A review by plantbirdwoman
A Place of Darkness by Lauren Haney

2.0

For me, the Lieutenant Bak series by Lauren Haney suffers in comparison to Paul Doherty's and Linda Robinson's series about the same general period. Those books have more compelling and fully drawn characters and, I think, a better grasp of the history and action of the period.

That is not to say this is a bad series. In fact, I have enjoyed the earlier three works in the series more than I did this one. "A Place of Darkness" just seems kind of all over the place, unfocused, and I had a hard time getting into it.

I have three more books in the series waiting on my to-be-read shelf and I will definitely read them, but I hope for a more coherent plot and more engaging characters.

In this story, Bak is on his way from his post in Buhen to a new assignment in Mennufer. The early part of the story is taken up with explaining how he manages to get his entire entourage sent to Mennufer as well, but, here, he is in transit to the new posting and winds up investigating a series of mysterious deaths that have occurred during the construction of Hatshepsut's memorial.

What an interesting time that must have been in Egyptian history but this fictional telling of it just seems a bit bland. Of course, in the end Lieutenant Bak gets his man and lives to solve more crimes in future adventures.