THE CAMEL OF DESTRUCTION

The Camel of Destruction: A Mamr Zapt Mystery
by Michael Pearce

Thinking of camels they are known to be rather dumb animals. If a camel is upset and starts on a path of destruction, one person can stop it be sacrificing themselves in front of the camel which will then calm down the camel.

It doesn’t always require a complete sacrifice but if it is you making the choice, you have to be aware of the risks.

This is the underlying thought to this book which takes place in Egypt in the early 1900s when England partially ruled this country. At one time the author explains the government which actually amounted to four different governments not always with the same agendas but at the same time.

The plot involved a suicide which Caption Owen, The Mamur Zapt, investigates as to the reason for this young man’s death. This enlightens the reader to life in Egypt during this time period so well that I felt that I could actually smell the places the author visited, not to mention feel them.

At times the book seems a little too much into the realism of the setting in that the vocabulary of the region is distracting, but probably necessary for the realism. I did learn much about the culture and society in early Egypt while Captain Owen solves the mystery of the suicide. I was pleased with the ending in that I wanted a more dramatic ending. Realism can sometimes be disappointing.