Title:

Disappearance of a Scribe

Author:

Dana Stabenow

Category:

Mystery / Thriller

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

March 7, 2026

he Eye of Isis mystery series appeals to me because it is set in ancient Egypt. Cleopatra is queen, though Egypt itself is a colony of the Roman Empire. Disappearance of a Scribe is the second book in the series. It features young, beautiful Tetisheri, niece of Nebenteru, who is a wealthy, successful trader. Tetisheri was a childhood friend of Cleopatra, and so she is trusted by the queen. Tetisheri carries a jeweled amulet called The Eye of Isis, which means that she acts with the full authority of the queen. Any command that Tetisheri gives must be obeyed as if it came from Cleopatra herself. It is supposed to be a secret that Tetisheri works as the queen's Eye, but quite a few characters in this book know her identity.

Right from the start, the reader knows what happened to the missing scribe of the book title. The scribe, Grafeas by name, was knocked on the head, carried out into a boat and fitted with "cement sandals". When the cement set, Grafeas was hoisted over the side and disappeared into the depths. What did Grafeas do to deserve such a cruel fate?

Spearfisherman discover a skeleton standing upright in the waters off of Alexandria. Most disturbing is the cement encased around the victim's feet. Clearly this was no accident. Aristander is the chief of the Egyptian shura (police force). This isn't the first corpse discovered with cement "Rhakotis" sandals. Aristander summons Tetisheri to the scene (yes, he too knows that she is the designated Eye of Isis).

What is curious about the crime is that the cement that encases Grafeas' feet is pozzolan. Pozzolan is highly valuable cement - there are only two sites in the Roman empire (neither of them in Egypt) that produce pozzolan. This cement is prized because it does not disintegrate in sea water; it is impervious to salt. There are only a limited number of builders with access to pozzolan. It must be imported at great expense and used on the queen's constructions. Evidently someone is siphoning away pozzolan for their own purposes.

There are a host of characters in this book. Apollodorous is the handsome, hunky soldier that is Tetisheri's love interest. Otho and Khadiga are master builders, charged with rebuilding Alexandria (there was a recent civil war; now that Cleopatra is in complete control, there is a lot of reconstruction and new building projects going on). There are librarians, scribes, street urchins, chariot drivers, guards and the people of Nebenteru's household. There is a three page list of characters at the beginning of the book.

The famed library of Alexandrian has not burned at this point in history, so the reader sees it through Tetisheri's eyes. Stabenow clearly did a lot of research into the Egyptian lifestyle. The streets, buildings, dress styles and food stuffs of Egypt are all described. Tetisheri certainly eats well - the meals sound tasty enough.

The mystery is not that mysterious. Tetisheri does some sleuthing, overhears a revealing conversation, and has some allies that help out. I think Stabenow included many of these characters to make them available in future volumes in the series. As of now, there are two more books published. I think Theft of an Idol is available in my library.