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THE FIG TREE MURDER is the tenth in Michael Pearce's series about Gareth Owen, the Mamur Zapt. Set in pre-World War I Egypt, there is a nominally Egyptian government but actual power is in the hands of the British. The Mamur Zapt is the head of the secret police and investigates political problems. He is drawn into the murder of Ibrihim because the body was placed on the railway being constructed to Heliopolis, a new town primarily for the wealthy. It is most likely that Ibrihim was murdered in revenge for his being unfaithful to his wife, but why then was the body placed on the railway? Could the Nationalists, the party that wants Egyptians to rule Egypt, have done it to stir up trouble for the government? Or could it possibly have been the Belgian Syndicate that is building the railway, wanting to get rid of a troublemaker? Mahmoud, the Egyptian policeman investigating, is looking for connections to the Syndicate. Owen hopes it is a revenge killing so there are no political ramifications. Complicating matters is that the murder actually took place by the fig tree known as the Tree of the Virgin, because the Virgin Mary supposedly rested in the tree with the baby Jesus. Ownership of the tree is disputed and some parties want it moved while for others it is holy and must stay where it is. The Mamur Zapt series is delightful. The writing is stylish and humorous. Owen is an interesting character in an interesting setting and time period. Pearce lived in then Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and knows the area and its history. Occasionally the politics become too hard to follow, but that is a minor quibble in a fascinating series.
Reviewed by Mary A. Axford, February 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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