As fans of Robinson's will know, this is the fifth novel in the popular Lord Meren series. In the ripe setting of Egypt in the 14th century B.C., Lord Meren functions as the Eyes and Ears of Pharaoh, an important and trusted confidante of the young King Tutankhamun.

In her historical notes which preface the story, author Robinson explains the fate of any author writing about this period: much of the data from this era remains uncertain and varies from scholar to scholar. In giving credit to her sources, she explains briefly the skeletal facts which are known from this period, and some other theories which surround it. While a lack of solid evidence could be seen as a hindrance here, Robinson makes the best of it. For example, Egyptologists are uncertain who Tutankhamun's parents were. Was he the younger brother of King Akhenaten, who preceded him, or his son? But as the author points out, she has a "wealth of material to create a historical mystery." She chooses theories which work best with her plot and characters and goes from there –and it usually works.

Lord Meren is a nobleman in his late thirties who suffered horribly under the hands of King Akhenaten. (Those scars and stories are unveiled in previous books from the series.) In the fourth book, Eater of Souls, Meren comes across information which sets up the plot for this story. While tracking a serial killer, Meren comes across information which indicates Queen Nefertiti, Great Royal Wife of King Akhenaten, did not die from plague as believed, but was in fact poisoned. In Drinker of Blood, Meren sets out to secretly solve this mystery and identify the murderer of the great and beloved queen.

The author creates an interesting cast of characters which we follow in two time periods. The story begins with the twelve-year-old Nefertiti learning that she is to be wed to Akhenaten, the strange and heretic son of King Amunhotep. While she is not pleased about marrying the odd young man, she is trained for the duty and governed by his mother, Queen Tiye, and her father, the king's advisor Ay. A sensible and strong girl, Nefertiti is seen as a woman who can help the reckless Akhenaten when it is his time to ascend the throne.

Akhenaten, as history attests, did not follow the traditional Egyptian beliefs and worship the god Amun, but renounced all other gods in favor of the Aten, or sun god. This caused great turmoil in his lifetime, as much of Egypt's social structure and economy relied on the priests of the Amun. While Nefertiti pretends to worship the Aten and believe her husband's heretical beliefs, she secretly works to restore order and traditional ways to her land.

From Nefertiti, the reader goes to Lord Meren and Tutankhamun's rule in Memphis, some 15-20 years in the future. Meren, with the help of a few trusted aides and his children, is searching for Queen Nefertiti's murderer. He feels he must work secretly as everyone he wants to question, such as the Queen's cook, and the Queen's steward, are murdered before he can see them. He relies on his adopted son Kysen and his strong-willed daughter Bener to help him in his search.

The plot takes some intriguing and tense twists along the way. Nefertiti has grave problems trying to control her erratic husband and watching the empire disintegrate. Lord Meren is set up by his unseen enemy who has discovered his area of inquiry. He is accused of stealing from his King, and eventually he must flee and go into hiding after being accused of trying to kill Tutankhamun. All of these various plot threads are satisfying and of interest, so I was expecting a terrific surprise ending. Which of Meren's three prime suspects would come to light as the killer? Or would another character be revealed as the mastermind behind Nefertiti's poisoning?

The disappointment in this story is that Robinson never gets there – she never answers the question. As any lover of mysteries knows, you have to give the reader a satisfying answer to the whodunit question. The book jacket itself is tantalizing – Meren is finally going to discover the Drinker of Blood, the evil killer of the Great Queen Nefertiti! But this plot, introduced in Book Four of this series, will now have to wait until Book Six. Robinson balks at the end and leaves us with nothing but Meren's continued wrath. The real question is, will you want to give her another chance with the next one? While I admire Lynda S. Robinson's historical knowledge and writing craft, I hope she can carry it to fruition the next time around.

--Martha Moore