Cleopatra almost Slept Here
(2026)(Book 11 in the Alvarez Family Murder Mystery series)
A novel by Heather Haven
THE ALVAREZ FAMILY IS ON THE VACATION OF A LIFETIME –
IF IT DOESN’T KILL THEM FIRST!
When the entire Alvarez family – including private investigator Lee Alvarez and the rest of the members of the family’s P.I. business, Discretionary Inquiries, Inc. – is offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance to volunteer on an archaeological dig, they're airborne in hours. It’s billed as ‘a nice, relaxing family vacation’— all they have to do is identify Cleopatra’s mother! But they’ve barely landed in Cairo when someone tries to run their van off the road.
Author Haven hasn’t missed a trick in this modern-day interpretation of the classic mystery-at-a-dig genre.
It’s got everything – pyramids, train rides, a Nile cruise, the requisite cobra, exotic history, mysterious messages, and, of course, there’s a haboob! (That's ‘sandstorm’ to us boobs.)
Naturally, Haven adds her own delightfully off-center flourishes: imagine the witty banter of the statuesque P.I. and her hunky ex-SEAL husband dropped into Death on the Nile with a world-class chef, a computer genius, hovering in-laws, two cats, a toddler, and a hat maker. Dame Agatha meets Nick and Nora Charles, if you will. If Nora had a blueberry yogurt stain on her shirt. And a charming camel called KFC standing in for Asta.
What is nearly unimaginable is Alvarez matriarch Lila loosening up enough to wear Birkenstocks – in public. Otherwise, the extended Alvarez family is up to their usual hijinks: brother Richard, the computer genius, has the answer before the question is asked; Tugger the cat inadvertently reveals the culprit(s); hunky husband Gurn needs rescuing; Lee goes rogue; and Tío the chef, as always, plies them with delicious food.
As spoofy and goofy as the set-up is, the danger is real: two waiters have disappeared from the hotel boat housing the dig crew. The boat is peopled almost entirely by eccentric and suspicious characters who are hiding something – right up to and including Lee’s father-in-law! At the heart of the mystery, as always when ancient treasures are involved, is a solution as old as time: greed, running rampant in every imaginable form in a witty and refreshing tale that would make even the Dame laugh out loud.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
IF IT DOESN’T KILL THEM FIRST!
When the entire Alvarez family – including private investigator Lee Alvarez and the rest of the members of the family’s P.I. business, Discretionary Inquiries, Inc. – is offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance to volunteer on an archaeological dig, they're airborne in hours. It’s billed as ‘a nice, relaxing family vacation’— all they have to do is identify Cleopatra’s mother! But they’ve barely landed in Cairo when someone tries to run their van off the road.
Author Haven hasn’t missed a trick in this modern-day interpretation of the classic mystery-at-a-dig genre.
It’s got everything – pyramids, train rides, a Nile cruise, the requisite cobra, exotic history, mysterious messages, and, of course, there’s a haboob! (That's ‘sandstorm’ to us boobs.)
Naturally, Haven adds her own delightfully off-center flourishes: imagine the witty banter of the statuesque P.I. and her hunky ex-SEAL husband dropped into Death on the Nile with a world-class chef, a computer genius, hovering in-laws, two cats, a toddler, and a hat maker. Dame Agatha meets Nick and Nora Charles, if you will. If Nora had a blueberry yogurt stain on her shirt. And a charming camel called KFC standing in for Asta.
What is nearly unimaginable is Alvarez matriarch Lila loosening up enough to wear Birkenstocks – in public. Otherwise, the extended Alvarez family is up to their usual hijinks: brother Richard, the computer genius, has the answer before the question is asked; Tugger the cat inadvertently reveals the culprit(s); hunky husband Gurn needs rescuing; Lee goes rogue; and Tío the chef, as always, plies them with delicious food.
As spoofy and goofy as the set-up is, the danger is real: two waiters have disappeared from the hotel boat housing the dig crew. The boat is peopled almost entirely by eccentric and suspicious characters who are hiding something – right up to and including Lee’s father-in-law! At the heart of the mystery, as always when ancient treasures are involved, is a solution as old as time: greed, running rampant in every imaginable form in a witty and refreshing tale that would make even the Dame laugh out loud.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
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