What do you think?
Rate this book
Mamur Zapt #18
The Mouth of the Crocodile
Atbara, Sudan, 1913. A dead man is fished out of the River Nile. An accident or something more sinister? A visiting Pasha from the Royal Household believes it was murder and that he himself was the intended target. He insists that the Mamur Zapt, Head of the Khedive's Secret Police, escort him on his return train journey to Cairo, for protection.
It is to be an eventful voyage. Matters take an unexpected turn when the train is stranded in the desert following a sandstorm. With the help of English schoolboy Jamie Nicholson, the Mamur Zapt pursues his investigations, convinced that at least one of his fellow passengers has a secret to hide. And what was the Pasha really doing in that remote corner of the Sudan? Could the Mamur Zapt s deepest fears be true? Could he really be about to uncover a conspiracy against the British?
It is to be an eventful voyage. Matters take an unexpected turn when the train is stranded in the desert following a sandstorm. With the help of English schoolboy Jamie Nicholson, the Mamur Zapt pursues his investigations, convinced that at least one of his fellow passengers has a secret to hide. And what was the Pasha really doing in that remote corner of the Sudan? Could the Mamur Zapt s deepest fears be true? Could he really be about to uncover a conspiracy against the British?
208 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2015
15 people are currently reading
96 people want to read
About the author
Michael Pearce
53 books54 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
March 29, 2022
Another good story about the Mamur Zapt - the secret policeman of Egypt in the 1900s.
This story is told by Jamie, a British school boy and his friend Aisha, an Egyptian teenage girl, who is a very modern thinker (a rare person for this strict time.)
Moving through the story are; Nile crocodiles, activist trade unionists, secret (lost) government papers, and an old fashioned Pasha with his mistress (?). Jamie and Aisha meet the mistress while their train is stranded in the desert during a sandstorm and decide to liberate her from the patriarchal society of old Egypt.
I liked the careful description of life in this ancient country, but mostly I enjoyed the subtle humor.
"The Mouth of the Crocodile" is one of many stories that Michael Pearce has set in Egypt.
Enjoy!
This story is told by Jamie, a British school boy and his friend Aisha, an Egyptian teenage girl, who is a very modern thinker (a rare person for this strict time.)
Moving through the story are; Nile crocodiles, activist trade unionists, secret (lost) government papers, and an old fashioned Pasha with his mistress (?). Jamie and Aisha meet the mistress while their train is stranded in the desert during a sandstorm and decide to liberate her from the patriarchal society of old Egypt.
I liked the careful description of life in this ancient country, but mostly I enjoyed the subtle humor.
"The Mouth of the Crocodile" is one of many stories that Michael Pearce has set in Egypt.
Enjoy!
May 4, 2022
3.5 Stars
June 13, 2017
More like 4.5 ONLY because there was not enough of Zeinab.
But the idea of Zeinab and Owen with a baby - oh, wow. How far we've come.
The ending makes me wonder if Pearce has a spinoff series planned with Jamie. Although he was new to the story, there is a lot of potential, and the reference to his future and the Young Croc . . . so many possibilities.
Oh, and "snaffle" - excellent word.
But the idea of Zeinab and Owen with a baby - oh, wow. How far we've come.
The ending makes me wonder if Pearce has a spinoff series planned with Jamie. Although he was new to the story, there is a lot of potential, and the reference to his future and the Young Croc . . . so many possibilities.
Oh, and "snaffle" - excellent word.
February 25, 2016
I ♥ the Mamur Zapt stories, usually there is a humorous undercurrent, but I didn't find that it this book so much.....
A young British boy is pushed but manages not to fall into the river, not so however one of the Pasha's men.
On a train through the Sudan during a haboob (sandstorm), the Pasha's briefcase is stolen. The briefcase carries "secret" plans of the Khedive, which would provide for a new rail system of a smaller gauge that would not be compatible w/ the current British Railway system.
Also on the train is the Mamur Zapt and a friend (who is w/ the railway) seeking to protect the Pasha & the briefcase.
The entwining side stories are interesting: The young girl who want to be emancipated & urges the Pasha's paramour to run away; her father who is connected to the briefcase & a political extremest group; the dead man & his family; Sudanese men w/ motives; & the Mamur Zapt's "men" one whose wife is not only the "boss" but a financial wizard and the other who dislikes all political/governmental higher ups doing his best to confound them, but doing his best against the criminals as well.
December 23, 2018
I love railroads and the politics and technology that underlie them, which makes it unfortunate that this is my least-favorite entry thus far in the series. There's just too much time spent in the head of Jamie, a naive English schoolboy with little understanding of anything he's witnessing. I often like outsider viewpoints of beloved characters, but in this case the political plot is complex enough that I really would have preferred to have been in Owen's head.
