This is a novel about lost and stolen Egyptian artifacts and the damage that being associated with them can cause. The story lives in the secrets that lurk behind the scenes in the lives of the people involved, the criminals, the museums and archeologists and/or anyone else associated with these fragments of antiquity. These secrets are slowly revealed through the lives of Charlotte Cross and Annie Jenkins.
Archeologists on a dig in Luxor, Egypt, where the royal tombs of The Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens is located, discover a remnant depicting a face from antiquity that is believed to be that of a female Pharaoh. When tragedy follows, the curse placed on her remains and possessions seems to come alive. Eighteen-year-old intern, Charlotte Cross discovers “the stolen queen”. It causes a total change in her life's path. After decades in America, during which time she has studied this "queen's" history, trying to learn what little is known about her, she has never returned to Egypt. When that very remnant that she discovered is stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art where she works, Charlotte decides to return to Egypt to revisit her once happy life, a life that descended into grief and loss, possibly because of the curse. The reader may or may not believe in the idea of curses, but the story is interesting as it develops.
At this time, Annie Jenkins lives in New York City with her mother Joyce, once a sought-after model. Now, no longer young, she is unable to find work but won't face reality. Annie assumes the role of parent to her needy mother and makes sure they are housed and fed. When the eighteen-year-old Annie is given the opportunity to work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, she is thrilled and jumps at the chance. This job, however, and the crime that follows, coupled with the selfish needs of her mother, upends Annie’s life. She unwittingly follows orders that bring chaos to the Museum and its staff. This teenager, like Charlotte when she was young, has been drawn into a web of dangerous and violent crime. Finding herself adrift, without a place to live, she insists on following Charlotte to Egypt to uncover the criminals and reveal the secrets.
There are many themes introduced, like women’s rights now and in the past, the question of who owns an artifact from antiquity, the one who finds it or the place it was located, plus repentance, financial struggle, class, forgiveness, devotion, industriousness, perseverance, ambition, courage, crime, selfishness, motherhood and marriage. This novel, largely based on a few facts about ancient artifacts and history, feels a little more like chick lit to me and might be a novel more suitable for a young adult audience looking for a beach read rather than an adult audience looking for a book encouraging further interest in archeological discovery and Egyptology.