The Mask of Ra

1st in series by Doherty on Egyptian dynasty. This series revolves around the death of Pharoah Tuthomosis II and his widow Hatsheput.
The main protagonist becomes the judge who investigates the cases, Chief judge Amertotke. He is a likeable character. I fairly romanticize the Egyptian dynasties, so this book and it's time period works well for me. I love the characters, especially the women who have very difficult times with any type of pertinent role in society. Doherty does an entertaining job meshing it all together in this novel. I am certainly ready for the next one in the series.

A very enjoyable mystery/thriller set in ancient Egypt dealing with the intrigue surrounding the death of Tuthmosis II and the ascension of his sister wife Hatshepsut.

The story focuses more on Amerotke, the head judge of the House of Two Truths as he in pulled in to investigate a series of murders and only briefly touches on the political intrigue. Every once in a while the author does tell the story from Hatshepsut's point of view, but these moments are kept brief which I prefer as I find it very hard if not impossible to get that engaged in a fictional story about real people when an author tries to write from their perspective since I just know that isn't possible. I find it's much easier to suspend disbelief for fully fictional show more characters.

I really enjoyed the character of Amerotke and the colleagues and family around him already introduced and I feel the author did a good job of invoking the feeling of the culutre of ancient Egypt and the interior scenes, his description of the outdoor scenes wasn't as effective, at least within the city so I found that distracting but not horribly so as most of the book was set indoors.

I'm looking forward to reading more in this series and by this author. show less

I was disappointed with The Mask of Ra. I don't think that there was a plot. Main character Amerotke, the Pharoah's Chief Judge, solved several crimes but the crimes were not connected to each other. For me, this is shocking because I love many of the author's other works. P.C. Doherty has written over 100 books and I guess they all can't be great. The Mask of Ra, however, will not stop me from reading his other books. The setting was the period of time when Hatshepsut, called Hatusu by the author, ascended to the Egyptian throne. This was an amazing time period to write about but unfortunately, the plot falls short.

I can only agree with the other reviews here. This was the first time I'd read a book by this prolific author and I picked it off my shelf as I was in the mood for a light, easy read and that's what it was. On the positive side, he's a born storyteller and the main protagonist is an appealing character, if a bit too good to be true and, to my mind, suspiciously current-day in his outlook. Some nice colour on the period, but I never felt really immersed in the mindset of the era, and much about the plot didn't feel authentic, though I'm no expert. But I enjoyed it enough to possibly read more from this author.

The Pharaoh Tuthmosis II is dead, his wife struggling to keep power and his heir underage. Amerotke is a judge and has to find out who did it. Part of this is his adherence to Maat and part of it is to save himself.

Interesting read. Not spectacular but a nice way to pass some time.

A su llegada triunfal a Tebas, tras una batalla dura y sangrienta, el faraón Turmosis cae ante su esposa Hatasu y muere. Amerotke, juez supremo de Tebas, es el encargado de esclarecer lo que parece un envenenamiento, pero que no tarda en complicarse con la muerte de los colaboradores de Tutmosis en lo que parece una cruenta lucha por el poder. Doherty vuelve a demostrar unas dotes inauditas para enredar al lector en una trama que avanza a gran velocidad y de la que es casi imposible escapar, y muestra por dentro los entresejos de una corrupta y peligrosa corte tebana. El comedio y sagar Amerotke es sin duda una de su más felices creaciones, y arranca con un caso realmente apasionante y lleno de sorpresas. Con La máscara de Ra inicia show more una serie centrada en Amerotke, un juez e investigador en Egipto show less

El faraón Tutmosis II regresa triunfante a la ciudad de Tebas tras conseguir una nueva victoria para Egipto, pero al llegar a las puertas del templo, donde le espera su joven esposa Hatasu, se desplona repentinamente y muere. El sagaz Amerotke, juez supremo de Tebas, debe enfrentarse a la intrigante corte tebana para aclarar la enigmática muerte del faraón.