The Pharaoh's Daughter (Treasures Of The Nile #1) by Mesu Andrews

BOOK INFORMATION

• Series: Treasures of the Nile
• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press (March 17, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1601425996
• ISBN-13: 978-1601425997
  
  
  Synopsis: “Fear is the most fertile ground for faith.”
  
  
• Anippe has grown up in the shadows of Egypt’s good god Pharaoh, aware that Anubis, god of the afterlife, may take her or her siblings at any moment. She watched him snatch her mother and infant brother during childbirth, a moment which awakens in her a terrible dread of ever bearing a child. Now she is to be become the bride of Sebak, a kind but quick-tempered Captain of Pharaoh Tut’s army. In order to provide Sebak the heir he deserves and yet protect herself from the underworld gods, Anippe must launch a series of deceptions, even involving the Hebrew midwives—women ordered by Tut to drown the sons of their own people in the Nile. 
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• When she finds a baby floating in a basket on the great river, Anippe believes Egypt’s gods have answered her pleas, entrenching her more deeply in deception and placing her and her son Mehy, whom handmaiden Miriam calls Moses, in mortal danger.
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• As bloodshed and savage politics shift the balance of power in Egypt, the gods reveal their fickle natures and Anippe wonders if her son, a boy of Hebrew blood, could one day become king. Or does the god of her Hebrew servants, the one they call El Shaddai, have a different plan—for them all? 

Review: I enjoy Biblical fiction which makes people and events of the Bible more real to me, and this story definitely fits the bill. This is the story of Moses, although it focuses more on his adopted mother and her story, giving us a different perspective from the one we read in the Bible. 

The political intrigue of ancient Egypt plays out all around Anippe, involving her brother, her adopted parents, her husband, and everyone around them. We see Anippe grow from a pampered princess to a mature, responsible wife and mother--from a character I didn't really care for at first to one I grew to admire and respect.

The next book in the series will focus on Miriam, the older sister of Moses, who we began to get to know in this book. I look forward to reading it as well.

Rating: Five stars

About the author

Mesu Andrews is an author and speaker who has devoted herself to passionate study of Scripture. Harnessing her deep love for God’s Word, Andrews brings the biblical world alive for her audiences.

Mesu and her husband, Roy, have two grown children and (Praise God!) a growing number of grandkids. They live in Washington, where Roy teaches at Multnomah University. They have a Rottweiler-pitbull named Bouzer who keeps Mesu company while she writes.

The Accident by Chris Pavone

Synopsis: As dawn approaches in New York, literary agent Isabel Reed is turning the final pages of a mysterious, anonymous manuscript, racing through the explosive revelations about powerful people, as well as long-hidden secrets about her own past. In Copenhagen, veteran CIA operative Hayden Gray, determined that this sweeping story be buried, is suddenly staring down the barrel of an unexpected gun. And in Zurich, the author himself is hiding in a shadowy expat life, trying to atone for a lifetime’s worth of lies and betrayals with publication of The Accident, while always looking over his shoulder.

Over the course of one long, desperate, increasingly perilous day, these lives collide as the book begins its dangerous march toward publication, toward saving or ruining careers and companies, placing everything at risk—and everyone in mortal peril.  The rich cast of characters—in publishing and film, politics and espionage—are all forced to confront the consequences of their ambitions, the schisms between their ideal selves and the people they actually became.

The action rockets around Europe and across America, with an intricate web of duplicities stretching back a quarter-century to a dark winding road in upstate New York, where the shocking truth about the accident itself is buried. 

Gripping, sophisticated, layered, and impossible to put down, The Accident proves once again that Chris Pavone is a true master of suspense.

My thoughts: This is a very fast-paced story which is chock full of emotions. When you stop to realize that it ALL takes place in one day, it's even more amazing. 

The story provides a lot of insight into the world of writers, agents and editors, and the craziness of the publishing industry. Of course, not every book leads to international intrigue and murder, thank goodness!!

The author has a great talent for fleshing out characters and descriptions, which makes the story even more enjoyable. Looking forward to reading more from him in the future.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.** 

My rating: Four stars

Doctor Who: Silhouette, by Justin Richards

Synopsis: "Vastra and Strax and Jenny? Oh no, we don't need to bother them. Trust me." 

Marlowe Hapworth is found dead in his locked study, killed by an unknown assailant. This is a case for the Great Detective, Madame Vastra.

Rick Bellamy, bare-knuckle boxer, has the life drawn out of him by a figure dressed as an undertaker. This angers Strax the Sontaran. 

The Carnival of Curiosities, a collection of bizarre and fascinating sideshows and performers. This is where Jenny Flint looks for answers.

How are these things connected? And what does Orestes Milton, rich industrialist, have to do with it all? This is where the Doctor and Clara come in. The Doctor and his friends find themselves thrust into a world where nothing and no one are what they seem. Can they unravel the truth before the most dangerous weapon ever developed is unleashed on London

Thoughts: **I received a copy of this book from bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for an honest review**

As a lifetime fan of Doctor Who, I was a bit disappointed in this novel. The characters, especially Vastra and Jenny, were not written the same as they are portrayed in the television series. The plot was a good one, however,and I for one would like to see it as an episode in the series in the future. It would be interesting to see them write it to fit more with the characters as we already know them, instead of making Vastra and Jenny appear basically helpless, clueless females.