An exciting adventure story of an intrepid young female Egyptologist determined to undo a curse, this story was entertaining and had deeper themes of respect for heritage and culture, as well as the powerful bonds of sisterhood which can link women to go to extraordinary lengths to help one another.
At times perhaps a little melodramatic and implausible, I found it an enjoyable and pacy read with lots of atmosphere, plenty of twists and turns, and an engaging premise.

Egyptian mythology weaved into a Victorian gothic mystery (also publishing under the title The House of Two Sisters)

Clemmie has grown up surrounded by her father's obsession with Egypt and it's artefacts. He hosts unwrapping parties where the he reveals a Mummy to an entranced audience with Clemmie on-hand to provide translations of the hieroglyphs. One very unusual unwrapping changes everything for their family and, several years later, Clemmie finds herself alone in Egypt. But instead of being able to enjoy the places she's longed to visit, she's haunted by the curse that has been placed on her family.

The story alternates between Clemmie in Egypt, travelling along the Nile with her unwanted companions, and to the time following the fateful unwrapping and the devastating events that have befallen her family in England.

I loved the parts set in Egypt - the atmosphere was excellent, really capturing the feel of travelling along the Nile, the heat, the wonders and the dangers. I liked that the author chose to not glorify the Victorian Egyptomania, yes there were genuine archaeologists who cared for the history they were uncovering, but a lot were treasure hunters and looters, damaging and destroying thousands of years of history. As Clemmie's journey progresses, she begins to really understand the harm that has been done and the work that is required to try to repair the damage.

The myths of the sister goddesses Nephthys and Isis are woven into the story -with Clemmie and her sister's story mirroring the myths and Clemmie also sharing the myths with her fellow travellers. She believes that her family have become entwined with the myth as a result of the curse.

The Egypt-set timeline was the stronger of the two and I felt like the story switched between the timelines a bit too much. As an historical fiction, I thought it was very entertaining. As a mystery it was maybe a little predictable and melodramatic towards the end, but I did feel compelled to keep reading and was caught up in the tension.

I'll just add that I've seen this classed as fantasy in places and I would say that, although there's some ambiguity about the mummy's curse, it's definitely not a fantasy or fantasy myth retelling.

Historical fiction set in the late 1800’s in England and Egypt. This is the story of the Attridge family, although mainly that of Clementine ‘Clemmie’ who from a young age was fascinated by Egyptology. After 1887, when her father dissected a two headed mummy, disaster seemed to haunt the family and Clemmie was convinced it was the curse on the amulet found with the body coming true. The curse was connected to the story of sisters Isis and Nephthys and their brother-husbands Osiris and Set. Nephthys represented death and Isis birth.

Briefly, in 1892 Clemmie travelled to Egypt with the intent to return the amulet to Nephthys in the hope that it would break the curse on her family. She joins up with three other travellers in Cairo, less by choice than necessity, to sail to the place she believes the amulet should be buried.

Told in dual timeline, alongside dreams and the myths surrounding Nephthys, I did get a little confused at times, particularly with the Nephthys tale. That said it was really interesting and I do find Egyptian mythology particularly fascinating. Clemmie is a good character, passionate about Egyptology and her sister, a cat lover, determined and brave, although I do think a lot of her decisions were rather rash! An entertaining and enjoyable read.

This is a mesmerising read linking the myths and legends of ancient Egypt with Egyptologists of the nineteenth century. Clemmie, a young woman who is unusually proficient in deciphering hieroglyphics, finds herself torn between family loyalties and the need to atone for the past. We are transported to the dust and deceit enveloping the ancient sites alongside the river Nile where the tension builds as Clemmie agonises over who to trust as her world is turned upside down.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley and am grateful for the opportunity to read. This book is more than the sum of it's component parts and as such is very difficult to describe. I suppose it's main thrust is mythology. The lives of Isis and Nephthys have been a part of the 19th century lives of Clementine and Rosetta from their childhood. Clementine has worked with her father - an Egyptologist in bringing artifacts to life in Victorian England. However her father's latest discovery and what he does with it leads to a sea-change in Clementine's thinking.
The narrative moves into Egypt and has elements of Adventure, Romance and the place of Women in Society. These weave seamlessly with the original mythological themes.

