Interesting

I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It was an interesting read that kept me engaged, but it was very wordy at times. I liked the story, but I'm equally confused and unsettled by it. It is very well written and the characters come alive. Overall, it was pretty good. ( )

The plot was very good, the thrills, twists and reveals worked very well - except, possibly, for the original premise of the scandal that meant the protaganist had to leave Paris (which I found slightly stretched). It is difficult to be original in this genre and the author succeeded convincingly.
The creation of atmosphere and the sense of being in two very different places and times was also conveyed well.
But, oh dear, I really must stop reading translated books: I wanted to go thru the book with a red pen and change so much. I apologise to translators: it must be hard and I don't know anything about it, but I assume there is some kind of rule about being careful to express what the writer intended, rather than what you think would read better (a bit like being an editor). However, in this book there were too many instances of the sentences reading clumsily, partly because (I can only guess) the translator was being literal or trying to avoid cliches or something like that. But it spoilt the flow of reading. Or maybe the book should have been edited better in the original language - there was a really annoying over use of one stylistic phrase that someone should have spoken to the author about!
( )

I thought that it would be better, especially with his other books!. Still a good read though! ( )

In present day Paris, Marion, a young woman working as a secretary in the department of Autopsies for a Paris Medical Institute, becomes an unfortunate innocent victim by stumbling upon documents that will prove a local politician a criminal. The DST, which is France's version of our CIA, wishes for her to go missing for a while until the scandal dies down. People might want her dead. Immediately whisked away for temporary exile, Marion finds herself deposited at the daunting doors of the famous monastery of Mount-St. Michel. Not knowing how long her secret stay will last, Marion settles in to the abbey life amongst a variety of monks and sisters that all have mysterious pasts and personalities. Soon cryptic letters arrive unseen in her cottage evoking an eerie and sinister presence that will have Marion's emotions on edge wondering if she has been followed and found out. While preventing boredom for the long winter ahead, Marion is given the chore of assisting the monks with cataloging the abbey library. Enjoying her task, she one day put her hands on a very old diary, one man's personal and private notes, dated Cairo 1928.

Jeremy Matheson, a British post-war veteran who had endured the many horrors all soldiers of war experience, has settled into a quiet life as a hard-boiled detective eaking out an existence in the Egyptian mecca of Cairo. Although he is suffering from the pangs of unrequited love, the local police department turns up an interesting case of multiple gruesome child murders allowing Matheson the opportunity to jump at the chance to take on the case. Child after child is found brutally murdered, slayed as if a wild animal had taken them in it's hungry jaws.

The Cairo Diary is a diabolical dual mystery that will have readers turning pages so fast they won't realize time flying by. Cleverly crafted with an astounding literary writing style, this suspense novel is riveting, intriguing and very unique. As the author alternates stories, the written pendulum swinging from past to present, both Marion and Jeremy are caught up in two whirlwind mysteries that amazingly will weave together for an unbelievable jaw-dropping ending that will leave readers panting for more from this creative and talented new author. Trembling with fear as I turned each page, I was on the edge of my chair throughout the whole book, and simply could not put the book down for a second. The characters of both Marion and Jeremy will tug at your heartstrings, evoke a host of emotions, and will keep you cheering on both of these finely created characters as they painstakingly unravel two uncanny puzzles; one born of evil, the other from an unlikely duo out for a bit of welcoming mischief. Bravo Maxim Chattam, a literary accomplishment worth many awards! Five stars without blinking. ( )

Murder,torture,suspense,mystery and a touch of the supernatural,plus a cast of well-conceived characters,this book has the lot.
Two strands of a story which come together explosively as the tale progresses.
Cairo in the 1920's experiences a series of child murders of the most horrific sort,with rumors of a ghoul abounding and causing panic among the poor,who are losing their young ones. Inspector Jeremy Matherson follows a winding trail and as he does so,writes a diary of these events.
In the second strand,in 2005,a woman in France is in the centre of a scandal which involves the most important names in the country. She is taken by the security services for her own safety and hidden in the monastery of Mont-Saint-Michel.
While there she finds the Cairo Diary and in the course of reading it,becomes involved in much more than just an excercise of delving into the past.
This is a really thrilling read which I throughly recommend . ( )