THE MURDER OF KING TUT The Plot to Kill the Child King

With the novelist's speculative "what if . . . ?" and the researcher's historical legwork, using X-rays, forensic clues, and previous period research, Patterson and Dugard try to prove that King Tutankhamen was murdered. The story shifts between the present to Egyptologist Howard Carter's early-twentieth-century journals to 1347 BC Thebes and the boy king's life. Joe Barrett's slightly sandpapery voice makes the moments in feel as if Patterson himself is speaking. In addition, Barrett’s "veddy" British Howard Carter is fun and informative. In the ancient Egyptian sections, with their romance and court intrigues, Barrett's reading quivers with excitement. Are the authors' conclusions scientifically grounded? Do they take too many liberties? The bottom line: The storytelling works, and Barrett's performance makes this three-thousand-year-old possibly true crime an engaging listen. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2009]