It is an extremely evocative read and one I found difficult to put down. As a debut book it is a stunning success

I found lots to admire in this book, which has a dual timeline between ancient Egypt and the Victorian era,,where Egyptomania has taken over society.
Clemmie, our hero, has arrived in Egypt to try to undo a curse which she believes to have befallen her family further to a rather gruesome mummy unwrapping conducted by her father. Parallels are drawn between Nephthys, Isis and Osiris and Clemmie and her sister Rosetta and betrothed Horatio. There were times when I thought I’d have benefitted from a better understanding of this myth, which is revealed in parts, but thus is a minor quibble, and entirely my fault for not going away and looking it up!
Clemmie’s desire to right a wrong gets her in some pretty dangerous situations, sometimes these felt a bit at odds with the mythical and mystical parts of the story. However, it’s quite the adventure, with villains in unexpected places, some pioneering Victorian ladies and a tiny bit of romance.
An enjoyable read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Set in 19th century England and Egypt, it follows Clemmie the youngest daughter of a renowned Egyptologist. After an event st their house involving the unwrapping of a mummy, Clemmie is convinced a curse has been unleashed on her family as tragedy piles on tragedy.
The plot mixes Clemmies story with the myths of ancient Egypt and in particular the stories of two sisters Isis and Nephthys.

Clemmie has always been interested in Egypt and its artefacts due to her father. One night following the up wrapping of a mummy she discovers an amulet. Being to read Hieroglyphics the amulet scares her. Following a series of events at home, Clemmie begins to feel that by returning the amulet a curse may be broken.

So five years later we follow Clemmie on her mission to right a wrong.

I’ve always been interested in Egyptian history. I could never remember who was who. The author has told the story in such a way that I can remember the facts. Bravo. An enjoyable read too.

Nephtys is a wonderful historical fiction blended with a fascinating myth retelling. I loved seeing the story unfold and the way the constant parallels between Clemmie and the goddess Nephtys brought a sense of foreboding to the story. No worries if you know nothing of Egyptian mythology, the author explains enough that you can easily keep up.
Clemmie really made this book for me. The main character, she is a gifted egyptologist, a passion inherited from her father. She is strong, stubborn, passionate. She is scared of letting people in, something I find highly relatable. She's a cat lady, which I can also relate to! The exploration of her bond with her sister warmed my heart. I am the youngest of three sisters and always love seeing a beautiful portrayal of sisterhood. But perhaps what I loved most was seeing her question how you can love a foreign culture and history and feed that love without disrespecting the country of its origin. As a lover of ancient Rome and Greece, it is something I ask myself often. Whenever I visit a museum, I am always torn between happiness at getting the chance to see these artefacts and unease that they should not have been taken from their country. So I thought that was a really interesting theme in the book. The epilogue maybe felt a bit white saviour-ish, but overall I thought it was handled pretty well.
I didn't see the antagonist coming, and I thought it worked great. In fact, the first half of the book is rather slow-paced, and there isn't really a human antagonist, instead you just have Clemmie pursuing a mission in the hopes of saving her sister. And then the antagonist comes in, and it makes so much sense, and makes for a very exciting second half.
The romance really takes a backseat and I love that. I'm not super big on romance so I don't enjoy when it feels like the main plot. I'm reluctant to even call it a slow-burn because it's not even relevant for a while and then you gradually get hints it will happen. It takes time to warm up to the eventual love interest, like it takes time for Clemmie, so I thought it was very fitting.
Overall, an excellent book that'll make me very curious to read more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK Vintage for the ARC and the opportunity to read this book pre-release. All thoughts are my own.

4.25 ⭐️

Nephthys is possibly the first ever book that I had the pleasure to read that actually gave me The Mummy vibes and, as a massive fan of the movies, it is not easy thing to admit for me.
The plot has little to do with the 90s franchise but we got some very promising elements: a woman that makes of Egyptology her job and life mission, a mummy curse of some sort, an ex-military love interest and most importantly a story set in Egypt during the years of the first discoveries.

This is the story of Clemmie, a young british Egyptologist, that believes her and her sister's life has started going very wrong after her and her father disrespected a very peculiar mummy. After 5 years of tragedies that leave her family in misery, she believes that the only way to set things right and save her sister's life is returning to Egypt the amulet that started all of this.
We follow her journey and discover how these two sisters lives intertwine with the myths of Isis and Nephthys, the two sisters of Egyptian mythology.

I found this book incredibly interesting and it fed my obsession with this mythology and culture. I loved the historical settings, the realistic (and brutal) way in which the mad excavations in Egypt have impacted the country and it is very well written, which I always value.
The way the author is able to connect and mix the stories of these siblings, both real and mythical, is also strongly executed.
The only slightly negative note for me is the pace. I found it a bit slow and considering chapters are quite short, I was expecting a more captivating and swift turn of events.

I would recommend this book to readers that love a well written, nostalgic, story with Egyptian elements and vibes. Not a fantasy but the lines between reality and myth blur.

Egyptology, curse and mystery

Thank you, Harvill Secker and NetGalley, for providing me with an ARC of Rachel Louise Driscoll’s, Nephthys.

