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The Masked Man of Cairo #5
The Case of the Asphyxiated Alexandrian: The Masked Man of Cairo Book 5
A mysterious murder. A lost pharaoh.Sir Augustus Wall came to Egypt to escape his old life, but when a comrade from the trenches is found murdered in a Cairo hotel, Augustus realizes his past has finally caught up.Now he must discover the reason for the baffling murder, leading him and his friends Moustafa and Faisal on a dangerous hunt for the most sought-after treasure in Egypt.The long-awaited fifth book in the Masked Man of Cairo series sees the trio on their greatest adventure yet!
327 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 10, 2021
About the author
Sean McLachlan
91 books109 followersSean McLachlan is a former archaeologist who worked for many years on excavations in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Now a full-time writer, he specializes in fiction, history, and adventure travel. In 2013 he won the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award for his Iraq reportage.
Half of Sean's time is spent on the road researching and writing. He's traveled to more than 30 countries, interviewing nomads in Somaliland, climbing to clifftop monasteries in Ethiopia, studying Crusader castles in Syria, and exploring caves in his favorite state of Missouri.
Sean works in a number of genres, especially historical mystery and science fiction.
Sean is always happy to hear from his readers, so drop him a line via his blog!
Half of Sean's time is spent on the road researching and writing. He's traveled to more than 30 countries, interviewing nomads in Somaliland, climbing to clifftop monasteries in Ethiopia, studying Crusader castles in Syria, and exploring caves in his favorite state of Missouri.
Sean works in a number of genres, especially historical mystery and science fiction.
Sean is always happy to hear from his readers, so drop him a line via his blog!
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 24, 2021
I have a bit of a weakness for this series. The setting and genre are both favorites of mine, and the author is very effective at conjuring an atmosphere of exploration, discovery, intrigue and adventure.
The good: continued character development, new locales, steady pacing, Faisal (who, as always, steal the show).
The bad: archaeology took a backseat to the murder mystery in this one. I would’ve also enjoyed seeing the women play a more central role in the climax.
The ugly: the colonialism and racism shown by certain characters, though it likely is quite historically accurate. Also didn’t like seeing the “good guys” being so brutal—a couple of deaths bordered between self-defense and murder in cold blood.
All that being said, the main character is sort of an antihero anyway, as is his sidekick. This volume only served to drive that home even further.
Excellent escapist fiction though, and I am very much looking forward to the next volume. Can’t wait to see what new locations we will visit in the next adventure.
The good: continued character development, new locales, steady pacing, Faisal (who, as always, steal the show).
The bad: archaeology took a backseat to the murder mystery in this one. I would’ve also enjoyed seeing the women play a more central role in the climax.
The ugly: the colonialism and racism shown by certain characters, though it likely is quite historically accurate. Also didn’t like seeing the “good guys” being so brutal—a couple of deaths bordered between self-defense and murder in cold blood.
All that being said, the main character is sort of an antihero anyway, as is his sidekick. This volume only served to drive that home even further.
Excellent escapist fiction though, and I am very much looking forward to the next volume. Can’t wait to see what new locations we will visit in the next adventure.
April 4, 2025
-Sir Augustus Wall, the main character of this series, is called upon by Sir Thomas Russel to assist in the investigation of a murder in a hotel. A guest at the hotel had told the bellboy that he was preparing a letter to be delivered locally, which would be ready in a half an hour, but when the bellboy returned to the man’s room, the man was dead.
-Sir Augustus and Sir Thomas saw that the man had been suffocated and there must have two men who killed him. One very strong man must have held him down while the other put a pillow over his face. Augustus noticed something off about the man’s beard and saw that it was just a disguise, but when he removed it, he instantly recognized him as one of his friends from the war, Lieutenant Gregory Marshall, from the Buckingham Light Infantry. The message that was to be sent, Augustus realized, was Gregory reaching out to Augustus.
-This started an investigation which brought in Tim Crawford, a man who Augustus considered to be his best friend. Tim and Gregory had come across certain marble slabs that were written in Greek and which came from Egypt. The slabs referred to them being a marker for the burial place of Alexander the Great, who was believed to have been buried in Egypt in a glass sarcophagus. There was supposed to be a great amount of treasure buried with Alexander as well. Gregory went to the antique dealer who had originally sold the marble pieces to obtain more, but made the mistake of telling the dealer what those marble pieces said. The dealer then withheld any other pieces. The knowledge that the burial place of Alexander may be in the outskirts of Alexandria was passed on by the dealer to others. It was those others who must have killed Gregory, as Gregory had been able to obtain rough information on where to look for this treasure.
