The Mummy's Curse

The Butterfly Club #2

by M.A. Bennett

The adventures of the time-travelling Butterfly Club continue...

Luna, Konstantin and Aidan travel to Egypt's Valley of the Kings in 1922 where an Egyptologist called Harold Carter is about to discover Tutankhamun's mummy. The time thieves have twenty-four hours to find out where Carter plans to dig and get to Tutankhamun first. But they find themselves grappling with the uncertainty of a world poised between two world wars and all the while a curse that they created seems to be taking on a life of its own...

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Historical

342 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 13, 2022

About the author

M. A. Bennett is half Venetian and was born in Manchester, England, and raised in the Yorkshire Dales. She is a history graduate of Oxford University and the University of Venice, where she specialized in the study of Shakespeare’s plays as a historical source. After university she studied art and has since worked as an illustrator, an actress, and a film reviewer. She also designed tour visuals for rock bands, including U2 and the Rolling Stones. She was married on the Grand Canal in Venice and lives in north London with her husband, son, and daughter.

Reviews

[M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing I loved most about the first book was how each character had their own journey and their respective discoveries fit together like pieces of a puzzle. With every time jump they made, the puzzle pieces got altered and put into a new light.
This one was less of a clever puzzle and focused more on the supernatural, which is why I didn’t love the plot as much.

However, this one had way more depth to it when it came to the historical part. The author clearly researched the details of tomb KV62 and it showed.
Not only the tomb itself, but the era surrounding it felt very realistic. From the English views on Germans, the new Egyptian independence and the race to find Tutankhamun first.

I especially loved the way this book handles the ethics of the English archeological activities in Egypt. Every single aspect is beautifully layered, and the characters involved come in shades of grey.
Carnavon doesn’t trust Konstantin because he is Prussian, his daughter doesn’t mind. Both father and daughter do not bother to learn Abdel’s name because he is a servant, but still reward him when helps them find something important.
When a working mule dies, only working class Aiden understand that grieving is not possible because work has to continue in order to earn money.
There is a ‘good’ and a ‘bad’ but none of the characters are wholly good or bad.

[Judy Broad · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mummy’s Curse is the follow-up to The Ship of Doom, which saw the time-travelling trio Luna, Konstantin and Aidan board the RMS Titanic. They are “time thieves” living in Victorian England and are members of The Butterfly Club, a secret organisation which meets weekly in a hidden chamber at the Greenwich Royal Observatory. There, they use a time train invented by H G Wells to travel forward in time and collect artefacts which will speed up the progress of human invention.

In The Mummy’s Curse, the three are sent from 1894 to Egypt’s Valley of the Kings in November 1922, in the company of medical doctor turned detective novelist, Arthur Conan Doyle. Their mission is to ensure that of the teams of archaeologists seeking the tomb of Tutankhamen, the British contingent led by Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter is successful, and to ensure that whatever is discovered is claimed for The British Museum. However, they only have twenty-four hours to accomplish this seemingly impossible task.

Konstantin is Prussian and arrives in 1922 with no knowledge of the role of many of his countrymen in WWI and no idea why he is being treated poorly by Lord Carnarvon but uses this experience to build a friendship with the Egyptian tea boy, Abdel, who plays a heroic role in arguably the greatest archaeological discovery of all time - Tutankhamun’s mummy. I had not realised that Abdul was an actual person involved in the amazing find. However, the young time-travelling thieves are forced to confront serious questions about ownership and treatment of artifacts, and the uncertainties and prejudices of a world poised between two world wars. Not to mention awakening a deadly and ancient curse.

This is another exciting time-travel adventure in a terrific series for Middle Grade readers.

[Kara (bookishskippy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Longest review ever written for a middle grade novel 😂✨💕
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4.5 ⭐️
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This story follows the Butterfly Club's which follows from book 1. As Luna explains the operations to others, her aunt comes in with a surprise mission for the club. Conan Doyle invites Petrie to join the club to time travel and ensure that the mysteries of the tomb would be revealed to those responsible for bringing the priceless artifacts back to London.