Rachel Louise Driscoll’s debut novel, Nephthys, is an engaging blend of Egyptology (Nephthys, Isis, Osiris and Set), a curse and mystery/crime. The plot is solid, and from page one, Rachel Louise displays a sound grasp of Egyptology.
One negative: the pace was a bit too slow for my liking.

Rachel Louise Driscoll’s debut novel, Nephthys, will appeal to fans of Victorian and ancient Egyptian myth alike.

This book started off really well. I'm really interested in Egyptian history ever since reading River God by Wilbur Smith.

So I was enthusiastic when I started reading Nephthys. My first educational point was that Nephthys was the opposite of Isis, a word that has cropped up in recent times for all the wrong reasons. So great start.

By midway through however, I was getting more and more irritated with the writing style. Continually jumping back and forth made the whole middle part of the book a bit of a drag to read to be honest. So I finished it fairly quickly, disappointed that such a promising start got a bit bogged down.
Intelligently written and very articulate, the book probably captures the culture of the period it reflects very well. I just wasn't fond of the writing style and got a bit bored.

A book about the secret of Nephthys set in Egypt in the late 1890s Victorian period in England when lots of explorers were coming to Egypt and removing their antiquities. The story revolves around Clemmie a specialist in translating Hieroglyphs. At one of their Egyptian relic parties which has made her father the famous, the words Clemmie translates from an unusual amulet strike fear into her heart. Five years later with both of her parents dead and her sister ill Clemmie travels up the Nile to find out if her translation was true and what she can do to reverse what she believes is a curse. On her journey she meets both friends and enemies. Read the book to discover the truth.

3.5 stars

Set in Victorian England at the peak of Egypt-mania, Clemmie’s father hosts Egyptian relic parties working alongside Clemmie, who can translate the ancient hieroglyphs. At one party, against Clemmie’s warnings, he unravels and dissects a two headed mummy, setting the family onto a cursed path. Five years later, Clemmie’s sets out for Egypt, to right wrongs, seek forgiveness and restore peace.

This has got ample action and excitement, a spot of romance and I found it easy to visualise the settings and scenery. It was refreshing to read a book about Egypt with a strong female lead;

Parts of the novel dragged for me and I felt that some of the characters felt a bit flat.

Overall, an entertaining read.Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for my review copy.

I loved how deeply researched this novel was and I'm always fascinated by ambiguous curses and difficult families. That said, I found the jumps through time really muddled and, at times, repetitive, and I struggled to connect with the protagonist Clemmie. I was so frustrated by so many of her choices but also found her cold and a little standoffish, which I know many readers didn't but which impeded my enjoyment of the book. This just didn't grab me and, because it felt repetitive at times, I struggled with the pacing.

Whilst I generally enjoyed reading this book I found it at times to be somewhat repetitive. I think the story could have been cut down somewhat as I felt the author was going over certain elements time and again. That said I liked the premise of the story and the characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this fabulous historical fiction novel. A retelling of the mythical goddess Nephthys story, a tale of family, intrigue, mystery, revenge and healing. A dual timeline shares the heroine (Clemmie) story as she embarks on a quest to return a family amulet to its rightful home. The story isn't rushed. Instead, it allows time for character development and emotional depth. I loved the historical details
especially the Victorian obsession with archaeology, finding and acquiring artefacts, another example of colonialism. I was transported to Egypt with its evocative sounds and smells and imagined myself gently sailing down the Nile.

The author’s writing is atmospheric and poetic, with lush descriptions of ancient Egyptian settings. I thought the prose's lyrical quality complements the mythological subject matter, drawing the reader into the ancient and mythological worlds. The pace kept me on my toes, with quiet moments and bursts of dramatic action.

I highly recommend this novel.

Thank you, Netgalley, the publisher and author, for the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the book a lot even though it was a departure from my usual genre. The back and forth between the unwrapping and the journey to restore the tyet keep the story moving although I did feel it started to drag a bit at the end. All in all a solid 4 stars and I’d read this author again.

I really enjoyed this book and read it very quickly. Clemmie and Rosette's father is obsessed with Egyptian artifacts especially mummies. They are brought up with stories of Egyptian myths rather than fairy stories. Clemmie learns to read hieroglyphics and becomes fluent in several languages including Arabic. One of the public unwrapping of a mummy uncovers an unusual 2 headed mummy and a unique amulet. Clemmie translates the amulet to reveal a curse relating to Isis and Nephthys, two characters that Clemmie and her sister used to play act as children. Bad things start happening but is it the curse?
The book also reflects on the Victorian obsession with all things Egyptian acquiring as much as the could without consideration that most were stolen and damage was being done to historical sites. Also, is it right to remove dead bodies from they resting place?

An interesting subject but I could not connect with the writing style. A tad too much jumping about for my liking. There’s plenty of action and the piecing together of the story as a whole is intriguing but just not for me.

Thank you Netgalley