I'm also confused as to when this takes place within the internal chronology of the series; there are repeated statements that it takes place before the Great War, but Zeinab appears to already hold the job she acquired in the aftermath of the Great War in The Mark of the Pasha. I wish this series was popular enough that there was a Wiki for me to check my memory against. (Speaking of Zeinab: this book would benefit from more of her.)
I'm also confused as to when this takes place within the internal chronology of the series; there are repeated statements that it takes place before the Great War, but Zeinab appears to already hold the job she acquired in the aftermath of the Great War in The Mark of the Pasha. I wish this series was popular enough that there was a Wiki for me to check my memory against. (Speaking of Zeinab: this book would benefit from more of her.)
August 12, 2018
This is just the second book in this series that I have read. I don't know if I'm more used to the author's style or just found this book a little more comfortable to read (the previous book dealt with mistreatment and murder of children.) I was especially excited to have the protagonists stuck in the middle of the desert by a haboob, since we're in haboob season here at the moment. The Mamur Zapt is an entirely engaged character, and the addition of the young people was enjoyable as well. I hope to hear more of them - and the baby!
November 16, 2018
Interesting mystery and historical location. Largely told from the perspective of a young boy, which colors the fact collecting.
March 2, 2017
This whole series is tremendous fun; intelligent, witty, respectful and politically aware. We see Egypt during the turbulent start to the twentieth century. A Welshman, Gareth Owen, is appointed as the Mamur Zapt or head of Secret Police. The British 'advisors' who help the Khalid to run Egypt expect Owen to spy on their behalf, but he officially works for the Khalid so people have to co-operate.
This book visits the southern area of the Sudan. We hear of wars for the barren desert and rocky mountains, of the nascent workers' unions, of the difficulty in running a railway service. The heat is greater than in Cairo and crocodiles may lurk in the Nile. Owen investigates the death of a man found drowned - was there a plot and was a more important personage, the Pasha, meant to have been struck? Owen is ably assisted by Jamie, a schoolboy whose father runs the railway, and a self-possessed young lady Ayesha who has no intention of being married off early.
The centrepiece of the story is the train getting struck by a sandstorm and stuck in the middle of the desert, with the track deeply buried for half a mile in each direction. The occupants are at the mercy of heat, thirst, hunger, nefarious deeds and any camel-riding bandits who might ride along the track. This is a politically dense story and newcomers to the series may find the issues too complex, so to get a good start I recommend reading The Snake-Catcher's Daughter first.
This book visits the southern area of the Sudan. We hear of wars for the barren desert and rocky mountains, of the nascent workers' unions, of the difficulty in running a railway service. The heat is greater than in Cairo and crocodiles may lurk in the Nile. Owen investigates the death of a man found drowned - was there a plot and was a more important personage, the Pasha, meant to have been struck? Owen is ably assisted by Jamie, a schoolboy whose father runs the railway, and a self-possessed young lady Ayesha who has no intention of being married off early.
The centrepiece of the story is the train getting struck by a sandstorm and stuck in the middle of the desert, with the track deeply buried for half a mile in each direction. The occupants are at the mercy of heat, thirst, hunger, nefarious deeds and any camel-riding bandits who might ride along the track. This is a politically dense story and newcomers to the series may find the issues too complex, so to get a good start I recommend reading The Snake-Catcher's Daughter first.
March 9, 2015
In 1913 in Atbara, Sudan, a railway worker drowns in the Nile. An English lad, Jamie, cries murder but is ignored. The plot thickens when Owen, the Mamur Zapt (Secret Police Chief), arrives to escort a Pasha to Cairo. The Pasha, returning from a conference in Khartoum, is fearful for his life. He hides, even from Owen, some secret documents in his briefcase. Jamie also joins Owen and the Pasha, as well as his entourage, on the train to Cairo, but it gets bogged down following a fierce sandstorm. While the passengers swelter in the intense heat and endure dwindling supplies, awaiting the relief engine, Jamie befriends two teenage Arab girls. Owen fears an attack by the natives, one possibly motivated by an anti-British conspiracy.
This, Michael Pearce’s latest series novel, follows his usual formula: portraying everyday life vividly in 1900s colonial Egypt and Sudan; introducing a murder mystery that is resolved by the Mamur Zapt; and adding perceptive sociopolitical conflicts and the locals’ attitudes towards the British into the narrative. What makes this one somewhat different and adds another dimension is the inclusion of the storyline featuring the three teens, which exposes the struggles of local women. These aspects will keep the readers entertained and engaged.
This review first appeared in the HNR Issue 71 (February 2015)
This, Michael Pearce’s latest series novel, follows his usual formula: portraying everyday life vividly in 1900s colonial Egypt and Sudan; introducing a murder mystery that is resolved by the Mamur Zapt; and adding perceptive sociopolitical conflicts and the locals’ attitudes towards the British into the narrative. What makes this one somewhat different and adds another dimension is the inclusion of the storyline featuring the three teens, which exposes the struggles of local women. These aspects will keep the readers entertained and engaged.
