Cleopatra Almost Slept Here, the Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries: Book 11

THE ALVAREZ FAMILY IS ON THE VACATION OF A LIFETIME - IF IT DOESN'T KILL THEM FIRST! When the entire Alvarez family - including private investigator Lee Alvarez and the rest of the members of the family's P.I. business, Discretionary Inquiries, Inc. - is offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance to volunteer on an archaeological dig, they're airborne in hours. It's billed as "a nice, relaxing family vacation"- all they have to do is identify Cleopatra's mother! But they've barely landed in Cairo when someone tries to run their van off the road. Author Haven hasn't missed a trick in this modern-day interpretation of the classic mystery-at-a-dig genre. It's got everything - pyramids, train rides, a Nile cruise, the requisite cobra, exotic history, mysterious messages, and, of course, there's a haboob! (That's "sandstorm" to us boobs.) Naturally, Haven adds her own delightfully off-center flourishes: imagine the witty banter of the statuesque P.I. and her hunky ex-SEAL husband dropped into Death on the Nile with a world-class chef, a computer genius, hovering in-laws, two cats, a toddler, and a hat maker. Dame Agatha meets Nick and Nora Charles, if you will. If Nora had a blueberry yogurt stain on her shirt. And a charming camel called KFC standing in for Asta. What is nearly unimaginable is Alvarez matriarch Lila loosening up enough to wear Birkenstocks - in public. Otherwise, the extended Alvarez family is up to their usual hijinks: brother Richard, the computer genius, has the answer before the question is asked; Tugger the cat inadvertently reveals the culprit(s); hunky husband Gurn needs rescuing; Lee goes rogue; and Tío the chef, as always, plies them with delicious food. As spoofy and goofy as the set-up is, the danger is real: two waiters have disappeared from the hotel boat housing the dig crew. The boat is peopled almost entirely by eccentric and suspicious characters who are hiding something - right up to and including Lee's father-in-law! At the heart of the mystery, as always when ancient treasures are involved, is a solution as old as time: greed, running rampant in every imaginable form in a witty and refreshing tale that would make even the Dame laugh out loud.