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A Folley & Mallory Adventure #3
The Honey Mummy
A mummy bound in honey.
An auction of archaic wonders.
An immortal link to the past.
Beneath the streets of Alexandria, Agent Cleo Barclay stumbled into a catacomb that changed her life. Her arms were taken, transfigured, and something remarkable was revealed--something that will stir an ancient life from the ashes of history.
A serpentine sarcophagus holds clues to Cleo's past and future. She enlists Eleanor Folley and Virgil Mallory to collect the artifact at auction, to unravel its mysteries and her own. When the sarcophagus falls into the hands of an enigmatic Egyptologist, they find themselves participants in his diabolical pursuits.
Drawn to Alexandria by their friend--and the temptations of a newly discovered ring--Folley and Mallory will be challenged as never before.
An auction of archaic wonders.
An immortal link to the past.
Beneath the streets of Alexandria, Agent Cleo Barclay stumbled into a catacomb that changed her life. Her arms were taken, transfigured, and something remarkable was revealed--something that will stir an ancient life from the ashes of history.
A serpentine sarcophagus holds clues to Cleo's past and future. She enlists Eleanor Folley and Virgil Mallory to collect the artifact at auction, to unravel its mysteries and her own. When the sarcophagus falls into the hands of an enigmatic Egyptologist, they find themselves participants in his diabolical pursuits.
Drawn to Alexandria by their friend--and the temptations of a newly discovered ring--Folley and Mallory will be challenged as never before.
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2016
About the author
E. Catherine Tobler
207 books119 followersE. Catherine Tobler has written an awful lot of things. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Sturgeon Memorial Award, the Nebula Award, the Utopia Award. Her work on Shimmer Magazine was nominated for the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 25, 2016
From the moment I heard the title, I was intrigued about this series. This book is the third installment of the Folley and Mallory Adventures though the first book I've read and an added bonus of being an advanced reading copy.
I enjoyed this book immensely despite not reading the series from the beginning and getting to know the different characters. I like how it started with a letter leaving me wondering the story behind such cryptic words and then jumps to Folley and Mallory who are part of an organization known as Mistral. This organization is tasked with studying and saving artifacts from all over the world though namely Egypt.
Eleanor Folley is an Archaeologist who works for Mistral currently in Paris, cleaning as well cataloging artifacts, has ties with Egypt, part Jackal and did I mention she's the daughter of Anubis? She is quite the powerful lady to say the least.
Virgil Mallory also works for Mistral as an agent whose partner is Agent Michael Auberon, is part wolf and engaged to Eleanor.
Agent Auberon was sent to Egypt a few years ago to keep an eye on Cleo's work in Egypt and developed a close friendship that appeared to be slowly moving towards a relationship until there was an accident and it left Cleo permanently scarred. When Auberon is sent back to Paris, he keeps up a correspondence with Cleo though letters start to dwindle as Cleo pulls away and eventually puts a stop to the letters. He can't forget Cleo though and the wonderful times they had together.
Cleopatra Barclay is an archaeologist who specializes in the Cleopatra era who is her namesake, works for Mistral, close friends with Eleanor and finds herself conflicted with her feelings concerning Auberon after an accident that should have killed her and yet she was able to be saved after her arms were severed at the elbows and she was outfitted with mechanical arms. Struggling to adapt to life after her accident and continue her work, she makes the painful decision to pull away from Auberon though she will soon learn that what's meant to be will find a way.
After a fire starts in one of archives of Mistral, Eleanor finds a mysterious ring which will lead her, Mallory and Auberon to Alexandria, Egypt where she will reconnect with her friend Cleo, learn of a prophesy and secrets will be revealed.
When Mallory and Auberon are captured one night by an eccentric man who rubs Eleanor the wrong way, Cleo is sent to find Eleanor and bring back certain items that are in her possession. These two ladies will soon learn more about Cleopatra's time, the connection of the Ring and how honey is involved.
On this journey of discovery, Eleanor will realize the important of trust, friendship, love and believing in yourself.
I really enjoyed seeing the connection Eleanor and Mallory have and how they balance each other out. Mallory is a gentleman, loves Eleanor, and is fiercely protective of Eleanor but also knows he can't keep Eleanor from doing what she loves and has to trust that she can handle herself. I can't wait to see these two married and how they may do as parents should they have any.
