10 Questions with John Amos, author of The Cleopatra Caper.
The Cleopatra Caper novel is among the best historical fiction novels to date!
"I want to present Cleopatra to the World," Lady Stanhope sighed and reached for her purse. Two very young and inexperienced detectives, Flinders Petrie and Thomas Pettigrew, were unexpectedly presented with the case of a lifetime. Flinders and Pettigrew, recent graduates of Oxford and rivals of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, suddenly find themselves confronted with the task of finding Cleopatra's tomb. The tomb's location, as they quickly discovered, was protected by the adherents of an ancient cult. Their quest leads them to Cairo and Alexandria. They meet a mysterious woman, who is possibly the descendant of Cleopatra. Their story weaves between the 'City of the Dead' in Cairo and the 'Mound of Shards' in Alexandria. They discover that becoming a detective is more difficult than they imagined as students. Set against the background of the River War in the Sudan and written by an expert in archeology and Middle East history, readers will find this story a worthy successor to the Conan Doyle legacy. "Find me Cleopatra, and I will pay for all this...."
Two quirky young detectives are hired to find Cleopatra's tomb, they grow up quick, but almost get killed during the chase.
I read the Adventure of the Speckled Band as a kid. It scared the wits out of me. Ever since, I've wanted to write a detective story.
For the Middle East, no problem, I taught Middle Eastern politics for 25 years, and lived in Cairo for a year studying at the American University. (I also wrote a couple of books on Middle East politics). For everything else: Wikipedia, online publications, academic theses, and Bing Al (Al is really neat, if you know what to ask).
I know for my own book it was a real process to get things just right.
They are from historical characters: Flinders Petrie is the nephew of Sir Flinders Petrie, the great archeologist. Thomas Pettigrew is the grandson of Thomas Pettigrew, the British anatomist and mummy exhibitor. EA Walis Budge is himself. Lady Hestor is herself. Lord Cromer is himself. Inji was second in command of 'Social Affairs' in Cairo, and a very scary lady, indeed. (The first description of Inji is exactly the person I met in Cairo). Other names are from lists of Greek and Egyptian baby names.
There are multiple levels, I think. Obviously, there is the Sherlock Holmes nostalgia. But beyond that, the story of a couple of self-entitled kids being forced to grow up in a hostile world is the same there that you have in the US today: A lot of readers are experiencing the same trauma. And, of course, there is the lost love theme which is a pretty universal experience.
Probably everybody can relate to Flinders and Petrie, they are a very likeable and funny pair: reviewers seem to like them.
I hadn't a clue. I ran the manuscript by several literary agents who weren't interested and then shipped it off to the same hybrid I used for the Student. A mistake. I have revised it to take out the clinkers and add material since I now have the advantage of hindsight.
I wrote another book and the developmental editor said that I write for eleven year olds. Maybe so. I like to think that I write for anyone who has the imagination to be scared by the Speckled Band.
The Stolen Goddess will be out in April. Flinders and Petrie meet TE Lawrence and Gertrude Bell. It's set in Istanbul at the end of the Ottoman Empire. I have tried to portray the old empire in all its complexity. It has some truly villainous villains: the Veiled One is the Phantom of the Opera on steroids, and the Bulbul (the bulbul, "nightingale," was the official executioner in the Ottoman Empire) is modeled after Charles Mansion (I represented one of the Manson family in a parole hearing). The theme is that of the arc of life, unlike Holmes and other fictional detectives, Flinders and Petrie age.
The Bones of the Apostle will probably be out later this year. This is a darker work set in 1915, the time of the Armenian genocide. (My late wife's grandmother survived the death march). I'm still revising: I'm not sure can do it justice. I have invented a new character, Gazelda Jones, who is as quirky as the detectives and adds a love theme. She will be around to the end of the series.
Author Bio:
John Amos holds a PhD and a JD. He has taught at university level for 25 years. His academic publications include several books and multiple articles. His fiction works include The Student (2022), The Cleopatra Caper (2023), and The Case of the Stolen Goddess (2024). He has lived in the Middle East, most notably in Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, and Turkey. He currently practices Law.
