The Lost Army of Cambyses by Paul Sussman

An adrenaline-packed thriller and archaeological adventure by and outstanding new storyteller. In 523 BC, the Persian emperor Cambyses dispatched an army across Egypt's western desert to destroy the oracle of Amun at Siwa. Legend has it that somewhere in the middle of the Great Sand Sea, his army was overwhelmed by a sandstorm and destroyed. Fifth thousand men were lost. At first, the incidents appear unconnected. Inspector Yusuf Khalifa of the Luxor police is suspicious, however. And so too is the archaeologist's daughter, Tara Mullray. As each seeks to uncover the truth, they find themselves thrown together in a desperate race for survival - one that forces them to confront not only present-day adversaries but also ghosts from their own pasts. From a mysterious fragment of ancient hieroglyphic text to rumors of a fabulous lost tomb in the Theban Hills, from the shimmering waters of the Nile to the dusty back streets of Cairo, Khalifa and Mullray are drawn ever deeper into a labyrinth of violence, intrigue, and betrayal. It is a path that will eventually lead them into the forbidding, barren heart of the western desert, and the answer to one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world. At once an adrenaline-packed thriller and a wonderfully evocative archaeological adventure, The Lost Army of Cambyses marks the debut of an outstanding new storyteller. - SBCL