First published 2022
Agent Fatma el-Sha'arawi works for Cairo's Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities in 1912. She may be the youngest woman on the force, but she already saved the universe last summer. Now someone has murdered an entire secret brotherhood devoted to al-Jahiz, the man who opened the barrier between magical and ordinary worlds four decades earlier before he disappeared. The killer claims he is al-Jahiz himself, returned to punish society for its injustices. His powerful magic sparks riots across Cairo that could spread worldwide. Fatma teams up with her Ministry partners and someone from her personal history to solve the case. She must discover whether this figure is a fraud trying to destroy the peace or actually the legendary al-Jahiz returned from wherever he vanished.
Genres: adventure, fantasy, action, alternate-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, mystery
Setting: Cairo, Egypt
Period: 1912
448 pages · Paperback · Tor Books