Death in Delhi (Planet Stories # 17)

Death in Delhi is the third and final Gygax novel featuring Aegyptian detective Setne Inhetep and his bodyguard/companion Rachelle. Inhetep is an interesting spin on Sherlock Holmes, and as before, he quickly becomes embroiled in a mystery involving politics, royalty, and magic. In Death in Delhi, Inhetep accepts a commission to solve the mysterious theft of crown jewels from the locked vault of a distant nation. Inhetep and Rachelle are good characters and have a fun relationship, but the book is somewhat slow-paced. The two never seem to be in any real danger, as Inhetep is always one step ahead of his foes with a never-before mentioned spell on-hand to save the day. Even by the third book, Gygax was a below-average mystery writer. So although the main characters and setting are interesting, on the whole the book is only mediocre.