily the author included a 'cast list'. Bak, the central character, took a while to get to know although by the end I had gotten into the story much more. I will probably try another in this series one day.