Diana O'Hehir

Diana O'Hehir's more recent novels feature Carla Day and her elderly father, an Egyptologist with early-stage Alzheimer's. From a Q & A at her website:

Why are you interested in Ancient Egypt?

When I was eight years old my grandfather sent me two volumes of an educational series called WONDERS OF THE PAST. These were fat green books with tons of pictures. Anything the editors considered to be a WONDER got dealt with, but they seemed really interested in Egypt—Egyptian pyramids, tombs, papyri, statues—the whole marvelous display. And I was immediately captivated. I took the volume that told about Tutankhamen's tomb to bed with me and read it at night with a flashlight. Which took some doing—the book was ledger-size.

Yes, I wanted to be an archeologist, but I was much too unscientific and dreamy. Measuring things and keeping track of them were not on my list of talents.

So now I write about Egypt. And read about it. And continue to love the idea. That interest in Egypt gets into my mystery novels. My most recent one, ERASED FROM MEMORY is set in an Egyptian museum and contains a murder based on an Egyptian puzzle.

Did you know that of all the ancient cultures Egypt treated women the best? Marriage contracts specified that women had equal rights with men to own, manage and receive property. Many jobs were open to women, including those of musicians, florists, and doctors.

Read the complete Q & A.

Visit Diana O'Hehir's website.

--Marshal Zeringue