I'm also hoping to see more of Auberon and Cleo as a couple especially after reading their letters to each other and the glimpses I've read about their times around each other. They have a lot to work on but in time I have a feeling things will work out.
This story was a big page turner full of adventure, mystery, fascinating aspects of Steampunk, the power of love and the importance of not letting fear win.
I can't wait to go back to read the first two books which I have now added to my Kindle library, reread this latest installment and hopefully read the next book when it's released!
I enjoyed this book immensely despite not reading the series from the beginning and getting to know the different characters. I like how it started with a letter leaving me wondering the story behind such cryptic words and then jumps to Folley and Mallory who are part of an organization known as Mistral. This organization is tasked with studying and saving artifacts from all over the world though namely Egypt.
Eleanor Folley is an Archaeologist who works for Mistral currently in Paris, cleaning as well cataloging artifacts, has ties with Egypt, part Jackal and did I mention she's the daughter of Anubis? She is quite the powerful lady to say the least.
Virgil Mallory also works for Mistral as an agent whose partner is Agent Michael Auberon, is part wolf and engaged to Eleanor.
Agent Auberon was sent to Egypt a few years ago to keep an eye on Cleo's work in Egypt and developed a close friendship that appeared to be slowly moving towards a relationship until there was an accident and it left Cleo permanently scarred. When Auberon is sent back to Paris, he keeps up a correspondence with Cleo though letters start to dwindle as Cleo pulls away and eventually puts a stop to the letters. He can't forget Cleo though and the wonderful times they had together.
Cleopatra Barclay is an archaeologist who specializes in the Cleopatra era who is her namesake, works for Mistral, close friends with Eleanor and finds herself conflicted with her feelings concerning Auberon after an accident that should have killed her and yet she was able to be saved after her arms were severed at the elbows and she was outfitted with mechanical arms. Struggling to adapt to life after her accident and continue her work, she makes the painful decision to pull away from Auberon though she will soon learn that what's meant to be will find a way.
After a fire starts in one of archives of Mistral, Eleanor finds a mysterious ring which will lead her, Mallory and Auberon to Alexandria, Egypt where she will reconnect with her friend Cleo, learn of a prophesy and secrets will be revealed.
When Mallory and Auberon are captured one night by an eccentric man who rubs Eleanor the wrong way, Cleo is sent to find Eleanor and bring back certain items that are in her possession. These two ladies will soon learn more about Cleopatra's time, the connection of the Ring and how honey is involved.
On this journey of discovery, Eleanor will realize the important of trust, friendship, love and believing in yourself.
I really enjoyed seeing the connection Eleanor and Mallory have and how they balance each other out. Mallory is a gentleman, loves Eleanor, and is fiercely protective of Eleanor but also knows he can't keep Eleanor from doing what she loves and has to trust that she can handle herself. I can't wait to see these two married and how they may do as parents should they have any.
I'm also hoping to see more of Auberon and Cleo as a couple especially after reading their letters to each other and the glimpses I've read about their times around each other. They have a lot to work on but in time I have a feeling things will work out.
This story was a big page turner full of adventure, mystery, fascinating aspects of Steampunk, the power of love and the importance of not letting fear win.
I can't wait to go back to read the first two books which I have now added to my Kindle library, reread this latest installment and hopefully read the next book when it's released!
March 18, 2016
If you enjoy steampunk, you should be reading this series. The series follows Eleanor Folley and Virgil Mallory as they head to Cairo to investigate the auction of a mummy in a serpentine sarcohpagus. They're further enticed by yet another magical ring (the source of all the trouble in the first two books!) being left for Eleanor to find.
In this volume, we see more of Cleo, the Mistral agent with the amazing mechanical arms, and learn how she got them, a story that left her uncertain of her future. I was fascinated by the eventual revelation of the source of her arms, and hope to see more in the next book about how she moves on with her life.
This moved the series forward nicely, and I'm ready to read the next!
In this volume, we see more of Cleo, the Mistral agent with the amazing mechanical arms, and learn how she got them, a story that left her uncertain of her future. I was fascinated by the eventual revelation of the source of her arms, and hope to see more in the next book about how she moves on with her life.
This moved the series forward nicely, and I'm ready to read the next!
