Amerotke, Chief Judge of Thebes

Set in ancient Egypt from 1479 BC, the series following Amerotke, the chief judge of Thebes in his struggles against politic intrigue and general murder and mayhem.

• The Mask of Ra (1998)

What better way to start than with the death of a Pharaoh? Tuthmosis II is bitten by a snake on his royal barge, but impossibly walks to his palace before collapsing from the potent venom. This starts a number of deaths as a power struggle begins for the throne of Egypt.

• The Horus Killings (1999)

Hatusu looks to cement her position of Pharoah by gaining the support of the high priests, who have gathered at the Temple of Horus. Once they get there, then they start… well, guess what starts happening to them. Add in a resurrected soldier and a disappearance in the desert, and Amerotke has his hands full.

• The Anubis Slayings (2000)

Following the defeat of the Mitanni, a peace conference is called, only for it to be disrupted by a number of mysterious deaths and an impossible theft of a jewel, sacred to Anubis, from a locked room. Add in a killer in a jackal mask, and Amerotke has a very busy day.

• The Slayers of Seth (2001)

The Slayers of Seth were a feared band of soldiers, loyal to Pharoah Hatusu’s father. But now they are being picked off, one by one, by a figure in a mask depicting Horus – the brother and enemy of Seth. Is there a connection to another case that Amerotke is working on – or does the motivation lie in the past with the Witch-Queen of the Hystkos tribe?

• The Assassins of Isis (2004)

General Suten is a renowned war hero with just one fear – a morbid fear of snakes. So how did he end up on his rooftop alone, bitten to death by a large number of vipers?  Add in the vanishing of four handmaidens from the Temple of Isis, plus the removal of the Captain of the Guards’ heart and Amerotke is rather busy in this one…

• The Poisoner of Ptah (2007)

The Rekhet, a legendary assassin renowned for his ability with poisons, has escaped from his prison in the desert and is presumed to be heading for Thebes. When a Libyan delegation are accused of poisoning three Egyptian priests, it seems that the Rekhet is up to his old tricks once more.

• The Spies of Sobeck (2008)

The Arites, a Nubian cult, are waging a guerilla war on the Egyptian people, their victims all strangled by a signature red cloth. The most important of these, Imhotep, a former scout for the Spies of Sobeck, is found thus strangled, locked inside his own chambers. But the Arites leader, the Ngeru, is a ruthless individual – and he has Amerotke in his sights.