Lisa and James take an overdue honeymoon to Egypt. While visiting fabulous monuments and archaeological sites, they stumble upon
a plot to infect western tourists with smallpox. This
suspense novel features a return of Lisa's old flame,
Greg Manzur, from the first book, The
Dead Sea Codex.
Research for this book involved learning fascinating and
gruesome details about smallpox, one of the worst diseases
to ever hit mankind. For more on how to combat smallpox
if it ever returns, visit the Centers for Disease Control.
"'Two weeks ago, when Abdul had sniffed his uncle's
tobacco, he'd discovered a small, narrow object inside. His agile fingers had quickly untied the string and loosened the brown
paper to reveal a cardboard tube that was labeled in a foreign script. Inside, he found a small glass ampule, pointed at one
end. It was terribly fragile; the slight pressure of his questing fingers caused the thing to shatter in his hands, spilling
fine dust on his aunt Safaa's pink headscarf lying over the chair back. Now his aunt Safaa was sick and nothing the doctors
were doing was making her better.'
I followed Archaeologist Lisa Donahue and her physician husband James Barber
through Wisseman's book The Fall of Augustus and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Now Wisseman takes the two on what was supposed
to be a belated honeymoon in Egypt. But after James tries to help a fellow traveler and a native Egyptian that have taken
sick with a mysterious illness that is causing high fever and blisters on their bodies, he finds himself being quarantined
by the CDC. The disease, that is starting to spread, is thought to be a plot targeting foreigners, but who is spreading it
and how? That is what Lisa and an old friend Greg must find out before it spreads beyond control.
The House of
the Sphinx is written with history that only an Archaeologist such as Sarah Wisseman could write. She takes you through Egypt
and describes the sites in such detail that if you close your eyes, you can almost see them. She also makes us aware of the
possibility and simplicity of germ warfare. You become aware of how easily a disease that was once eradicated can be re-introduced
to the world, even today. This is a book filled with education, not only in history but also in survival."
-- Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh,
Repeat
"This series keeps getting better with each book! Lisa and
James
are likable and realistic characters.The
story is very compelling
and I enjoyed
learning more about the amazing Egyptian
archeological
sites, which Wisseman is an expert on! She
incorporates
that well into the tense drama unfolding behind
the
scenes. As an avid mystery reader, I highly recommend
this
series to other mystery lovers."
--K.B. Kane, Book and Lunch Group, Champaign, IL
Radio Interview with Celeste Quinn, Afternoon Magazine, WILL Public Radio, Urbana, IL ISBN1591332958
