This debut novel is by P. Djeli Clark, which is the pen name of Dexter Gabriel (born 1971), an American speculative fiction writer and historian at the University of Connecticut. I liked it alot and really thought for a long time it was written by a female author, actually.

Because the story is about a female investigator of magical crimes in an Egypt that is a world power due to the discovery of Djinn and other magical beings a couple of years before. The year is 1912, and the representatives of Europe and the world are meeting in Cairo to prevent an impending global conflict at a peace conference.

Just at this moment, a charlatan appears and pretends to be the late discoverer of the djinns and magic and all, who died at the time after discovering and opening the portal to the Djinn world. And our female protagonist Fatma investigates a case where twenty people were burnt to death from their inside, leaving their clothes intact.

The whole thing is reminiscent in language and style and time of Arthur Conan Dale and Sherlock Holmes, only set in Egypt and with many women instead of only men: our female inspector has an inofficial affair with someone who also helps in the investigation, and later is reluctantly given a female partner to work with.

Just like in Sherlock Holmes, we often met rich, white, often old, and always judgmental men of the british (and sometimes European) nobility. But there is also surprising magic, many mythical creatures from big, old, badly tempered djinn to ghuls and ifrits. Djinns, for instance, follow very precise interpretation of the terms of any contracts they enter, which they do alot. We also have truely evil, powerful enemies and creatures, a relatively square-jawed police inspector (similar to Inspector Lestrade from Scotland Yard). The plot is good and drives the action, and it twists here and there in unforeseen ways.

The orient emerges in front of our eyes, and it is not ruled by Westerners, or even men. It is emancipated from the West, and women get to feel the first effects of their own emancipation.

I like the book alot and will surely hope the author continues this (the book itself came to existence because of a few critically acclaimed short stories).