Blog Tour: The Cobra’s Retribution – Glennis Goodwin

In the city of Thebes on the great Nile River, Pharaoh Amenhotep III plans to build another temple that will bring glory to his reign. His favoured architect, Djedkare, has surpassed himself in noting his vision, and Pharaoh has chosen his site.

Unfortunately, this sits on the vast spread of the Nileʼs edge, beneath the simple mudbrick homes of the fishermen. Under Pharaohʼs orders, the families are removed and their communities demolished. Anger builds before even a stone is laid, and Pharaohʼs name is spoken with disdain.

However, disaster soon stalks the Palace of Malkata, blighting the lives of Amenhotep and his family.

Nebka, Chief of the Medjay, is called in and, unsurprisingly, his inquiries lead him straight to the banks of the Nile.

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Glennis Goodwin is a British author who has long had an interest in the myths of the Ancient Egyptians.

In her working life, she has gone from nursing to retail and from academic publishing to working as a PA. However, during this time, she never lost her love for the bygone tales of Egypt. Taking holidays there, she walked the paths of the many temples and immersed herself in the culture.

In 2004, she aimed to return to her nursing career and enrolled in a refresher course in New Zealand. Settling into life on the other side of the world, she continued to further her career, met her husband and made her home there. Sadly, a brain haemorrhage and a slight stroke ended her study. Yet after her recovery, she found herself wanting to write, something she had longed to do but never seemed to have the time for.

Returning to the UK in 2017, she settled down at her computer, and soon the tales of the Eight Deities of the Primordial Chaos came to life in the story of Malian, the altar tender. Her first book, The Eighth Deity, came into being, and The Gods of Chaos, a fantasy adventure series, was born.

Now living in a Nottinghamshire village, she has since added a further four books in this series: Brotherhood of Apep, In the Footsteps of Ra, The Papyrus of Maʼat, and The Bow of Horus.

Looking to expand the scope of her writing, she has recently written Within the Islandʼs Hold: A Nile Valley Mystery, and is looking to write further titles in this series, all set on the banks of the Nile.

My thoughts: Return to the banks of the Nile and the world of Ancient Egypt. We are in Thebes, at one point the capital city, and at the site of a new temple, which displaces the locals, causing anger.

When tragedy comes knocking, it is Nebka, chief of the Medjay (the closest thing to police) who must investigate and satisfy the Pharoah. The Queen is devastated and demands answers for her loss.

I like Nebka, he’s a smart man with a truly scary employer, the Pharoah is a god-king and will order your execution if you disappoint him. But the Pharoah also lives in a different world to many of his subjects and doesn’t care or understand why his whims might upset people.

But Nebka follows the evidence, a sliced piece of rope, a runaway fisherman, then the death of a young woman in the city. He’s careful and methodical and those he arrests quickly confess their crimes. Unfortunately the real danger might be inside the Medjay rather than among the citizens of Thebes.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.