-Augustus was told by Sir Thomas to stay out of the investigation, but because the murder victim was his friend, Augustus felt he had to involve himself as he also knew that he would be far more effective than the authorities in finding out who the killers were. His former employee, Moustafa, was enlisted and Augustus was joined by his friend, Tim.
-Faisal plays a large part in this story. He’s growing up and no longer displays the appearance of a street child, since Augustus has cleaned him up. He recovered from the bullet wound that he sustained in the previous episode that almost killed him, but Augustus insists he stay and watch his shop in Cairo, while Augustus goes to Alexandria, in order to keep Faisal away from danger. You know that won’t sit well with Faisal, as he feels he must protect Augustus and help with the investigation, which, Faisal believes, will only be successful with Faisal involved.
-Moustafa, who is now running his own book shop and is starting to have special events with speakers of note, gets involved, as his shop is being stalked. His interest in the possibility of finding Alexander’s tomb, along with his loyalty to Augustus, who he knows, needs his assistance, compels Moustafa to join the group.
-This is an adventure that almost proves lethal to each of the members of this group, as they try to locate the tomb of Alexander, and, more importantly for Augustus, they investigate to locate the killer of Augustus’ close friend.
-Sir Augustus and Sir Thomas saw that the man had been suffocated and there must have two men who killed him. One very strong man must have held him down while the other put a pillow over his face. Augustus noticed something off about the man’s beard and saw that it was just a disguise, but when he removed it, he instantly recognized him as one of his friends from the war, Lieutenant Gregory Marshall, from the Buckingham Light Infantry. The message that was to be sent, Augustus realized, was Gregory reaching out to Augustus.
-This started an investigation which brought in Tim Crawford, a man who Augustus considered to be his best friend. Tim and Gregory had come across certain marble slabs that were written in Greek and which came from Egypt. The slabs referred to them being a marker for the burial place of Alexander the Great, who was believed to have been buried in Egypt in a glass sarcophagus. There was supposed to be a great amount of treasure buried with Alexander as well. Gregory went to the antique dealer who had originally sold the marble pieces to obtain more, but made the mistake of telling the dealer what those marble pieces said. The dealer then withheld any other pieces. The knowledge that the burial place of Alexander may be in the outskirts of Alexandria was passed on by the dealer to others. It was those others who must have killed Gregory, as Gregory had been able to obtain rough information on where to look for this treasure.
-Augustus was told by Sir Thomas to stay out of the investigation, but because the murder victim was his friend, Augustus felt he had to involve himself as he also knew that he would be far more effective than the authorities in finding out who the killers were. His former employee, Moustafa, was enlisted and Augustus was joined by his friend, Tim.
-Faisal plays a large part in this story. He’s growing up and no longer displays the appearance of a street child, since Augustus has cleaned him up. He recovered from the bullet wound that he sustained in the previous episode that almost killed him, but Augustus insists he stay and watch his shop in Cairo, while Augustus goes to Alexandria, in order to keep Faisal away from danger. You know that won’t sit well with Faisal, as he feels he must protect Augustus and help with the investigation, which, Faisal believes, will only be successful with Faisal involved.
-Moustafa, who is now running his own book shop and is starting to have special events with speakers of note, gets involved, as his shop is being stalked. His interest in the possibility of finding Alexander’s tomb, along with his loyalty to Augustus, who he knows, needs his assistance, compels Moustafa to join the group.
-This is an adventure that almost proves lethal to each of the members of this group, as they try to locate the tomb of Alexander, and, more importantly for Augustus, they investigate to locate the killer of Augustus’ close friend.
April 4, 2025
I've just finished the fifth book in the Masked Man of Cairo series, having read the previous four in order. I've thoroughly enjoyed every one of them.
No, they are not serious literature. They are light-hearted escape stories that border on the action/adventure genre. As such, they're great fun. The stories are interesting, and the characters fascinating--if a little over-the-top. It's a good look back in time to the post WWI UK Protectorate of of Egypt.
