3 stars. Well, well, well. Tasha surprised me with this one! Almost as good as the earlier books in the series. Still a bit overwrought and dragged on for too long but not too bad. The characters conducted themselves true to the time frame and the bits of Emily vs society ladies (and gentlemen) was fun. As expected, the Amelia Peabody character from Elizabeth Peters’ series made an appearance-thankfully brief and didn’t detract from Emily and her investigation. The plot follows Emily and Colin on a tour of Egypt as they investigate the mysterious death of their host; who has the temerity to drop dead at the dinner table. Of course, every guest has a ‘history’ with Lord Deeley; are they serious enough to warrant murder? The clues are dropped everywhere. Just pay attention and this murder is easily solved. One weird continuity mishap that I won’t reveal but it jarred me out of the plot to go back and look up when something happened-I was right, the reveal was before the information arrived. You will find it, too; it’s a small editing mistake that should have been caught. Having said that, Egypt comes alive as Tasha hits her stride and balances her plot with a travelogue worthy of Baedeker. I did read the novella chapters and, while over the top, they added to the overall book and fit well with the plot. After the plot wraps up, we are treated to a bit of family fun that was sweet. This is the last of the series for now (November 2022) but I will keep reading the series as they are released.