It's September and a great number of exciting novels are coming out. So what has Patterson added to the reading pond but a nonfiction thriller about the Egyptian Boy King! As I looked over my reviewing stack determined to read first received first to read, up popped TUT. I couldn't resist peaking inside and yes, I was instantly hooked as Patterson is known to do. So, dear readers, here is Patterson and Dugard's thoroughly researched history and their conclusion as to how the young king met his untimely death.

They begin in the Valley of the Kings 1492 BC. Unani, the royal architect has just completed excavating a new burial place for Tuthmosis I. He makes sure the site is secret by killing the five hundred Nubian slaves who worked on the tomb. This one would forever be safe from tomb raiders.

The next chapter takes place in 1347 BC as Amenhotep the Magnificent is near death. His ungainly son, a child created in a moment of passion, is according to the Pharaoh a sniveling whelp. "All his muscles are in his head, That boy is a freak," Amenhotep exclaims. "Shame on me for leaving Egypt to him. Shame on both of us." This father is speaking of none other than Akhanaten who will one day become the father of Tut.

From ancient Egypt we are transported to England in the presence of a very young Howard Carter. Carter, from an early age was fascinated by anything having to do with Egypt. In the magnificent library of Lord Amherst's at Didlington Hall, Carter becomes acquainted with Egyptian literature. Amherst's Egyptian collection of books and artifacts were not only the largest but the most important in all of Great Britain.

Howard, like his father, was a talented artist. It was at Didlington Hall that young Carter met Percy Newberry an Egyptologist. When Percy needed an artist to sketch and record the colorful hieroglyphics inside the pharaoh's tombs he asked Howard to assist in the monumental task.

In 1891 Carter made his first trip to Egypt. He was just seventeen years old. It was in Alexandria that his life really began, the life he felt he was born for. Indeed, from this time until his death he devoted his life to sketching the art in the tombs, and becoming the most famous Egyptologist of his time.

The authors switch back and forth from ancient Egypt to Carter's life giving you exciting history of both worlds. It is necessary to read slowly in order to absorb the wonders of each as the tale unfolds.

I learned many things I had not known before. For instance that the favorite wife of Akhanaten was Nefertiti, the most beautiful of all the queens of Egypt. Nefertiti was Tutankhamen's step- mother, his biological mother died when he was born. Nefertiti loved the Pharaoh's son like he was her own. When her husband died, she made sure Tutankhamen was made king of all Egypt.

The young boy's life, like that of Howard Carter's, is laid out historically for all to enjoy and done beautifully. There's not a boring chapter in the entire book. Year by year, century by century the layers of time unfold.

Carter has triumphs and disasters until one fateful day in November of 1922 finally the steps to Tutankahamen's hidden tomb are uncovered. No grave robber had ever plundered the riches buried with the boy king. Carter's years of despair had paid off beyond his dearest dreams and his name would ever be associated with that of his greatest discovery.

As for Tut, the mystery of his life and untimely death would continue to be explored until a 21st century writer began his quest to uncover truths long hidden in the sands of Egypt. Patterson's historical writings ring as true as his theory of how and why Tut died while still a very young man.

This nonfiction thriller has all the elements a reader looks for; excellent characterizations, credible history, and enough tension and suspense to keep one turning the pages to the very end.