Guest Post, Mysteries

Guest Chick: M.A. Monnin

Lisa here, delighted to welcome fabulous author and good friend M.A. Monnin back to the blog as this week’s Guest Chick! Mary’s Intrepid Traveler Mysteries, including her upcoming (August 11th) DEATH IN LUXOR, are wonderful reads for travelers and armchair travelers alike. Readers who enjoy mystery, romance, and art heist thrillers will especially love this 4th book in the series. Take it away, Mary!

Thanks for inviting me back, Lisa. I always love visiting with the Chicks! Today I’m going to share one of my obsessions. Egyptomania. It’s a thing. I have it–that fascination with anything and everything to do with Ancient Egypt–so it’s no surprise that I gave a few characters this mania when I wrote Death in Luxor. I mean, where’s the fun in doing research if you can’t dive into the topics you really love, right?

There have been several times in history when waves of Egyptomania swept across the world. The most widespread occurred in the 1920’s, with the discovery of King Tutankhamon’s tomb. It was untouched by tomb robbers, so everyone could see exactly what sort of treasures were buried with Egyptian royalty.

Architecture, fashions and jewelry all reflected a captivation with Ancient Egyptian elements. These come under the design umbrella of “Egyptian Revival.” The Washington monument is one example. Dresses from the twenties were decorated with hieroglyphs and lotuses. Cartier designed necklaces and brooches with falcon heads that symbolized the god Horus, sphinxes, and temples. Scarabs, or beetles, symbolized rebirth, and were popular jewelry motifs. Don’t get me started on the jewelry that used actual artifacts and real beetles! Even I wouldn’t want to wear a shellacked beetle.

I prefer my scarabs made of stone or plaster, like these. I picked up the bright blue ones in Egypt, where our tour guide handed them out like candy. The dark one came from a mystery adventure game I bought for the grandkids.

I wish I could indulge myself with vintage Cartier Egyptian Revival jewelry, but mine comes from places more down to earth, like this beaded collar necklace from the Halloween Store. I think that was the year I dressed up like a mummy and shocked my neighbor. I plan on wearing it to my book launch.

My daughter’s winged Isis necklace, which we got in Egypt, is much nicer.

I also had to have the Anubis statue after seeing the Nefertari exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum. As you can see, it sits on my living room mantle. Really, I’m amazed my husband lets me keep it there. He understands my obsession.

And then there are my bookmarks for Death in Luxor. The artwork is from Nefertari’s tomb. Isn’t she a beauty?

What about you, dear readers? What do you have an obsession for?

ABOUT M.A. MONNIN:

M. A. Monnin writes the Intrepid Traveler Mysteries, including Agatha Best First Novel finalist DEATH IN THE AEGEAN. The fourth in the series, DEATH IN LUXOR, releases Aug 11, 2026. Like her heroine Stefanie Adams, Mary loves the adventure of foreign travel. Her short stories have appeared in Black Cat Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, and numerous anthologies. She is the current President of the Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime. Visit Mary’s website at https://www.mamonnin.com/ to learn more!

ABOUT DEATH IN LUXOR:

Undercover artifact theft investigator Stefanie Adams and her Artifact Retrieval Team (ART) lead and partner, Thomas Burkhardt, must head off trouble before it starts at the opening ceremonies of Egypt’s Grand Egyptian Museum. Anonymous notes have threatened the Gold of the Pharaohs, a special exhibit featuring glittering gold that once belonged to Egypt’s powerful pharaohs.

But trouble comes from an unexpected quarter, and this thief doesn’t stop at murder to possess a golden relic of ancient Egyptian royalty.

Trailing the suspects up the Nile, through temples and tombs, Stefanie and Thomas race against time to recover the stolen necklace before it is secreted out of Egypt and another victim falls in the thief’s deadly game…

“Those familiar with Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile will enjoy its echoes in this story, which is told in a similar style. The mystery is interspersed with detailed depictions of Egyptian art and heritage sites, adding color and weight to the narrative. Stefanie and Thomas have a comfortable and titillating chemistry after three books as their partnership, both professional and romantic, continues to ripen.” —Kirkus Reviews

26 thoughts on “Guest Chick: M.A. Monnin”

  4. Other than books, no obsessions. Too bad in a way. I think it makes life more interesting! Congrats on the new book. It sounds fun and interesting.

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  5. Patricia, you need one of Mary’s gorgeous bookmarks for your collection.

    Congratulations on the release, Mary! I’m lucky to have already read the book and loved it. As to obsessions, I think mine with vintage cookbooks is already documented. But I periodically go through my own obsession with Egyptology. I’ve read or watched everything I possibly can on the discovery of Tut’s tomb and dream of visiting Egypt someday.

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    1. Thanks Ellen! I’m so glad you enjoyed the book. You’ll enjoy Egypt, too, if you ever go. Bob tells me I ought to lead a tour there based on Death in Luxor. Ha! If only.

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  6. Congratulations, M.A! Love all things Egyptian!

    When I was in college, I saw Steve Martin in concert when he was on his King Tut tour, and I have to admit, I was a bit obsessed with him for a while (okay, maybe I still am!).

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  7. My grandmother was really into Egyptian art and history when I was a kid (she probably started back in the 1920s after the discovery of Tut’s tomb, come to think of it, when she was in her early twenties). As for me, I’ve had many obsessions over the years: but collecting horse figurines and bones/skulls are probably the biggest ones.

    Thanks so much for visiting the Chicks, M.A., and congrats on the new book–it looks terrific!

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    1. Thanks Leslie. Collecting bones and skulls sounds fascinating–and very contemporary. I’d love to see your collection.

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  8. I’m so excited that the next in the series is coming out!

    I’m not sure I have any current obsessions like this in my life. I did go through a phase when ancient Egypt fascinated me. And I have loved Disney and Peanuts for years, although that has cooled some as well. I’m not turning into a grumpy old man, am I?

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    1. Ha ha, not as long as you keep sharing your groan-worthy jokes on social media. They brighten up my days.

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  9. That Anubis statue looks so cool! I don’t have Egyptomania, but I do have some trinkets that relatives gave me from their travels: themed bookmarks and a scarf with hieroglyphics! Besides good food, I don’t have any true obsessions right now 😉  

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    1. Thanks, Mary! Owls are cool. I’d love to see some of those. I have two plaster owls on my front patio. One green and one blue. They make me smile every time I look at them.

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      1. That was about 50 years ago, Mary. I no longer have any of them. I’m pretty sure I’m wearing a stained glass owl pendant in a photo that was taken when I was in college.

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  11. What a fascinating place to be obsessed with! I saw a great exhibit on Ramses the Great in Dallas a gazillion years ago. It was no Treasures of Tutankhamon, but it was pretty cool! Congrats on your new book — it wounds wonderful!

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  13. Congratulations! And thumbs up on the great Kirkus review.

    I’m very much looking forward to reading your series. Egypt – with a murder added in – sounds devilishly delightful!

    I too have traveled to Egypt and found it eye-opening and unlike any country I’d ever visited. So I understand your obsession with all things Egyptian. Your Anibus statue looks right at home on your mantle and the winged Isis necklace is stunning. Alas, I only have a set of three miniature pyramids. But they’ve been with me through many moves and I plan to keep them forever!

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    1. Thanks Debra! I’ll bet you think of your trip to Egypt every time you look at those miniature pyramids. Well worth keeping!

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