SummarySomeone is running a campaign to discredit Cairo's senior
police officials. Is Garvin, the Commandant, playing power
games, or is he trying to get to the bottom of the
allegations of corruption? What about Garvin's senior
deputy, McPhee, a man who might finally be going round the
bend? And what of the Mamur Zapt himself? He may be the
British head of the city's Secret Police, but is he above
suspicion? After all, he does have an Egyptian mistress,
placing him not only in the uncomfortable position of
possible divided loyalties, but bringing him under her own
stern scrutiny. Owen's attempts to get answers and avoid political (and
personal) embarrassment take him into uncharted territory,
the world of Cairo's female rites. And more terrifyingly,
into one of Egypt's traditional crafts. Snake catching. How
do you milk a cobra? Do snakes have ears? Can they be
tamed? Can a mere woman fill the traditional role of snake
catcher without the undying opposition of the Rifa'i—and
without loosing the plague of Egypt? The Snake Catcher's Daughter is the eighth in the award-
winning Mamur Zapt series highly praised for its elegance,
wry wit, telling period detail, and political astuteness.
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