March 19, 2016
Eleanor Folley and Virgil Mallory travel to Egypt to assist their friend Cleo. There's a mystery surrounding a set of unusual iron rings and a sarcophagus that may hold answers to Cleo's accident.
There's a lot going on, as this is the third in the series. Virgil is a werewolf and Eleanor can turn into a jackal, due to being a daughter of Anubis. She's still getting used to this, as well as her romance with Virgil. She's also in the process of cataloguing the archives of Mistral, a society that's been gathering artefacts from Egypt for study.
All of that is thrown into confusion when someone attacks the archive, leaving one of the rings. They travel to Egypt to attend an auction with Cleo, hoping to find out what's going on. Also accompanying them is Auberon, who had been on the verge of a romantic relationship with Cleo before her accident.
I felt the book did a good job at recapping what needed to be recapped. The recaps weren't confusing or overly longwinded. They were spread where needed through the story.
Cleo's accident involved being pinned under a statue. Her arms had to be amputated below the elbows, and were replaced with steampunk mechanical arms. Some of her recovery is shown in flashbacks and letters, as she learns to use her new arms, and comes to terms with the loss of her old ones. I was a little concerned at first that it'd be a story about someone deciding life wasn't worth living with disability, but her reasons for pushing Auberon away are not directly about her arms.
A large theme is the handling of Egypt's history and property. This is a steampunk version of the era when Westerners raided Egyptian tombs, damaging much of the archaeology out of greed. Eleanor pushes back against this to an extent, as she believes in properly cataloguing finds, and wants to keep things safe. She finds mummy unwrappings repugnant. But she still believes that removing things from Egypt is a good way to keep them safe, as they can be returned later. An opinion that is only directly challenged by people who are either villains or not entirely trustworthy. I wasn't comfortable with that, given that in our history, most of those items still haven't been given back. It would have been nice if someone who wasn't shady had wanted to keep the items in Egypt, and away from Mistral, as a counterpoint to Eleanor's optimism about it.
For that matter, it would have been nice to see more Egyptian characters. Eleanor and Cleo have some Egyptian ancestry, but the Egyptians without European ties don't have big roles.
I did like the interaction between the characters, as this was about strengthening relationships, rather than starting fresh. I also liked that Anubis acted in ways that didn't always make sense to Eleanor, as he's a god and has a rather different perspective on things. It's an interesting story, and took some turns I wasn't expecting. It mixes together steampunk with Egyptian tradition and time travel, in a way that works. I just couldn't really get on board with the idea that Mistral were the good guys.
[A copy of this book was received from the author for review purposes]
Review from: http://blog.polenthblake.com/2016/03/the-honey-mummy-e-catherine-tobler/
There's a lot going on, as this is the third in the series. Virgil is a werewolf and Eleanor can turn into a jackal, due to being a daughter of Anubis. She's still getting used to this, as well as her romance with Virgil. She's also in the process of cataloguing the archives of Mistral, a society that's been gathering artefacts from Egypt for study.
All of that is thrown into confusion when someone attacks the archive, leaving one of the rings. They travel to Egypt to attend an auction with Cleo, hoping to find out what's going on. Also accompanying them is Auberon, who had been on the verge of a romantic relationship with Cleo before her accident.
I felt the book did a good job at recapping what needed to be recapped. The recaps weren't confusing or overly longwinded. They were spread where needed through the story.
Cleo's accident involved being pinned under a statue. Her arms had to be amputated below the elbows, and were replaced with steampunk mechanical arms. Some of her recovery is shown in flashbacks and letters, as she learns to use her new arms, and comes to terms with the loss of her old ones. I was a little concerned at first that it'd be a story about someone deciding life wasn't worth living with disability, but her reasons for pushing Auberon away are not directly about her arms.
A large theme is the handling of Egypt's history and property. This is a steampunk version of the era when Westerners raided Egyptian tombs, damaging much of the archaeology out of greed. Eleanor pushes back against this to an extent, as she believes in properly cataloguing finds, and wants to keep things safe. She finds mummy unwrappings repugnant. But she still believes that removing things from Egypt is a good way to keep them safe, as they can be returned later. An opinion that is only directly challenged by people who are either villains or not entirely trustworthy. I wasn't comfortable with that, given that in our history, most of those items still haven't been given back. It would have been nice if someone who wasn't shady had wanted to keep the items in Egypt, and away from Mistral, as a counterpoint to Eleanor's optimism about it.
