Egypt has always been a problem. René Renault here, speaking to you from Lyon, France. As Director of Interpol’s Cultural Heritage Division, I keep a steady eye on any movement of Ancient Egyptian artifacts. Perhaps you saw me on TV last year when I reported our great success in recovering over 100 Egyptian artifacts. You might have thought that was our President Emmanuel Macron making the announcement. No. I’ve been told that I resemble him, with glasses. Yes, glasses. I’m much too busy to bother with contact lenses. And not vain enough.
Last year I worked with Dr. Maha El Kadi, so when Stefanie Adams brought up Dr. El Kadi’s suspicions about a theft at the new Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, I listened.
The problem is that Egyptian artifacts are a perennial favorite. Organized Crime use them as ready currency. Museums want them for their collections. Corporations value the investment and want pieces to show off in their headquarter lobbies, the more dramatic the better. Collectors are the worst. They think of theft as a game, and if they win, the artifacts are hidden away, for only their eyes to admire.
Stefanie has become a surprising asset. Surprising because Thomas brought her in. I thought she was just another of his temporary flings. Women are his weakness. But Stefanie has contacts, like the archaeologist who alerted her to the threats against the Gold of the Pharaohs exhibit at the GEM. And she has instincts.
She must have more than that. Thomas hasn’t lost interest. We’ll see if together they can head off trouble at the GEM.
DEATH IN LUXOR
Series: An Intrepid Traveler Mystery, Book 4
Genre: Traditional Mystery
Release: August 2026
Format: Print, Digital
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Undercover artifact theft investigator Stefanie Adams and her Artifact Retrieval Team (ART) lead and partner, Thomas Burkhardt must head off trouble before it starts at the opening ceremonies of Egypt’s Grand Egyptian Museum. Anonymous notes have threatened the Gold of the Pharaohs, a special exhibit featuring glittering gold pectorals, collars, bracelets and rings that once belonged to Egypt’s powerful pharaohs.
Stefanie is thrilled at the opportunity to fulfill her dream of visiting Egypt and the fabulous tomb of Queen Nefertari, She For Whom The Sun Shines. But trouble comes from an unexpected quarter, and this thief doesn’t stop at murder to possess a golden relic of ancient Egyptian royalty.
She and Thomas suspect members of the Kemet Forever Society, wealthy A-listers who all admit to an obsession with ancient Egypt, and aren’t above using their influence for special perks. railing the suspects up the Nile, through temples and tombs, Stefanie and Thomas race against time to recover the stolen gold before it is secreted out of Egypt and another victim falls in the thief’s deadly game.
About the author
M. A. Monnin (www.mamonnin.com) writes the Intrepid Traveler Mysteries, including Agatha Best First Novel finalist DEATH IN THE AEGEAN. The fourth in the series, DEATH IN LUXOR, was released in Aug 2026. Like her heroine Stefanie Adams, Mary loves the adventure of foreign travel. If there’s the chance to check out an archaeological site, so much the better for this avocational archaeologist and Air Force veteran. She is the current President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime.