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Mamur Zapt #4
The Men Behind
While riding home to lunch on his donkey, Fairclough of Customs is rudely unseated by shots fired from behind. The incident is but the first of a series of attacks seemingly aimed at public officials. Even Captain Gareth Owen, the Mamur Zapt, British head of Cairo's Secret Police, barely escapes. Is a sinister campaign to undermine foreign rule under way? And who are "the men behind"? True, the Nationalist movement is rising after thirty years of the British Protectorate, and the new Liberal Government in London is more sympathetic than the heavy-handed Conservatives to local rule. But can Owen discount more mundane agendas? Under orders to act quickly, Owen delves into both maneuverings at the Khedive's court and the goals of a commercial delegation. His investigations not only carry him in to the city's student quarter but out into the countryside and onto a rural estate. Along the way he juggles a Pasha whose political star is fading, a bomb-wielding Berber, and the knife-happy gypsy Soraya who seriously annoys Owen's main squeeze, the fiery and lovely Zeinab, herself the daughter of a pasha. Which of these explosive mixes is most likely to prove injurious to the Mamur Zapt as well as to the government he serves?
234 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
14 people are currently reading
70 people want to read
About the author
Michael Pearce
52 books53 followersMichael Pearce grew up in the (then) Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. He returned there later to teach, and retains a human rights interest in the area. He retired from his academic post to write full time.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 8, 2020
Slavery, gun running and the Nationalist movement rises in old Egypt as Owen - the British appointed political policeman tries to keep order in the city and peace between his girlfriend and a gypsy lass.
The mystery starts with an unimportant shooting - unimportant for all except for Fairclough of the Customs Department
Riding home from work on the back of his donkey one lunchtime, Fairclough of the Customs Department was shot at by two men. The shots were fired from a distance and missed, and the only damage from the incident resulted when the frightened donkey careered into a fruit stall nearby and deposited both fruit and Fairclough on top of the stall holder, who, since it was lunchtime, was sleeping peacefully under the stall.
Fairclough held court afterwards in the bar of the Sporting Club, which was where Owen caught up with him.
“It was ghastly,” he declared, drinking deeply from his tumbler. “There were squashed tomatoes everywhere. Mind you, they saved my life. It looked like blood, you see. All over him, all over me. They must have thought they’d got me.”
“What I can’t understand,” said someone else at the bar, “is why anyone would want to get you anyway. I mean, let’s face it, Fairclough, you’re not exactly important, and although everyone else in the Department regards you as a bit of a pig, I wouldn’t have said that feeling ran high enough for them to want to kill you.”
Zeinab's simple plan to eradicate the problem - Egyptian style
“Leave it to me,” she said immediately when Owen told her about his difficulties.
“Leave what to you?”
“Roper. I will have him killed.”
“Just a minute—”
“My father will supply me with assassins. There will be no difficulty.”
“I am sure there won’t. However—”
“You needn’t worry. No one will know. I can see you have to keep out of it. You are always telling me about these Liberal MPs in England. Perhaps,” said Zeinab reflectively, “I should have them killed too.”
“There are too many. Someone would be sure to notice.”
“Of course, it would be difficult at such a distance. Perhaps you could invite them all over here to a feast. Then we could poison them all.”
“No, no, no, no.”
“Or perhaps you could invite them to Paris!” Zeinab’s eyes sparkled. Complete Francophile, as so many of the upper-class Egyptians were, Paris was the center of her cultural universe. “I could arrange for the Zouaves to massacre them in the Champs-Elysées.”
She laughed merrily on seeing Owen’s face.
“Perhaps, on the whole, it would be better to stick to our first plan. I will go round and speak to my father at once.”
“No you don’t. You stay here. And leave Roper alone. I’ll look after him.”
“Will you fight him?”
“In a manner of speaking,” said Owen.
The philosophy of the Pasha Ali Osman
“Education is a bad thing and should be confined to those too stupid to benefit from it. That is why I only send dull boys up to Cairo to be educated.”
Another great murder-mystery in old Cairo from the author Michael Pearce, who describes life in the city so well that you are almost there.
Enjoy!
The mystery starts with an unimportant shooting - unimportant for all except for Fairclough of the Customs Department
Riding home from work on the back of his donkey one lunchtime, Fairclough of the Customs Department was shot at by two men. The shots were fired from a distance and missed, and the only damage from the incident resulted when the frightened donkey careered into a fruit stall nearby and deposited both fruit and Fairclough on top of the stall holder, who, since it was lunchtime, was sleeping peacefully under the stall.
Fairclough held court afterwards in the bar of the Sporting Club, which was where Owen caught up with him.
“It was ghastly,” he declared, drinking deeply from his tumbler. “There were squashed tomatoes everywhere. Mind you, they saved my life. It looked like blood, you see. All over him, all over me. They must have thought they’d got me.”
“What I can’t understand,” said someone else at the bar, “is why anyone would want to get you anyway. I mean, let’s face it, Fairclough, you’re not exactly important, and although everyone else in the Department regards you as a bit of a pig, I wouldn’t have said that feeling ran high enough for them to want to kill you.”
Zeinab's simple plan to eradicate the problem - Egyptian style
“Leave it to me,” she said immediately when Owen told her about his difficulties.
“Leave what to you?”
“Roper. I will have him killed.”
“Just a minute—”
“My father will supply me with assassins. There will be no difficulty.”
“I am sure there won’t. However—”
“You needn’t worry. No one will know. I can see you have to keep out of it. You are always telling me about these Liberal MPs in England. Perhaps,” said Zeinab reflectively, “I should have them killed too.”
“There are too many. Someone would be sure to notice.”
“Of course, it would be difficult at such a distance. Perhaps you could invite them all over here to a feast. Then we could poison them all.”
“No, no, no, no.”
“Or perhaps you could invite them to Paris!” Zeinab’s eyes sparkled. Complete Francophile, as so many of the upper-class Egyptians were, Paris was the center of her cultural universe. “I could arrange for the Zouaves to massacre them in the Champs-Elysées.”
She laughed merrily on seeing Owen’s face.
“Perhaps, on the whole, it would be better to stick to our first plan. I will go round and speak to my father at once.”
“No you don’t. You stay here. And leave Roper alone. I’ll look after him.”
“Will you fight him?”
“In a manner of speaking,” said Owen.
The philosophy of the Pasha Ali Osman
“Education is a bad thing and should be confined to those too stupid to benefit from it. That is why I only send dull boys up to Cairo to be educated.”
Another great murder-mystery in old Cairo from the author Michael Pearce, who describes life in the city so well that you are almost there.
Enjoy!
August 4, 2023
A series I picked up a summer back with the intention of picking my way through the series where I can find a copy, this being book 4, having started from book 2 (book 1 & 3 both unobtainable from the library).
Egypt 1909 is our setting, again in Cairo, with the British still ruling by proxy (the history books say ruled by “veiled” protectorate) where the Khedive (Egyptian monarch) is about to appoint a new prime minster although he is very much taking his time to considerable annoyance by the British as the various factions’ jostle for power. In the background to all this we have members of the British civil service reporting that they are being followed until a customs agent report’s that shots were fired at him as he was riding his “donkey”….. quick getaway then!
Our man Owen is soon on the scene as part of the investigation, his role being that of the Mamur Zapt (Mamur Zapt being the British head of the political CID in Cairo who investigate said political offenses as opposed to normal criminal activities that the police deal with, akin to modern day Secret Police really) – If only that was all he had to deal with 😊 Add in ongoing political shenanigans, a gypsy girl who has taken a shine to him, an unruly commercial agent who keeps him up all hours visiting brothels & bars, anti-British students up to no good, a series of bombings, and of course not forgetting his mistress who shall we say is somewhat temperamental.
It’s a smooth easy reading mystery, engaging characters, smatterings of good ol fashion humour as well as being steeped in the history & politics of Egypt/British empire of the period. Great for the hot summer evenings, wherever they be due in good ol’ blighty lols
4.5 stars rounded to a four
Egypt 1909 is our setting, again in Cairo, with the British still ruling by proxy (the history books say ruled by “veiled” protectorate) where the Khedive (Egyptian monarch) is about to appoint a new prime minster although he is very much taking his time to considerable annoyance by the British as the various factions’ jostle for power. In the background to all this we have members of the British civil service reporting that they are being followed until a customs agent report’s that shots were fired at him as he was riding his “donkey”….. quick getaway then!
Our man Owen is soon on the scene as part of the investigation, his role being that of the Mamur Zapt (Mamur Zapt being the British head of the political CID in Cairo who investigate said political offenses as opposed to normal criminal activities that the police deal with, akin to modern day Secret Police really) – If only that was all he had to deal with 😊 Add in ongoing political shenanigans, a gypsy girl who has taken a shine to him, an unruly commercial agent who keeps him up all hours visiting brothels & bars, anti-British students up to no good, a series of bombings, and of course not forgetting his mistress who shall we say is somewhat temperamental.
It’s a smooth easy reading mystery, engaging characters, smatterings of good ol fashion humour as well as being steeped in the history & politics of Egypt/British empire of the period. Great for the hot summer evenings, wherever they be due in good ol’ blighty lols
4.5 stars rounded to a four
May 9, 2020
4.5 Stars
rounded up to 5 Stars.
In the words of author Michael Pearce "In a city with over twenty different nationalities, at least five major religions apart from Islam, three principal languages and over a score of minor ones, four competing legal systems and, in effect, two Governments, the smallest spark could set off a major conflagration." Now that's what I call a great historical background setting for a crime detective novel.
In the words of author Michael Pearce "In a city with over twenty different nationalities, at least five major religions apart from Islam, three principal languages and over a score of minor ones, four competing legal systems and, in effect, two Governments, the smallest spark could set off a major conflagration." Now that's what I call a great historical background setting for a crime detective novel.
November 29, 2013
Loved it! Funny, satisfying and well written, what more can you ask?
Not only is the Mamur Zapt, Owen, chasing smugglers, he is being pursued by two men, the men behind. They seem to be behind all the British govt officials and people are growing nervous.
In the midst of the rounds of hunting bomb makers there's Owen's mistress making demands and all the usual ridiculous infighting among the civil servants.
Historical details are excellent and the whole book is a delightful and intelligent read.
August 25, 2019
The Mamur Zapt's job is to monitor tensions in Egypt, particularly Cairo, and to prevent them boiling over. At the moment "[t]he city was tense, certainly, and, given its normal volatility, there was plenty of potential for an explosion. In a city with over twenty different nationalities, at least five major religions apart from Islam, three principal languages and over a score of minor ones, four competing legal systems and, in effect, two Governments, the smallest spark could set off a major conflagration. ..."
The current tensions stemmed from the dismissal of the Coptic Prime Minister and the resultant jostling amongst would be successors. A low level British civil servant has been shot at, whilst others are being followed. A pasha has been beaten. Then, two students are killed when a bomb explodes at a cafe.
The Mamur Zapt must sort out who is stirring the tension and then figure out how to stop the puppet master in a city where justice has more impediments than usual.
The current tensions stemmed from the dismissal of the Coptic Prime Minister and the resultant jostling amongst would be successors. A low level British civil servant has been shot at, whilst others are being followed. A pasha has been beaten. Then, two students are killed when a bomb explodes at a cafe.
The Mamur Zapt must sort out who is stirring the tension and then figure out how to stop the puppet master in a city where justice has more impediments than usual.
June 10, 2025
Very enjoyable because of the historical Egyptian background.
September 11, 2012
Originally published on my blog here in October 2000.
Having given up waiting for the first of the Mamur Zapt novels to become available from my local library, I borrowed the third (though it's hard to tell from the unhelpful way Collins have chosen to list them at the front of the novels). I had some idea what to expect, and I was not disappointed. Perhaps a trifle less outrageous than the Dimitri novels I had previously read, The Mamur Zapt and Men Behind is still enjoyable and funny.
Set in Egypt in the early years of this century, the novels capitalise on the tension between the stabilising power of the British who ruled in all but name and the desire of the nationalists to free the country from foreign influence. The Mamur Zapt was the title of the official who ran the secret police in Cairo, and at this time was British though employed by the Egyptian government. In this particular novel, the tension is heightened during a period when the Khedive (ruler of Egypt) refuses to name a new first minister, paralysing the government. Both British and Egyptian officials are being followed and attacked as the crisis continues, and a grave situation becomes very serious when a bomb wrecks a cafe which is a haunt of student political societies.
