First published 2021
Hal Stevens lives as an outcast in small-town Colorado. The sixteen-year-old budding historian has just two friends: Roberto the Biker Witch and Cleo Mallawi, who insists she's Queen Cleopatra reborn. Cleo believes an ancient Egyptian demon named Ammut stalks her through time. When Hal and Roberto discover Cleo's body in the nearby forest, they realize her fears may have been real. Her final message sends them to Egypt with archaeologist Dr. James Moriarity. There they begin searching for the lost burial sites of Marc Antony and Cleopatra herself. The killers who murdered Cleo follow their every step. Some of these pursuers aren't entirely human. Hal must navigate both modern dangers and ancient mysteries as he races to complete the quest his dead friend started. The teenager finds himself caught between two worlds, where Egyptian mythology bleeds into contemporary reality and the greatest love story in history holds deadly secrets.
Genres: historical-fiction, adventure, mystery, archaeology, fantasy, contemporary
Vibes: atmospheric, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, quest
Setting: Colorado, Egypt
Period: Ancient Egypt, Contemporary
336 pages · Mass Market Paperback · DAW