Book Blurb:
When two young women in ancient Egypt open a medical dispensary, they don’t expect their first patient to be a dying florist of Amen whose last words are totally mysterious. It’s Neferet and Bener-ib’s nature to want to appease the ba of the murder victim by finding his killer, and their teenaged apprentice is a born detective. But between the skepticism of their own families and the malice of a rival healer, they find out the simple desire to do the right thing gets them into more trouble than they could have imagined!
Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/X8Ss
Author Bio:
N.L. Holmes is the pen name of a professional archaeologist who received her doctorate from Bryn Mawr College. She has excavated in Greece and in Israel, and taught ancient history and humanities at the university level for many years. She has always had a passion for books, and in childhood, she and her cousin (also a writer today) used to write stories for fun.
The inspiration for her Bronze Age novels came with an assignment she gave to her students one day: here are the only documents we have telling us about a certain royal divorce in Ugarit in the 13th century. How much can we say about what happened? It quickly became apparent that almost anything we might come up with was as much fiction as historiography!
Today, since their son is grown, she lives with her husband, three cats and a dog. They split their time between Florida and northern France, where she gardens, weaves, plays the violin, dances, and occasionally drives a jog-cart. And reads, of course.
Editorial Review:
Neferet had always had the unconventional notion that even the poorest workmen should be well cared for, as their own family servants were. It embarrassed her—pained her—to see ordinary people dragging through life with unset fractures and flyblown eyelids. Their lives were hard enough without all that. Besides, her honest, straightforward nature had been painfully constrained in the stifling atmosphere of court etiquette.
Neferet and Bener-ib are determined to make a difference. They plan to open up a medical dispensary specifically for the less fortunate. However, the fatal stabbing of one of their only patients takes them on an altogether different path. They are determined to discover the motive and the killer so that the dead man’s ka can rest in peace. It's essential to act quickly, as the longer the murderer is on the loose, the higher the likelihood of another attack. Can Neferet and Bener-ib identify the killer before it is too late?
Flowers of Evil (Hani’s Daughter Mysteries Book 1) by N.L. Holmes is a tautly gripping novel set in Egypt in 1335 BCE.
There is a huge cast of characters in this novel, not forgetting the dogs and the one-eyed cat. It was easy to follow each character, even though I'm certain I mispronounced their names while reading! And they all had their place in the story.
While it's primarily a murder mystery, the story also offers a cultural representation of the era. The family dynamics of the period were fascinating to me, as was their cuisine. I really want to try sesame sweets. I was intrigued by both the customs and traditions of the people who lived in this period as well as the priesthood of Amen-Ra at Waset. The historical backdrop is staggering I thought that Holmes excelled as a tour guide. Her writing brought this era back to life and it is very obvious that she knows this period in history well. She has certainly written a very compelling read. Bravo, Ms Holmes!
Neferet and Bener-ib are two young wealthy women who are both literate and educated in the art of healing. They're committed to opening a medical dispensary to assist the underprivileged. However, they are thwarted at every turn. The two women have a good rapport with the poor, but the latter are hesitant to trust them with their health. Djed-har, a male healer with the credentials of a cockroach, is the one in whom they choose to put their trust. Despite challenges, Neferet and Bener-ib are determined to prove their worth and make their dispensary a success. The story is invigorated by the presence of Neferet and Bener-ib. Their new venture has them brimming with excitement, and despite the initial response of their dispensary being quite disappointing, they remain determined to succeed and are willing to do whatever it takes. Their abilities extend beyond medicine to include detective work, especially when a man dies in their dispensary of a stab wound. The local law enforcement appears to be procrastinating, but the two women and Mut-tuy (an orphaned apprenticed to Neferet and Bener-ib) are determined to find out who murdered the florist Sen-em-iah. Although their detective skills are sometimes unreliable and they can be hasty in reaching conclusions due to their eagerness to solve the case, their unique personalities made for a refreshing read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
“Pen-buy. I bet he’s the murderer.”
Neferet snorted despite herself. “You’ve accused everybody we’ve spoken to…”
Not until the end of the novel does Holmes disclose the identity of the killer, and she also incorporates numerous red herrings and plot twists throughout the story. I, like the protagonists, attempted to identity of the killer and decipher the significance of Sen-em-iah's last word, "rabbit". Holmes is highly skilled at constructing suspenseful narratives. The murder mystery theme in this novel kept me engaged, so engaged that I read this book in one sitting, I was that desperate to know who the murderer was!
“So, we’re going to investigate this murder ourselves after all?” Mut-tuy looked as eager as her usual affectation of boredom permitted.
“Yes, and we’ll start by going to Sen-em-iah’s workshop to talk to the florists. Somebody may know of some workman with a grudge or something.” Neferet dusted her hands ostentatiously, as if to shake off every grain of the medjay.
“But we can’t leave the dispensary unmanned all morning. What if somebody comes?” Bener-ib said, looking dismayed.
“We can leave Mut-tuy.”
“But she can’t do anything for them. I should stay.”
“I can bandage,” the girl protested, but then she seemed to realize she was arguing against herself. “Only, I want to come with you to the florists’.”
My favourite character in this novel was Mut-tuy. Despite her hardships, she is a determined and spirited young woman who has her own ideas about how to live her life and is eager to be in the midst of the action. Despite her insolence and disobedience, I found similarities between her behaviour and that of Neferet and Bener-ib, who also dislike being told what to do. Additionally, I feel obligated to point out Brute, a stunning mastiff dog who is essential to the story, particularly when his mistresses are in trouble!
The narrative-based writing style of the book is complemented by the perfect amount of historical background to immerse the reader in the setting. It's an easy-to-follow story that I'm confident would be popular among young adults and older readers alike. The protagonists have a great deal of appeal, and the antagonists are multi-layered and intriguing. The author’s use of some very modern dialectal words and phrases slightly bemused me. I am quite confident that the Ancient Egyptians did not use the word “scoffed” in relation to eating, nor did they ever ‘toe the line”. Considering the author’s impressive academic background in ancient history, her choice of words, at times, did surprise me. I do think when it comes to historical fiction that authenticity in language used is essential, and as the story was so impressively good, it was a shame these words and phrases slipped through the editing stage.
This novel was a lot of fun to read. I enjoyed the era, the characters and the plot. The book was so engaging that I will certainly read it again.
*****
“Flowers of Evil” by N.L. Holmes receives five stars and the “Highly Recommended” award of excellence from The Historical Fiction Company
Award:
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