As a detective puzzle, The Men Behind is easy to solve; Pearce is more interested in being entertaining and amusing than in providing serious intellectual relaxation.
Having given up waiting for the first of the Mamur Zapt novels to become available from my local library, I borrowed the third (though it's hard to tell from the unhelpful way Collins have chosen to list them at the front of the novels). I had some idea what to expect, and I was not disappointed. Perhaps a trifle less outrageous than the Dimitri novels I had previously read, The Mamur Zapt and Men Behind is still enjoyable and funny.
Set in Egypt in the early years of this century, the novels capitalise on the tension between the stabilising power of the British who ruled in all but name and the desire of the nationalists to free the country from foreign influence. The Mamur Zapt was the title of the official who ran the secret police in Cairo, and at this time was British though employed by the Egyptian government. In this particular novel, the tension is heightened during a period when the Khedive (ruler of Egypt) refuses to name a new first minister, paralysing the government. Both British and Egyptian officials are being followed and attacked as the crisis continues, and a grave situation becomes very serious when a bomb wrecks a cafe which is a haunt of student political societies.
As a detective puzzle, The Men Behind is easy to solve; Pearce is more interested in being entertaining and amusing than in providing serious intellectual relaxation.
January 28, 2018
Escalating acts of terrorism associated with the tense political situation are investigated in Egypt in 1908 by Cadwallader Owen, the Mamur Zapt, the British head of the Cairo secret police. Droll, but it’s all rather slow and excessively mannered with quite lifeless characters and the sense of place is much stronger than the sense of time; not my type of police-procedural despite the exotic setting. 1.5 stars.
December 11, 2017
Same series as the last one I read. Thankfully the changes of scene are obvious as a blank line has been left. A few sleeping mistakes have crept in. I know ... I'm never happy! If I'd paid for the book the mistakes would have seriously annoyed me. Whinge aside I thoroughly enjoyed the dry humour, descriptions of old cairo. Look forward to reading more in the series.
September 5, 2011
The Men Behind is another fine adventure with the Mamur Zapt (chief of secret police), set in pre-WWI Cairo. It takes place in Cairo and in the Egyptian countryside - each are drawn well. A story full of political and business corruption.
December 1, 2013
Set in 1909 Cairo, mysterious followings, murky deaths. A hundred years later the machinations described here are still taking place. I do hope though that Egypt finds a way into democracy, rather than the machinations of greedy power brokers.
July 18, 2017
The years pass but my love for this series remains.
October 25, 2015
OWEN - how could you? Disappointed in his 'romantic' behavior - I hope Zeinab sets him straight in the next book.
June 26, 2019
Political.
July 22, 2020
I have enjoyed this series, but this one reveals that the Mamur Zapt is from Caerphilly so has to get all five stars! The conclusions and reveals of these books are not great, they would benefit from a bit more drama in the whodunnits but the description of the place, culture and institutions is good. The characters are portrayed well - I don't know whether they develop them throughout the series, but as they go up to #17 I hope that will happen.
October 28, 2022
1900’s Cairo is an explosive vacation spot this time with Owen and the Boys, we spend a nice amount of time out in the countryside, meeting the locals, exploring the landscape, drinking, dancing, and avoiding a pretentious pomposity.
Otherwise, the weather was great, the landmarks memorable, and the food was tasty, very enjoyable, thank you Michael Pearce, much appreciated :-)
Otherwise, the weather was great, the landmarks memorable, and the food was tasty, very enjoyable, thank you Michael Pearce, much appreciated :-)
July 8, 2024
This is a series I've ignored for a while but I always enjoy it, especially for the historic atmosphere. The setting seems accurate. The characters and plots are interesting and I intend to read the next soon, before I forget the political intricacies.
Read
August 23, 2021Good book.
October 7, 2023
Fun to see the history and dry humor, some nice characters but dry and somewhat slow for me.
July 29, 2024
Very good! The evocation of time and place is so well done, and the activities of all the “political” players is quite interesting…will read more.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews