Soul and Shadow by Susan McLeod

Two sets of lovers one from the present and the second from the past whose lives become intertwined and expertly woven together in Susan McLeod’s novel Soul and Shadow.

Amisihathor was a songstress in the temple of Hathor. Her position was to sing and bring joy and pleasure to the goddess. This was a revered and honored position. Married to Kahotep, a powerful priest of Horus, she was to be buried along side him in the same tomb.

Amishathor’s sarcophagus was brought from Cairo to a local museum and put on display for the public to view where the intrigue and mystery of her burial and life begins.

Lily Evans is a research assistant and artist who studies ancient Egyptian portraits. While viewing the exhibit in this museum she is approached by an older woman who wants to enlist her help to solve the mystery behind what really happened between Amisihathor and Kahotep and why she has not found her eternal rest in the Field of Reeds with him.

The mysterious woman is a retired archaeologist who has vital information into the life of Amisihathor that she wants Lily to read and study to determine the truth behind Amisihathor’s death.

Dame Ursula Allingham is the mystery woman along with her two grandson’s who Lily meets in the museum. From this point on her life will drastically change. Telling her the story of Amisihathor’s life and showing her pictures of her burial she comes to realize that the depictions of her death were not intended to include her with Kahotep. The decorations on the walls of her tomb show that they performed the wedding rites. They appeared to be happy. But, according to Dame Ursula, Amisihathor was married to another man before Kahotep. Kamenwati was her first husband and as the background of her life is revealed we learn he was a scribe from Edfu and she did not belong in Kahotep’s tomb.

In walks Kent, a tall handsome stranger and Dame Ursula’s grandson. They are immediately drawn to each other and a romance is instantaneously built between the two. Although there are many secrets that he does not reveal about his family, Lily is deeply drawn into this web of deceit and mystery to find the answers behind Amisihathor’s death and bring to her final resting place. At the same time Lily is falling for Kent and wants to spend every waking hour getting to know him.

As Lily reads the different documents about her life and studies the pictures given to her by Dame Ursula, she starts to feel as if she is part of her past and begins to dream and relive Amishathor’s last days as if she were there when it happened.

The blend of characters is unique and the back and forth scenes from the past to the present make the reader feel the pain and sorrow of Amisihathor when deceived and lied to by her first husband. Throughout the novel we meet many minor characters that actually add to the story and create even more suspense. Although she is only 26 years old, Lily’s mom is disappointed in her choice of boyfriend when she tells her about Kent and his family. Wanting her to marry her first love, a doctor named Stephen she does everything in her power to make it happen. However, her efforts proof to be dangerous and almost tragic.

Soul and Shadow is a well-written compact novel, which tells a story in 124 pages without the fanfare of longer books. It is a fast paced book that is quick reading and yet at the end the reader yearns for more.

Will Lily find the answers to what really happened between Amisihathor and Kamenwati or the dark rebel? Will she ever find eternal peace and join Kahotep in the Field of Reeds? Will she wind up with Kent or Stephen? What does her mother do that is unspeakable and deplorable to try to bring her together with Stephen because he is a doctor? What happens to her?

Why does Kent leave suddenly and return to England after their romance takes off? What does Dr. Briggs her boss have to do with this mystery and the artifacts found missing from the tomb?

Read Soul and Shadow by Susan McLeod to find out the answers to these questions and the hidden secrets behind them.

I will give this book five stars and five golden tombs filled with priceless jewels.

Soul and Shadow by Susan McLeod