After reading the first in the Lucy Lawrence Mysteries series, No Stone Unturned, I was intrigued enough about the widowed Lucy and where her life might take her next to pick up the next in the series. Footprints in the Sand follows Lucy on an adventure into a very different world from Victorian England – that of an archeological dig in Egypt! I’m happy to say that this story, the setting, and the mysteries to solve, make for an intriguing read.

Without getting into spoiler territory, Lucy has become a wealthy widow due to the events in No Stone Unturned. Phineas Stone, the gentleman she met who helped her deal with her troubles after her husband died has disappeared, to her disappointment. She embarks on a continental trip with her new-found wealth, where she meets an Egyptologist, Monsieur Armand Moreau. His tales of funding difficulty for his digs inspire Lucy to become his patron for the upcoming dig season in Sakkara, Egypt. She’s also, truth be told, somewhat attracted to him and he is a bit of a ladies’ man. And so she finds herself travelling to the Excelsior Hotel in Cairo.

Here, Lucy meets an assortment of people who are all in Egypt for one reason or another, some for the warm weather, and some, more importantly, for the annual dig season. There is a rival Egyptologist to Monsieur Moreau, an Englishman named Reginald Whitmore, and the competition between them is quite fierce due to the French and English rivalry over Egyptian antiquities. An annual draw determines the lots where digs can occur, and Monsieur Moreau’s location uncovers what appears to be the entrance to a newly undiscovered tomb. But part of the tomb appears to be on the land where Mr. Whitmore has been given permission to dig. This increases the friction between them.

The thriving black market for stolen antiquities in Cairo is a source of real concern for the Egyptian Museum, especially when the museum is robbed and some precious pieces are stolen. Lucy takes it upon herself to investigate. But when an archaeologist is found murdered, the case takes on a sinister turn. Will Lucy’s digging make her the next target?

Lucy has definitely broken out of her protected shell after her experiences in England and now, in a very different country, she gets to expand her horizons even more (to the dismay of her maid Mary who accompanies her on her travels). The author presents a well researched and interesting view of Egypt and its thriving and controversial antiquity market in the late 1880s. Knowing that the French and English archaeologists have been digging up local treasures and bringing them back to Europe, the presence of the Egyptian museum in Cairo is an acknowledgement that the treasures belong in their original home. (For time context, this book takes place approximately ninety years after Napoleon (France) and Nelson (England) fought in the Battle of the Pyramids, and about thirty-five years before Howard Carter uncovered King Tutankhamen’s tomb).

I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of Cairo, the Sakkara dig sites, and the great Pyramids of Giza as they were in the 1890s. All of the many secondary characters are interesting and accurate for their time, including the Egyptian workers who are hired by the archaeologists, the dragomen (interpreters) and fellâheen (labourers) who are portrayed in a positive light for their contributions to the success of the digs. The black market in antiquities has been a problem for centuries, with ancient tomb grave robbers often being found as skeletal remains in the tombs ‘rediscovered’ by the Europeans (including in this story).

As for the mysteries – thefts, and then a murder – Lucy is once again in the thick of the action (at her own initiative, to Mary’s dismay, again). I liked seeing Lucy in a new environment and how her character has evolved, although she still has her moments of naïveté. The story is a bit slow paced and sometimes there is more tell than show (which I also found to be the case in the previous book) which keeps this story in B range, but I still found myself wanting to know how it would turn out at the end and I plan to continue the series.