This review first appeared in the HNR Issue 71 (February 2015)
October 26, 2014
Although conceived as a mystery, Michael Pearce's novel is more than that: it is an atmospheric social history of Egypt and the Sudan , showcasing their sentiments toward British control.
I've read other books in the series featuring the "Mamur Zapt," but none I enjoyed as much as this one. Two precocious youngsters---one an Egyptian girl and the other a British boy--- place themselves at the center of this politically charged story. They add the life and sparkle to the novel, while subtly introducing the reader to the social plight of women in the Arab culture of the period. The energetic, ambitious, and well-connected teenagers added spice and heart to the story.
The Mamur Zapt is a protagonist that grows on you with each exposure. He is a subtle man, with quiet methodology and he is never in a hurry. Nor is this book. The reader needs to relax and accept the nature of the man and the pace of the culture. As we do that, we feel the heat of the desert, the temper of the times, and the challenges of the people who are trying to adapt to them. It was an interesting journey.
I've read other books in the series featuring the "Mamur Zapt," but none I enjoyed as much as this one. Two precocious youngsters---one an Egyptian girl and the other a British boy--- place themselves at the center of this politically charged story. They add the life and sparkle to the novel, while subtly introducing the reader to the social plight of women in the Arab culture of the period. The energetic, ambitious, and well-connected teenagers added spice and heart to the story.
The Mamur Zapt is a protagonist that grows on you with each exposure. He is a subtle man, with quiet methodology and he is never in a hurry. Nor is this book. The reader needs to relax and accept the nature of the man and the pace of the culture. As we do that, we feel the heat of the desert, the temper of the times, and the challenges of the people who are trying to adapt to them. It was an interesting journey.
May 3, 2015
The Mamur Zapt (British head of the Khedive's secret police) is guarding a pasha sent on mysterious business to Sudan, when the train returning them to Egypt is stuck in a sandstorm. Much of the story is told from the point of view of an English boy traveling with his father who works for the Sudan railroads, and who befriends a feisty Egyptian girl, who doesn't want to accept the strictures of Arab society. This gives it a curiously young-adult vibe, very unlike the usual tone of these books.
September 25, 2025
There is a distinct autobiographical sense to this novel featuring Gareth Owen as Egypt's Khedive's Mamur Zapt - head of the political police. Set primarily in the Sudan where the author grew up, Owen accompanies a Pasha traveling to Atbara to attend a secret meeting carrying an empty briefcase he expects to return with documents. Soon after the young son of an English administrator associated with the railroad service reports he was pushed into the Nile River, a distant relative of the Pasha drowns near the same place. Accident or murder?
Owen must unravel the arcane arrangements that surround all Egyptian politics and social customs, assisted from time to time by Jamie, the Englishman's son, and Aisha, the daughter of an Egyptian administrator.
Of particular interest is the further development of Owen's chief operaterative, the Greek Georgiades, who has played a part in many of the novels.
As always, the historical period is handled well as is the physical descriptions of the setting.
Owen must unravel the arcane arrangements that surround all Egyptian politics and social customs, assisted from time to time by Jamie, the Englishman's son, and Aisha, the daughter of an Egyptian administrator.
Of particular interest is the further development of Owen's chief operaterative, the Greek Georgiades, who has played a part in many of the novels.
As always, the historical period is handled well as is the physical descriptions of the setting.
August 31, 2020
The Khedive has asked the Mamur Zapt to protect one of the Pasha on his return from a secret meeting in the Sudan. An attempted robbery and a death, which the Pasha insists was murder and intended for him, gives the Mamur Zapt much with which to contend, even before the sand storm that leaves a sabotaged train stranded. Help is at hand, however, from a high ranking railway official and his son and a lawyer from the Parquet and his daughter.
I read most of the series in sequence but have missed several that may have added to this book. The year is 1913 and, unbeknownst to most, the world is moving inexorably towards the Great War and the remaking of all alliances and rivalries.
I read most of the series in sequence but have missed several that may have added to this book. The year is 1913 and, unbeknownst to most, the world is moving inexorably towards the Great War and the remaking of all alliances and rivalries.
February 11, 2020
I like the way the story unfolds so naturally. No manufactured suspense or high tension scenes, just a gentle unrolling.
