Kensington, 304 pages, $15.95 (c2021)
Erica Ruth Neubauer has a new book coming out soon, part of her series starring young American widow, Jane Wunderly ("Danger on the Atlantic"). The books are set in the Roaring Twenties and the covers are quite charming. I thought I would begin with her first book in the series, "Murder at the Mena House." The setting was Cairo, Egypt. The characters were pretty much limited to the grounds of the famous Mena House resort. I was in the mood for an Agatha Christie-like mystery: dead body, sleuth, exotic setting, soupçon of romance, antiquities, Art Deco!
Alas, one should never take an author's template and slap it on another author's book. "Murder at the Mena House" was pleasant, but I lost a firm grip on who the heroine was. Was she plucky, traumatized, intrepid, or foolhardy? Also, she had a lot of adrenaline bursts.
The series has caught the fancy of quite a few readers and I find no fault with the setting. Perhaps this is just the mystery you need to cozy up to.
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