For that matter, it would have been nice to see more Egyptian characters. Eleanor and Cleo have some Egyptian ancestry, but the Egyptians without European ties don't have big roles.
I did like the interaction between the characters, as this was about strengthening relationships, rather than starting fresh. I also liked that Anubis acted in ways that didn't always make sense to Eleanor, as he's a god and has a rather different perspective on things. It's an interesting story, and took some turns I wasn't expecting. It mixes together steampunk with Egyptian tradition and time travel, in a way that works. I just couldn't really get on board with the idea that Mistral were the good guys.
[A copy of this book was received from the author for review purposes]
Review from: http://blog.polenthblake.com/2016/03/the-honey-mummy-e-catherine-tobler/
April 2, 2016
The Honey Mummy by E. Catherine Tobler is either the third or the fourth book in the Folley & Mallory series, depending on how you’re counting. It may well be my favorite thus far, but they’re all brilliant, so it's hard to choose just one. This book sees Eleanor Folley and Virgil Mallory return to Egypt, along with Cleo and Auberon, to unravel the mystery of a whole new set of rings. The story kicks off with a break in at Mistral, the secretive agency where Folley, Mallory, Cleo, and Auberon work. A fire in the archives at first appears to be cover for a theft, but Eleanor quickly discovers something has been left behind rather than taken. A ring, to be precise, left exactly where she will find it, made of strange material she can’t quite identify. It’s enough to intrigue her, as is an invitation to an auction taking place in Alexandria, Egypt. As with any proper adventure, things do not go as planned. The group from Mistral soon find themselves faced with a theatrical and slightly unhinged collector, a sarcophagus full of honey, a member of an elite ancient order sworn protector Egypt, and that’s just the beginning of their troubles. The discovery of the sarcophagus brings up a host of memories for Cleo, just as she was beginning to come to terms with the loss of her arms during an archaeological dig two years ago. The doctors believethe only thing that saved her then was honey, mysteriously present in the collapsed tomb she fell into, just as it is mysteriously present in the sarcophagus here and now. As Cleo’s past and present collide, the psychological wounds of her trauma prove to be as raw as ever. The Honey Mummy is as much her story as Eleanor and Virgil’s. History is a major theme throughout the novel – the ancient sort, the personal kind, and the intersection between the two. Tobler deftly weaves the story’s threads, the larger mysteries of the plot informing and strengthening the characters as individuals and as they relate to each other as the story unfolds. Time is cyclical, as it is in the first books in the series, echoing the physical circularity of the rings that play such a large role in Eleanor's life. Past and present bleed into each other, and Tobler explores the consequences of that, along with the weight of power, and the potential horror true magic can hold. History and mythology flow into each other and, as always, the whole story is soaked in gorgeous sensory detail and haunting imagery. The Honey Mummy is a kissing book, an adventure book, a book with dastardly villainy, and a book with tender moments. It’s a joy spending time with these characters, and I can’t wait for their next adventure!
January 2, 2017
Third in the Folley & Mallory series, in The Honey Mummy, E. Catherine Tobler really upped the game! The same vividly-written locations (this time set in 1889 Alexandria, Egypt), the same other-worldly Egyptian gods and neat time-traveling, but more conflicts on more fronts, including a double mystery, both of which are explored in the past and the present through different means. And if it's cold outside, what better than to read about the warm Egyptian sands and warm up?
If you're a fan of Mary Robinette Kowal's Glamourist series, you'll like this (alt-historical, time-travel, steampunk, lightly-romantic, magical) fantasy series, as well.
If you're a fan of Mary Robinette Kowal's Glamourist series, you'll like this (alt-historical, time-travel, steampunk, lightly-romantic, magical) fantasy series, as well.
June 8, 2016
I kind of want to be Eleanor Folley when I grow up, particularly now. Watching her grow through these books is delightful. This one is a lovely tale, wrestling with mortality and love and time, and I'm so glad we got to see more of Cleo.
August 29, 2018
You know an author has done some great world building when a secondary character's back story propels the main narrative of the third book in the series and you don't really realize that's what the author had done until you're finished reading. Not only did I love getting more detail about the mystery of Cleo Barclay's mechanical arms, I loved how Tobler developed the friendship between Cleo and Eleanor Foley, the series female lead.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews