A Fly Has a Hundred Eyes

Lily Sampson #1

by Aileen G. Baron

It is the summer of 1938 and Jerusalem is in chaos. The atmosphere teems with intrigue as terrorists roam the countryside and the British are losing control of Palestine, even as Europe nervously teeters on the brink of World War II.
Against this backdrop of international tensions, Lily Sampson, an American graduate student, is involved in a dig—an important excavation directed by the eminent British archaeologist, Geoffrey Eastbourne.

As he makes his way to the opening of the Rockefeller Museum, an important member of the dig is murdered. Precious artifacts from the dig are missing, one of which is a beautiful blue glass amphoriskos (a vial about three and a half inches long) which Lily herself had excavated. Upset by this loss, she searches for the vial—enlisting the help of the military attaché of the American consulate.

But when she contacts the British police, they seem evasive and offputting—unable or unwilling either to find the murderer or to look into the theft of the amphoriskos. Lily realizes that she will get no help from them and sets out on her own to find the vial. When she finds the victim’s journal in her tent, she assumes he had left it for her because he feared for his life.

Lily’s adventurous search for information about the murder and the theft of the amphoriskos lead into a labyrinth of extreme danger and intrigue.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Mystery, Fiction, Historical

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Aileen Garsson Baron is retired from a distinguished career as professor of archaeology, where her research took her to many parts of the world, and numerous seasons of fieldwork in the Middle East. She taught for twenty years in the Departmant of Anthropology at California State University, Fullerton. Her many years of archaeological fieldwork in the Middle East include a year at the American School of Oriental Research in Jerusalem as an NEH scholar, and director of the overseas campus of the California State Universities at the Hebrew University.

She began writng mysteries after her retirement from CSUF. Her first two mysteries, A Fly Has a Hundred Eyes, and The Torch of Tangier, feature an American archaeologist, Lily Sampson, working in the Middle East in the 1930's and 40's. Her latest Mystery, The Gold of Thrace, a stand-alone, is a tale of danger and deceit in the antiquities trade.

Reviews

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just ok. I always like a mystery and if it is about Israel it should be even more interesting. This book was Aileen Baron's first book, and she was 76 years old when she wrote it after retiring from another very successful career. Unfortunately she also did not live to write too many more mysteries, so she did not have a good chance to improve her writing style.

The book was a bit hard to follow and not written with enough suspense to keep you reading wondering what will happen and who the killer could be.

[Perlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mandatory Palestine has a fascination for me, the time and place, the intersection of British culture in the context of a society so vastly different has always beguiled me. Add in some archeology and a mystery, and I'm in! I loved the historical notes that gave this authenticity, and the archeology credentials of the author are top notch. I would have loved a map of all the locations.mwntioned, along with a list of what the street names are today.

[Nina Cast · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disjointed and poorly written. If this is indeed a series, then I won't be reading any of the later books.

[Eileen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I quit after 3-4 chapters. I was bored, & life's short.

[Lelia Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

In today’s uneasy world, we’ve become so edgy about the threat of terrorism that we sometimes forget this is not a new thing. Terrorism has been going on as long as humans have been around and no place in the world is as subject to it as the Middle East. Prior to World War II, the trouble between Arabs, Jews and the British grew exponentially, even before the Partition, and the encroaching war helped feed the beast.

It is this environment that is the climate for A Fly Has a Hundred Eyes in which we meet Lily Sampson, a young American archaeologist working on a dig in 1938 Jerusalem. It’s not easy for a woman to work in this profession but Lily has found a place with Geoffrey Eastbourne, the well-known and not always liked head of the excavation. His murder, although shocking, doesn’t seem to attract much attention from the British police but others begin to show much interest in Lily. Some of this interest seems to be concern for her well-being but there are also hints of dark forces, of pressure to spy for the government—or is it for some other element?

Lily is in possession of documents that seem to imply that Eastbourne was involved in much more than an archaeological dig and the behavior and sly warnings of some of the locals, Avi and Jamal in particular, lead her to seek answers on her own. She wants to know what happened to her mentor but a missing artifact also means a great deal to her. Her efforts to get to the bottom of things may endanger her far more than she expects, especially with the threat of Nazi involvement, but she is also in danger from the ever-increasing bombings and other terrorist acts stemming from the strife among the local populace.

