The Golden Scarab's Secret

The Golden Scarab's Secret is the sequel to The Golden Scarab, which introduced young Oliver Berry and his friend Jake Ferguson, and involved them in an international gang's plot to steal valuable ancient Egyptian artefacts from a New Zealand museum exhibition.

This time the boys travel with Jake's parents to Cairo to be guests of the Egyptian Council of Antiquities and attend the Museum of Cairo centenary dinner, as thanks for their assistance in retrieving the stolen items.

While sightseeing, initial thoughts of jetlagged mishaps turn to suspicions that someone is out to do mischief.

And then, was their van involved in a minor scrape in Cairo's teeming traffic, or was it a gunshot the boys heard?

Tighter editing would have helped this story get off to a faster start, but it moves along once under way.

Ages 12+.

• René Nol is a Dunedin reader.