Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Missing
Scarab
by Columbkill Noonan
Genre: Mystery/Mythology
Blurb
Barnabas
Tew is a private detective struggling to make a go of it in Victorian London.
Fearing that he is not as clever as he had hoped to be, he is riddled with
anxiety and plagued by a lack of confidence brought on in no small part by his
failure to prevent the untimely deaths of several of his clients.
Matters only
get worse when Anubis, the Egyptian god of the dead, is referred to Barnabas by
a former client (who perished in a terribly unfortunate incident which was
almost certainly not Barnabas’ fault). Anubis sends for Barnabas (in a most
uncivilized manner) and tells him that the scarab beetle in charge of rolling the
sun across the sky every day has been kidnapped, and perhaps dismembered
entirely.
The land of the dead is in chaos, which will soon spill over into the
land of the living if Barnabas (together with his trusty assistant, Wilfred)
cannot set matters to right. Pulled from his safe and predictable (if
unremarkable) life in Marylebone, Barnabas must match his wits against the
capricious and dangerous Egyptian gods in order to unravel the mystery of the
missing beetle and thereby save the world.
Excerpt
“Aaah!” he yelped, startled out of his daydreams of grandeur
by the sight of four tiny figures running straight towards him. His hands flew
up to flutter in a great furor about his head, but he was far too frightened to
leap to his feet.
The four figures racing towards him were about the size of
children, but they, like Anti the grumpy boatman, were not entirely human. They
each had the head of a different animal. One looked like a lion, another a
hyena, yet another a tiger, and the last looked like a canary. (A canary?
thought Barnabas. The other creatures looked ferocious and fearsome, but the
canary was not that scary at all. Indeed, it was quite adorable, really).
Still, Barnabas did not find it at all adorable when the
four of them reached out, dragged him to his feet, and began to bear him away
quite roughly.
“Unhand me!” he shouted, affronted and afraid. “You
scoundrels! I’ll have the bobbies on you before you… Ow!” he squealed as the
canary delivered a mighty peck to his hand.
Review
Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Missing Scarab is not a book I would normally pick up, but since I'm interested in history and ancient Egypt, I figured I take a chance on it.
I was pleasantly surprised by the story line, Barnabas, and Wilfred. The banter between Barnabas and Wilfred was brilliant, I couldn't get enough of it. Barnabas, himself, is a fun, exciting character you can't help but love. Seeing the world through his eyes will defiantly fascinate you. The mystery behind the missing scarab is suspenseful and keeps on the edge of your seat.
So if you are looking for a read that will captivate you with intrigue, history, and laughs, then I would recommend you pick up Barnabas Tew and the Case of the Missing Scarab.
About The Author
Columbkill
Noonan has an M.S. in Biology (she has, in turn, been a field biologist, an
environmental compliance inspector, and a lecturer of Anatomy and Physiology).
When she's not
teaching or writing, she can usually be found riding her rescue horse, Mittens,
practicing yoga (on the ground, in an aerial silk, on a SUP board, and
sometimes even on Mittens), or spending far too much time at the local organic,
vegan market.