Conan Doyle and the kids arrive at the Valley of the Kings and quickly become friends with Egyptologist Howard Carter and his employer Lord Carnarvon. They tried to search for the plans and historical treasures. However, it soon becomes clear that Carter and Carnarvon are not the only ones curious about the whereabouts of the fabled pharaoh's riches as Luna and the others work to successfully execute their task. Furthermore, once the tomb is discovered, it becomes obvious that it would have been wiser to accept Tutankhamun's advice to undesirable guests to stay away 😱🤯

Although the time travel element of the story this book really appeal’s readers of other genres, especially those who enjoy historical and mystery novels. It's amazing how much research must have gone into this to make it so credible and historically accurate. I am genuinely looking forward for Book 3—The Mona Lisa Mystery—is out in April 2023.

Thank you for the copy @definitelybookskids , highly recommend you to pick this up in the bookstores or library 📚

[Sifa Poulton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second entry in the Butterfly Club series, THE MUMMY'S CURSE sees the time travelling trio head forward in time to the excavation of Tutankhamun's tomb in an attempt to find its location so it can be excavated in their time period in order for the time travelling club to benefit financially.

The book uses this to explore the exploitation of archaeology by Western European countries and the colonial laws used to enforce it. By setting out on the quest for money and then reinforcing it with the attitudes of the parties at the dig, the book is a really nice way of starting that discussion with children.

I feel like lots of kids go through an Egyptology phase at some point (I definitely did!) so it was just fun to return to that, but see it based around the archaeology side, the wonder of discovery mixed with puzzles and heisting that are movie staples. It's a really great blend and makes for an exciting read. Plus the way real events have been incorporated into the curse was very neat.

There are also more hints about some sort of reckoning/attack on the club to come, as the cryptic message from the previous book is explained a bit. Given how close the Victorian parts of the two books have been, and how close the mysterious date is, it looks like it might come to a head in a book soon. The next entry involves the Mona Lisa and is out in the spring!

[Victoria Simmons · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I've not read the first one, set on the Titanic, but that didn't make too much of an impact on my enjoyment of this one. On of the things I found interesting in this book is the historically accurate sounding ideas around the British Empire and how it influenced people's opinions on what the British were entitled to do. I recently read another book on Netgalley which focused on Tutankhamun's tomb and that is where I found out about the role of Hussein Abdel-Rassoul in the discovery of the tomb so I loved that this book makes him into such a pivotal character. I know the children in my school would really enjoy the mystery and excitement of this story and I will definitely be looking to add it to our Ancient Egypt book collection.

[Diego Gutierrez · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0
Second book in the series, and my review is quite similar: entertaining book, not bad at all but also not the best. The story requires you to suspend disbelief a time or two, but you sort of expect that when you start reading. This adventure is a bit more linear and less exciting than Ship of Doom, and I think part of the problem is that the mummy's curse follows the ten plagues as described in the Bible, so you pretty much know what's going to happen. Also, they're quite inconsequential, except the last one . On the plus side, plenty of true facts smartly intertwined in the story. And yes, I will continue reading the series.

[LaBibliodeCaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The concept of this book was intriguing: the time-traveling component with the Egyptian curse, mixed with the action-packed plot, historical references and exotic setting. Overall, I really enjoyed this read. It is the second book in the series, but you can easily read it as a standalone. There are several nods to book 1 about the Titanic that will make you want to read it too. Despite a few lagging parts, it's a satisfying novel for both young readers and adults.

[Annarella · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly entertaining and gripping novel, one of those I enjoy now and would have loved when I was a child.
It's fast paced, action packed, the characters are interesting and there a lot about Ancient Egypt.
A well written and compelling story.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Karen Hammond · Rating 5 out of 5]

The children said that they thought this book was even better than the first, and they loved that. Just the right amount of adventure and excitement.

[Vonprice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Splendid MG time travel mystery! You can read my full review here: http://vsviewfromthebookshelves.home....

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 / 5

[Amy Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars… quite enjoyed it and especially the Egyptian theme running throughout, with quite a lot of knowledge to pick up along the way.

[LudmilaM · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars.

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t know why the second book is a series is a bit of a let down, but this one did not live up to the same level as book one…