The Lost Army of Cambyses

From the international bestselling author—a "cinematic, rip-roaring adventure mystery" about Egypt's ancient past and a race for priceless treasure (Booklist). In 523 BC, the Persian pharaoh Cambyses dispatched an army across Egypt's desert to destroy the oracle at Siwa—only for the entire force to be overwhelmed by a sandstorm and lost forever. Two and a half millennia later, a mutilated corpse is washed up on the banks of the Nile at Luxor; an antiques dealer is savagely murdered in Cairo; and a British archaeologist is found dead at an ancient necropolis of Saqqara. The incidents appear unconnected, but Inspector Yusuf Khalifa of the Luxor police is suspicious. And so is the archaeologist's daughter, Tara Mullray. Following a trail of clues from both the past and the present, they enter a labyrinth of intrigue, violence, and betrayal. Their desperate search for the truth could lead them to the same fate as Cambyses's long-lost army . . .  In this "textured, well-researched and expertly paced debut" (Publishers Weekly) with "a plot as complex as a hall of mirrors, and almost as gripping as a death threat" (Kirkus Reviews), bestselling author and real-life archaeologist Paul Sussman made his explosive entrance into the thriller field.

Review ?Adrenaline-packed . . . combines all the elements of a truly great adventure story . . . At the end you feel like you’ve been on a roller coaster, in a library, and down the Nile all at the same time. . . . Superbly evocative, with a huge epic sweep.” ?Crime Time?A plot as complex as a hall of mirrors, and almost as gripping as a death threat.” ?Kirkus Reviews?A tremendous adventure . . . a great novel masterfully written.” ?Valerio Massimo Manfredi, author of Alexander: Child of a Dream?Gripping?a spine-chilling, fast paced thriller?The Lost Army of Cambyses shocks as well as enthralls.” ?Sunday Business Post (Ireland)?At last, a thriller that gets away from the hackneyed old ?curse of Tut’ stuff?the fast-paced plot is one among many good things in this very assured novel.” ?Scotland on Sunday About the Author Paul Sussman’s two great passions have always been writing and archaeology. He fulfills the former by working as a freelance journalist and the latter by spending two months of each year excavating in Egypt, most noticeably with the Amarna Royal Tombs Project in the Valley of the Kings. He lives in London with his wife. The Lost Army of Cambyses is his first novel.