Silver Medal for Fiction
—2014 Nautilus Book Awards
Bronze Medal for Historical Fiction
—2014 Independent Publisher Book Awards
The Cairo Codex is a riveting novel that portrays the unique bonds between two powerful women separated by millennia. Their relationship foreshadows a seismic shift in the Egyptian landscape. A splendidly researched and original historical novel that evokes the beautiful prose and exotic setting of The Red Tent.
-Jeffrey Small, Bestselling Author of The Jericho Deception and The Breath of God
This page-turner will keep you on the edge of your seat!
-Arab Vistas Today
The 2013 USA Best Book Awards; Fiction: Historical
Lambert’s life in Egypt was the stimulus for this multi-layered historical novel. The Cairo Codex combines the three great religions of the Middle East with modern and historical characters, suspense, and the challenges of life and politics in present day Egypt. This creates an altogether fascinating narrative that is hard to put down!
-Dr. Waguida El Bakary, Professor Emeritus, American University, Cairo
The most rewarding experience for any author is to know that you have written a great book and that perceptive readers will be able to share your story and enjoy your talent. Such is The Cairo Codex—a spell-binding novel of Egyptian history, religion, romance, and politics.
-David Appleby, composer, author of Bravo Brazil! and Music of Brazil
I loved The Cairo Codex. After reading the Prologue, I was hooked and immediately felt propelled into Cairo. The writing is strong, as are the characters and story. Bravo! I'm looking forward to the next adventure of Justine Jenner.
-Paul Williams, archaeologist, U.S. Department of Interior
The Cairo Codex takes us into two worlds, one of an ancient time when one notable woman began to influence history, and another when Dr. Justine Jenner discovers a connection between that world and her own. Readers gain insight into the world of archaeology—a world that, to the uninitiated, may seem a quiet, interesting and ordered world of discovery and scholars. Instead, we find the intrigue and thrill of a more sinister underworld where individuals will do almost anything to either steal the glory of a new discovery or hide a truth that may change the way we think forever. Is anyone right to trust anyone? The Cairo Codex can’t be put down until the end of the last page and leaves you wanting more.
-Baroness Miranda Taxi, Il Pero, Arezzo, Italy
The Cairo Codex merges the past and present into a brilliantly original story. Through an accident of fate, Justine finds herself with a stunning primeval text bound to disrupt the sensitive balance of religion, politics, and history. Lambert deftly weaves ancient and modern Egypt into a novel of intrigue, love, and adventure.
-Diane Zimmerman, author, The Power of the Social Brain and the forthcoming Cognitive Capital
In this compelling novel, the lives of two women, two thousand years apart, become intertwined when the ancient diary of one is found by the second, a young archaeologist, during a violent earthquake in a crypt in Old Cairo. Among the incendiary words contained in the lost diary is an indication of the impact of Buddhism on what would become Christianity and Islam. An original and splendidly researched work of fiction, The Cairo Codex encompasses religious and political intrigue in a riveting historical novel.
-Jacquelynn Baas, author, Smile of the Buddha and The Mind of the Buddha
With Egypt very much high profile in world events these days, The Cairo Codex is especially apropos, and Linda Lambert’s impeccable credentials for writing such a story include being a former U.S. State Department envoy to Egypt. Indeed her command of historical and cultural detail is most impressive. But she wears her learning lightly as she tells a good story that balances thriller, romance and historic plotlines with a sure hand.
—The Vagrant Mood
A thriller/romance that intertwines a story of a young anthropologist in modern-day Cairo with that of a few crucial years in the life of Jesus Christ's family. Justine returns to Cairo for the first time since her childhood, when she lived with her Egyptian mother and her American father, who pursued an archaeological dig. Now an adult and a cultural anthropologist, Justine has come to observe the area's fledgling community schools for girls, but her memories of her previous time in Egypt, when her parents were still together and life was full of mystery and opportunity, have her in thrall. During a close encounter with an earthquake, she literally stumbles upon a little book, a codex, in an ancient crypt where she's nearly buried alive. It turns out to be a rather remarkable diary--one with profound implications for religious communities already roiling with discontent. The setup allows Lambert to tell all manner of stories, addressing the prospects for Egyptian women--"Am I heir of Isis or of today's Islamic women cloaked in hijabs?"--to the ancient desire, still with us, of established religions to destroy pagan documents. The prose can be uneven, and sometimes a bit overwritten: "Sunlight skims across the water beneath a pale lavender mist as I watch the Great River Nile come to life around me, warm sand rising between my toes." For the most part, however, the novel delivers a tautly suspenseful historical tale. In particular, Lambert sharply ties together early Christian beliefs with the plight of females in traditional societies, and effectively depicts the fears unleashed when entrenched beliefs are challenged. She also keeps a sure hand on the romance plotline, letting it percolate and flare within manageable boundaries. An often engaging thriller/romance, and a smart evocation of modern Egypt.