November 30, 2015
The fiction book, The Mouth of the Crocodile by Michael Pearce was an "ok" book. The book didn't have such a good format so I couldn't understand who the main character was. But the main plot was that someone was killed along the Nile river and it was a mystery that was trying to be solved. People believed that the guy was pushed and others believed that it was just an innocent accident. By the title of the story you can probably infer what the real reason was. I didn't like the book much because it was hard to understand and even though it was a mystery, I was not interested in what happened to guy who was so called killed. You may have to reread the pages a lot just to understand what's going on. If I could change this book, I probably would build up the story more so the reader wont be lost. I'd also not have the book in first person. Personally, I would not recommend this story to anyone, although a person who may like it is someone who is into mystery books.
January 29, 2015
I fear that I came into this series too late to really enjoy this novella. Because the characters and time period have probably been established in previous books, I was never quite sure when the book was set or how the relationships worked. I could see that there's an enjoyable dry humor about the books. There also seemed to be a bit of imperialist atttitude coming through, and I don't know if that is a quirk of this particular book that was offset by earlier novels, or if it's a characteristic of the series. I'll leave the series alone after this.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
May 8, 2015
I have read most, if not all, of the Mamur Zapt mystery series, which take place in Egypt and surrounding countries in the late 1880's/early 1900's. I enjoy them, and they are written in a way that reflects the end of the Victorian and Edwardian styles. This one takes place in 1913, just prior to WWI. It certainly gives both the perspective of the British, who had been the latest colonizers after the French, and somewhat also of the Egyptians who were looking for their own self-rule, as well as hints of other European countries who might be trying to lessen the British hold on the country.
January 31, 2016
Young Jamie watches as a dead man is pulled out of the Nile. The visiting Pasha thinks he was the intended for murder. James' father, a railroad executive, goes on the train with the Pasha and the Mamur Zapt and Jamie join them. The train is stopped in a sand storm; the railroad people find the engine was sabotaged; the Pasha's briefcase is stolen; and Jamie meets Aisha. They all end up spending time in Cairo after they are rescued from the sandstorm. Aisha and the Pasha's woman go back to Atbara with Jamie and his father.
February 15, 2015
A strange book. Hard to tell if wasn't really a young adult book (actually, maybe young teen book), but there is nothing in the book itself to suggest that.
The mystery revolves around the Nile valley railway running from Cairo to Khartoum. High politics, revolution, greed (of course) and power struggles all come together in this rather quaint, Kiplinesque tale. Interesting enough to keep me reading, but just 2.5 stars from me... now I'll look to see what other people thought!
The mystery revolves around the Nile valley railway running from Cairo to Khartoum. High politics, revolution, greed (of course) and power struggles all come together in this rather quaint, Kiplinesque tale. Interesting enough to keep me reading, but just 2.5 stars from me... now I'll look to see what other people thought!
June 20, 2015
This is my first Mamur Zapt mystery but the eighteenth in the series and hopefully not my last to read. I really enjoyed this look into the politics and unrest of Egypt and the Sudan set in the early 1900s. Pearce clearly knows the area and how people talk, and I really liked the way he mixed both young and old storylines, having them intersect at times. Nice read!
December 9, 2015
Not so mysterious but funny
An enjoyable read but not as good as usual. The mystery is just a backdrop for the antics of a precocious Egyptian girl and the son of a minor British official in Sudan who falls foul of Sudanese nationalists. Today, with ISIS in the headlines these nationalists seem rather logical and friendly and far from fanatic. Oh, for the good old days.
An enjoyable read but not as good as usual. The mystery is just a backdrop for the antics of a precocious Egyptian girl and the son of a minor British official in Sudan who falls foul of Sudanese nationalists. Today, with ISIS in the headlines these nationalists seem rather logical and friendly and far from fanatic. Oh, for the good old days.
April 8, 2015
This is one of my favorite historical mystery series. Tremendously and intelligently funny, with great glimpses into the complexity of Egyptian politics and society. Another great entry in the Mamur Zapt line.
May 16, 2015
The premise was interesting but, the story moved very slowly; at one point the characters were stuck in the desert and I felt as though I were too.
I'm going to read the first in this series and see if the author was just getting tired by this, the 18th book.
I'm going to read the first in this series and see if the author was just getting tired by this, the 18th book.
July 21, 2015
The characters in this book were endearing (even the bad guys). The dialogue was extremely well written so that you could pick up on the different characters' cadences without it feeling contrived. I'm not sure where this falls in the series, but I'm hoping the library has the rest of the set.
August 13, 2015
I read the first two of 17 mysteries starring the Mamur Zapt, (police inspector) a British citizen, in 1917 Egypt and Sudan and enjoyed them. This story ended rather abruptly but the picture of Egypt before WW2 was fascinating to me.
July 12, 2015
This was a good book. It is interesting and the characters are fun.
June 5, 2015
Interesting series, full flavor of early twentieth century Egypt with interesting characters and mysteries. Free e-book from the library
June 21, 2015
Very enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed the British dry humor and dialog.
June 7, 2019
Monochromatic.
March 26, 2015
Now i want to read the previous books in the series!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews