nancyclue's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
pantaruja's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Too long for what it offered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
michaeljpdx's review against another edition
4.0
You can read my review of “The Curse of the Blue Scarab” at my web site.
suze_1624's review against another edition
4.0
Described on the cover as a monster mash up, I would say it is more a homage to the gothic novel. It does use an original gothic as the basis for the story but I have not read that one to know what plot differences there are. The romance element is new I would guess!!!
Dr Quentin Armiston is dragged into investigating why self appointed guardians of an egyptian mummy are dying. Two of the remaining guardians, Percival and Maxwell, approach him to help them.
Hilary Maxwell has many issues and dodging the mummy curse is only one.. We gradually become aware that there is mundane reasons for the deaths rather than fanciful curses and it all becomes quite tense at the end when Armiston puts himself in danger whilst also being in the midst of Maxwell’s cure.
It is set in 1912 so codes of honour and doing the gentlemanly thing abound.
Armiston and Maxwell do become closer after a rocky start and have a glimmer of hope for the future.
It is written in 1st person pov which isn’t a favourite but this one is done quite well and it took me a while to cotton on.
I enjoyed this, taken as what it is and written in a bygone style.
Dr Quentin Armiston is dragged into investigating why self appointed guardians of an egyptian mummy are dying. Two of the remaining guardians, Percival and Maxwell, approach him to help them.
Hilary Maxwell has many issues and dodging the mummy curse is only one.
Spoiler
I didn’t like that Percy succumbed tooIt is set in 1912 so codes of honour and doing the gentlemanly thing abound.
Armiston and Maxwell do become closer after a rocky start and have a glimmer of hope for the future.
It is written in 1st person pov which isn’t a favourite but this one is done quite well and it took me a while to cotton on.
I enjoyed this, taken as what it is and written in a bygone style.
alisonalisonalison's review against another edition
3.0
Fun and creepy. It took me a fair while to get into this story, but I enjoyed it. I'm really curious about the original book by Riccardo Stephens, [b:The Mummy|28805554|The Mummy|Riccardo Stephens|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1454152055s/28805554.jpg|49018817], and I wonder how it's been updated.
reviewerlarissa's review against another edition
3.0
Review for BookWinked
There were high hopes for this book because I loved Mummy Dearest, also by this author. Going into this book there were certain expectations of mummies, monsters, romance, adventure. What I got was a monster mash-up (which combines a pre-existing text – often from the public domain – with another genre) without the monster, a mystery and a slow-burn not really there romance.
This book was certainly not bad, but it reads more like a Sherlock Holmes mystery with a doctor for a sleuth combined with a little drama and a whole lot of hints as to who is the murderer. There is a mummy, but it’s more for show than actually part of the story. So hence, no horror or monster, but a mystery with a likable older character and a colourful cast of secondary characters.
I definitely liked how this story was slow to progress as we really got to know the characters. Doctor Armiston is a confirmed bachelor for a reason and rather set in his ways, but then there is Captain Maxwell to shake things up and with a secret of his own. They were both flawed, fun, mysterious and strong characters with a mind of their own.
My guess is that is story will be an acquired taste.
My main reason for the rating is not that this story didn’t fulfil my expectations, but rather the execution of the mystery itself and the ending of it. It just didn’t fit in with the rest of the story.
There were high hopes for this book because I loved Mummy Dearest, also by this author. Going into this book there were certain expectations of mummies, monsters, romance, adventure. What I got was a monster mash-up (which combines a pre-existing text – often from the public domain – with another genre) without the monster, a mystery and a slow-burn not really there romance.
This book was certainly not bad, but it reads more like a Sherlock Holmes mystery with a doctor for a sleuth combined with a little drama and a whole lot of hints as to who is the murderer. There is a mummy, but it’s more for show than actually part of the story. So hence, no horror or monster, but a mystery with a likable older character and a colourful cast of secondary characters.
I definitely liked how this story was slow to progress as we really got to know the characters. Doctor Armiston is a confirmed bachelor for a reason and rather set in his ways, but then there is Captain Maxwell to shake things up and with a secret of his own. They were both flawed, fun, mysterious and strong characters with a mind of their own.
My guess is that is story will be an acquired taste.
My main reason for the rating is not that this story didn’t fulfil my expectations, but rather the execution of the mystery itself and the ending of it. It just didn’t fit in with the rest of the story.
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
This book is well written, fun to read and engrossing. I loved the setting, the cast of characters and the plot.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.