Covert in Cairo by Kelly Oliver

It’s my stop today on the blog tour for Covert in Cairo by Kelly Oliver. Many thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for the tour invite.

Covert in Cairo is the second book in Kelly Oliver’s Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane Mystery series.

Following a tip-off from notorious spy Fredrick Fredricks, Fiona Figg and Kitty Lane, along with Captain Clifford Douglas (as Fiona’s chaperone) find themselves in the hustle and bustle of Egypt. But ancient mummies aren’t the only bodies buried in the tombs of Cairo.

A young French archeologist is found dead in the tombs a day after a costume party hosted by Lady Enid. Fiona learns that a British Intelligence officer has gone missing. As the duo dig deeper, they uncover a treasure trove of suspects, including competing excavators, jealous husbands, secret lovers, and belligerent spies!

One thing is clear – If Fiona and Kitty can’t catch the killer, they might end up sharing a sarcophagus with Nefertiti.

Yet another fantastic, entertaining, and engrossing historical mystery by Kelly Oliver. Having read the first book in this series, I was eagerly waiting to see what’s next for Fiona. She had no idea that Eliza Baker, her boss’s niece was a spy in disguise. She wasn’t the boss’ niece either – Her real name’s Kitty Lane. Kitty, along with her dog Poppy, will be accompanying Fiona on her future spy missions.

Archie, the handsome ‘double agent’, has his heart set on Fiona. Fiona longs to meet him while on mission. The last time they met, Archie got away with murder… while Fredricks warned her of an attack on Suez Canal. So here they are, looking into clues – German Spies basically – who might lead them to the man who might destroy the Canal for good. It’s Christmas so places are crowded. Remnants of the war are visible throughout – soldiers of various countries and spies.

The story is peppered with humor – making the mystery more enjoyable and engrossing. There’s a scene where Fiona finds Archie and the rest in the tomb. Archie says he’s found Robert and Fiona wonders how Archie knew the mummy was called Robert.

Kitty is altogether another story. She loves pudding and eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner without putting on an ounce of weight. She also tries a famous Egyptian drink – sugarcane juice. To be honest, I was a bit annoyed that Fiona found sugarcane juice disgusting. It’s one of my favorite drinks – a summer cooler filled with nutrients (and sugar but who’s counting calories?)

The mystery behind the agent’s death gets murkier. Fiona was somehow responsible for his death – no, she didn’t harm him in any way. There’s a rumor of stolen antiquities, blowing up the Suez Canal, German spies and double agents. As the story proceeds, tension and suspense builds up – attacks, mishaps, kidnappings, and much more.

In my opinion, the second half of the book was more interesting than the first. Things take a turn for worse, there comes a time when Fiona has to save her friends. Another angle that I really loved was the inclusion of coded messages – I cannot talk about it but I can give you a hint: theatre.

Overall, this was an engrossing and entertaining mystery. Full of twists and turns and peppered with humor. The author has mentioned that this series is inspired by history but is not an accurate historical account. I felt I was transported back to those times when people were recovering from the effects of war, archeologists digging up the pyramids, German spies and double agents everywhere. Ah, how wonderful must that life be??? We can certainly dream of it, if not live in it, can’t we? 🙂

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