The Museum Detective by Maha Khan Phillips is a young adult crime novel set in Karachi, Pakistan. Phillips masterfully weaves fact and fiction and writes a suspenseful story inspired by an archaeological hoax (when a gilded mummy of a Persian princess is ‘re-discovered’ by smugglers, trying to sell it for millions of dollars) with a compelling fictional subplot about Gul, the young woman archaeologist, asked to validate the find. Gulfsa ‘Gul’ Delani struggles with personal guilt and frustration to find her niece, missing for three years. Intelligent, driven, uncompromising and kind, she is aided by her loyal friends to find out the truth behind the mummy and in looking for her niece, little knowing that the two investigations will collide in unexpected ways.
The story begins with Gul being woken up in the middle of the night by the police to validate an object they found during a drug bust. The book presents enough archaeology and ‘mummy facts’ to make the finding of the sarcophagus interesting, and appreciate the significance of the ‘find’. When Gul overcomes all opposition and threats, and conducts forensic examination that proves the mummy to be fake, she is haunted with the question as to who the young woman in the sarcophagus could be, perhaps a murder victim.
Maha Khan Phillips presents through Gul’s lived experience a glimpse into the elite of Karachi and contemporary life inside a conservative Islamic nation that shows its citizens enjoying trendy styles and modern music. Gul is estranged from her family for having rejected the life they expected her to lead. The disappearance of Mahnaz, her curious and spirited niece is blamed on her. Through her protagonist, Maha Khan Phillips also explores what it means to be an incredibly smart woman working in a field where she is summarily dismissed by men, subtly exploring the theme of women fighting for space in the world and the challenges they must confront.
Gul Delani’s investigation is fraught with tension and danger; there are betrayals and lies. Phillips does not skirt the issues of systemic corruption and power struggles but puts them out for her young readers to get a glimpse of reality. This is also a story about family secrets skillfully revealed as the two investigations progress.
The story piqued my curiosity to find out more about the hoax in the year 2000 that had the international archaeological community in a tizzy and stirred a debate between Iran and Pakistan over rightful ownership of this unparalleled find. It also made me wonder how much of Gul’s character was inspired by Dr. Asma Ibrahim from the National Museum of Pakistan, the real-life archaeologist who investigated the mummy.
In The Museum Detective there is intrigue and a plot that takes fun and unexpected turns. Finally, Phillips offers surprising solutions to both the theft of the sarcophagus and the disappearance of Gul’s niece! A thoroughly enjoyable read and if this is the beginning of a series, I for one cannot wait to see what Gul uncovers next!