If you think this may be sounding a little familiar, it’s possible you’ve read it before as this is a re-issue of a 2002 novel. Ms. Baron’s story is just as relevant today as it was then and her prose is set apart by her flowing descriptions of the land and its people as well as the time. We would do well to pay attention to what was happening in Jerusalem in 1938 because it surely has bearing on today’s events.

A Fly has a Hundred Eyes won first place in the historical mystery novel category at both the Pikes Peak and Southwest Writers Conferences in 2000 before it was published and those awards were well-deserved. I think I’ll go track down the next Lily Sampson mystery.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, February 2014.

[Rekha Seshadri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aileen Baron is an archaeologist with field experience in Middle East and it's no surprise that she chooses that branch of scientific study to create a historical mystery novel based in British ruled Palestine. Set in 1938 Jerusalem and the countryside, the book delves into the politics of the place, the looming world war, the schism between Arabs and Jewish settlers, Nazi spies and home grown terrorists.

Lily Sampson is an American archaeologist, who divides her time between the excavation spots and Jerusalem. The first chapter begins quietly but ends with her witnessing the sponsored riots that claim lives of acquaintances. She barely recovers from the painful memories of that fateful day when the director of the dig, celebrated British archaeologist Geoffrey Eastbourne, is murdered in cold blood. What puzzles her more are the loss of an ancient glass vial, the sudden appearance of Eastbourne's strange journal and the reluctance of the British police to bring the culprits to book.

As she sets out to solve the mystery of the missing blue glass amphoriskos and finding the suspected killer Abu Musa, she meets a variety of local and foreign characters including an American doctor involved in arms smuggling, a Nazi spy, Samaritans and British officers. Older acquaintances including Jamal, an Arab doctor who works as a cook at the dig and Avi from kibbutz near the excavation site flit in and out of her life as she grapples with the changed realities and mounting dangers.

The book captures well the political turmoil and weakening British control over the Palestinian mandate. It underscores Lily's naivety as she becomes a pawn of war games, deceit and betrayal. The descriptions and detailing add to the plot. While Lily's instant love affair and abrupt behaviour patterns are a bit jarring, they don't deter from the smooth flow of the narrative and the story line.

[Patricia Gulley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for the time period, the prewar information on an area not discussed much and the archeology. The mystery seemed the secondary plot as it just all came together in the end with convenient reasons showing up, but still very interesting.
What I didn't like was all the walks or drives to places taken with pages of descriptions of everything they were seeing along the way that didn't have anything to do with the story. Just me, not one for any kind of length descriptions of flora and fauna, or even as a retired travel agent...sites.

[Lau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting premise and unusual setting. Fast paced, but sometimes confusing and not terribly well written.

One scene is definitely not for cat lovers - horrific and unnecessary. Animal cruelty is a cheap way to show that the villain is a villain.

Read on Kindle - many typos. Will probably read the next one since I have already purchased it.

Will otherwise stick with Elizabeth Peters for middle eastern archaeology / mystery novels.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting mystery, set in a very exotic place. Unfortunately, I was not able to relate to many of the characters and did not get swept up in the action. I don't know why this sometimes happens, but I had heard a lot of good things about this mystery, and enjoyed the author at mystery conventions. I am glad I finally got a copy and read it.

[Sandra Hernandez · Rating 2 out of 5]

at first I was bored with this book, but the more I read the more en ticing it got. gotta say not my favorite book and may not read any more but I do say not as bad as expected but overall not my type I'd book

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

The awkward writing leaves all characters' motivation and believability in serious doubt.

[Cynthia]

enjoyable read but their was some jumpiness and a few wholes ... came to conclusions without any basis (supposed)

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok but stilted prose. Couldn't follow many issues and disappointed in "word picture" of Israel.

[Mary Nuttelman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fascinating look at Palestine in the 1930s. There is a lot of background information included, sometimes at the expense of the mystery. It can be a bit confusing at times. It seemed as if there were three main stories going on at the same time; Palestinian troubles past and present, a looming WWII, and the archaeological mystery that involves Lily Sampson, the main character of the story. I enjoyed it enough to want to read the next in the series, The Torch of Tangier--love the titles.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Lily Sampson investigates murder and theft in 1938 Jerusalem. Danger and intrigue abound.