Why a Booktrail?
1920s: Poppy Denby attend the auction for the Death Mask of Nefertiti
The Cairo Brief
What you need to know before your trail
I’ve heard all about you, Miss Denby. Everyone knows you have a nose for murder. Poppy Denby is intrigued when she is invited to attend the auction for the Death Mask of Nefertiti. Held on the country estate of Sir James Maddox, a famous explorer, the auction promises to be a controversial and newsworthy affair. Representatives from the world’s leading museums are gathering to bid on the mask, which was discovered in Egypt. Poppy quickly sniffs out that the mask was not the only thing found that night: the underground chamber also contained a dead body. Poppy and her colleagues from The Daily Globe, who are trying to stay one step ahead of their rivals from The London Courier, dismiss rumours about the mask s ancient curse. But when one of the auction party is murdered, and someone starts stalking Poppy, the race is on to find the killer before the curse can strike again…
Travel Guide
The novel is set in both Egypt and London with a focus very firmly in London
London
The British Museum is the focus of the Egyptian artefacts and the mystery at the heart of this novel. Poppy Denby is a reporter for a London daily newspaper and is invited to attend the auction of the Death Mask of Nefertiti. This is a major event, an historical one and there’s lots of media buzz and excitement. Winterton Hall of course is a major setting but this is fictional.
The guests at the even however are very real however including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Egypt
This is the focus of the Nefertiti and Tutankhamun mysteries. The 1920s were a great time for investigations and research . Archaeologist Howard Carter,a real life historical character, is about to discover the lost tomb of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun. We all know how that worked out! It’s fun to be there for real and to experience the buzz. Then we get to feel the excitement of this find in London and across the world.
The novel opens in El-Amarna, Egypt where the mask is discovered.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Cairo Brief
Destination/location: London, Egypt Author/guide:Fiona Veitch Smith Departure Time:1914, 1920s
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