The Stolen Queen: 02/02/25

The Stolen Queen by Fiona Davis (2025) is historical fiction set around Egyptology and the New York Metropolitan Museum. The Met is busy with two big upcoming events: the arrival of Tutankhamen's treasures and the Met Gala. Charlotte Cross and Annie Jenkins will meet and make an awkward but lasting friendship over a whirlwind of activity centered on both of these events.

Of course whenever Egyptology is mentioned and especially when there's a mummy, curses are brought up. Even before the Tut-mania of the 1920s and 1970s, curses have been part of the allure ancient Egypt (Kemet). This book's blurb of course has a curse, this one tied to Pharoah Hathorkare, a figure Charlotte has made her entire career studying.

Through flashbacks to 1936 we learn about Charlotte's early career and how personal tragedies led her to believe there might be something to Hathorkare's curse.

The other thing the blurb mentions is a missing artifact tied to Hathorkare. As there are plenty of shambling mummy horror stories in the world already, I was half expecting that from this book. I'll admit to this novel being my first by Davis I've read. If you've read others, you know shambling mummy isn't her thing.

Instead, this novel is really about a well known place (The Met) and one story of lives affected by and tied to it. By using two different time periods, there's a compare and contrast dialog that happens that also builds up a more nuanced understanding of the Met.

The novel also promises a mystery that Charlotte Cross and Annie Jenkins end up solving together. This part of book is really the last act of the novel. The first act is the introductions of both characters. The second act is the night of the Gala where things go pear shaped. The final act is Charlotte and Annie doing what they can to set things right or possibly stick it the man.

The mystery solving is a means too to tie up all the loose threads of Charlotte's life. It's a way to give her a well needed happy ending and to give Annie a potentially bright future.

All of this novel, too, sits on the Road Narrative Spectrum. Charlotte and Annie become a found family (33) of travelers. Their destination is uhoria (CC) (Charlotte's past and Annie's future). Their route there is an offroad one (airplane to Egypt) (66).

Five stars

Comments (0)