Our protagonist, the "masked man," had been an British infantry officer severely injured during action in the trench warfare in France. His face had been so badly injured that he now wears a mask covering one-half of his face. Rejected by his fiancé and polite British society due to his disfiguration, "Sir Augustus" has fled to Egypt to lead a new life under an assumed name.
Living in Cairo, Sir Augustus has created his new life around his Egyptian antiquities business. He speaks fluent Arabic, and reads hieroglyphs, which has helped him to prosper. However, this is all background to the real stories, which come as Sir Augustus, his Nubian helper, and a young scamp of a street boy are involved in solving one crime--usually murder--after another.
I have no knowledge of how accurate the depiction of 1920 Cairo and Egypt are, but they're entertaining. The author summarizes some of the actual history at the conclusion of each story, which I really like. The novels themselves are well written, allowing the reader to pass easily through each story.
The bottom line for me is that I've enjoyed reading them all. The Case of the Asphyxiated Alexandrian is no exception. I recommend it highly as great escape reading.
No, they are not serious literature. They are light-hearted escape stories that border on the action/adventure genre. As such, they're great fun. The stories are interesting, and the characters fascinating--if a little over-the-top. It's a good look back in time to the post WWI UK Protectorate of of Egypt.
Our protagonist, the "masked man," had been an British infantry officer severely injured during action in the trench warfare in France. His face had been so badly injured that he now wears a mask covering one-half of his face. Rejected by his fiancé and polite British society due to his disfiguration, "Sir Augustus" has fled to Egypt to lead a new life under an assumed name.
Living in Cairo, Sir Augustus has created his new life around his Egyptian antiquities business. He speaks fluent Arabic, and reads hieroglyphs, which has helped him to prosper. However, this is all background to the real stories, which come as Sir Augustus, his Nubian helper, and a young scamp of a street boy are involved in solving one crime--usually murder--after another.
I have no knowledge of how accurate the depiction of 1920 Cairo and Egypt are, but they're entertaining. The author summarizes some of the actual history at the conclusion of each story, which I really like. The novels themselves are well written, allowing the reader to pass easily through each story.
The bottom line for me is that I've enjoyed reading them all. The Case of the Asphyxiated Alexandrian is no exception. I recommend it highly as great escape reading.
April 13, 2023
A better focus on the reasons
I liked that we got so much of Faisal learning about his country and making ethical decisions. The violence didn’t even seem as prominent. I liked the resolution of Alexander’s tomb, but it wasn’t very believable. And I feel bad for Cordelia. I hope she doesn’t disappear from the series.
I liked that we got so much of Faisal learning about his country and making ethical decisions. The violence didn’t even seem as prominent. I liked the resolution of Alexander’s tomb, but it wasn’t very believable. And I feel bad for Cordelia. I hope she doesn’t disappear from the series.
October 1, 2022
This has been an enjoyable series, with well-defined characters, fun plots, great settings, and action. But by this fifth one, many of the story lines had stalled or were just moving forward so slowly that the narrative around them was getting repetitive. The author was smart to wrap it up.
October 30, 2022
Love these books
Please Sean write some more adventures. I love the characters how they reveal their strengths an dreams. I love the history angle. These are good reading for both adults an children. High adventure!
Please Sean write some more adventures. I love the characters how they reveal their strengths an dreams. I love the history angle. These are good reading for both adults an children. High adventure!
June 30, 2022
Good book, but the personality quirks got a little repetitive. Like, we get it, Faisal is afraid of abandonment. We don't need reminders on every page.
Still, very good book.
Still, very good book.
January 8, 2025
Have read and enjoyed all 5 in the series so far. Deep, complicated characters and interesting storylines. Plenty of insights into the history of the time and why culture and change is complicated.
September 25, 2021
There's always a book, even in an especially enjoyable series that disappoints. While there were riveting moments, fascinating historical and archeological details and great scenes with the WWI English vet, the Nubian expert of ancient languages and the lovable orphaned street boy, volume 5 fell a bit short if the mark.
Still, The cliff hanging love interest will bring me back to read volume 6.
Still, The cliff hanging love interest will bring me back to read volume 6.
October 10, 2025
Wall's past is catching up on him when two war comrades arrive in Egypt. They, are in opposition to Australian ex-soldiers, who believe they have found the tomb of Alexander the Great.
An entertaining historical mystery
An entertaining historical mystery
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews