THE FIRES OF FU MANCHU

by Cay Van Ash ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1987

Fu Manchu and his ruthless daughter battle the British for control of a renegade scientist and the secret of The Midnight Sun. Writing in flawless and wonderfully soothing late Edwardian prose, the author of Ten Years Beyond Baker Street revives the team of police inspector Nayland Smith and his cohort Dr. Petrie. It's the middle of the Great War and Dr. Petrie, having sent his wife back to England, is alone in his practice in Cairo when he opens his door to an after-hours caller, a gorgeous and vaguely Oriental woman with a mysterious malady. Before Dr. Petrie can get out a tongue depressor, the woman has dropped her single garment and begun to work a spell on him. He's saved by the bell announcing Nayland Smith. Smith's in town to enlist Petrie's help as he looks for a supposedly treacherous scientist, now missing, who's been working on a top-secret weapon. Before Petrie can introduce his new friend, the lady vanishes. Turns out she's Fu Manchu's daughter and she's left some very hot sheets. Smith's guest bed ignites at the touch of a hot-water bottle. One of her dad's gadgets. Within hours, Smith and Petrie are kidnapped and entombed with the pharaohs. Escape is followed by ever more harrowing adventures as Petrie and Smith learn that H.M. Government is being less than truthful with them and that Fu Manchu may be on the moral high ground. Grand, old-fashioned adventure that never gets campy. Wonderful scenes of Egypt.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1987

Categories: FICTION