Lt. Bek is pressured into seeking the son of his commander's friend who has disappeared in the desert lands between the Nile and the Red Sea. He and his Medjays set out with the lost man's former guide and soon join up with others who are seeking treasure in this forsaken land. Mysterious deaths set Bek to seeking answers, but can he trust the guide, the mysterious man who is following the caravan or the other members of the group. Evocative of the barren wadis, the precarious existence of nomadic tribespeople and the hardship of the Egyptian mines. Unfortunately, this is the last in the Lt. Bek series. After rereading this entire series I wondered if Lt. Bek would ever learn to watch his back. He gets, ambushed, knocked on the head, etc. more than should happen to a careful soldier

After rereading this entire series I realized that not a single criminal is ever brought to formal trial. They are killed while fleeing or otherwise. So we never see Egyptian justice system in action. I wonder whether Haney didn't have the necessary information about how the judges or courts, punishments, etc. worked, or whether she felt that they were too harsh and arbitrary by contemporary standards. If that were the case the readers might lose sympathy for the protagonist. I mean, imagine trying to have an English thief taker as a protagonist, knowing that the 10 year old boy he has just delivered to the judge may hang for stealing a watch. The Bek series does discuss punishments, such as being sentenced to the desert mines, and impalement as a punishment for treason, but we never see or read of an actual trial. ( )