The Case of the Dastardly Djinn: A Masked Man of Cairo Prequel

by Sean McLachlan, Curtis Michael Holland (Read by)

Overview

A homeless boy. A hunted girl.

Cairo, 1917. In a city plagued by poverty and war, ten-year-old Faisal begs and steals to survive, hiding at night from the things that prowl after dark. The nimblest and most clever of the street boys, he's terrified of the unseen spirits he's convinced haunt the ancient city.

But when he discovers a girl his age left homeless by a terrible tragedy, Faisal decides to do what no one ever did for him—help. With no shelter and facing the many dangers of Cairo's darkened streets, Faisal's loyalties are tested when together they uncover a criminal ring more sinister than his worst superstitions.

This prequel to the Masked Man of Cairo mystery adventure series will thrill new listeners and long-time fans alike!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798228664623
Publisher:	Tantor
Publication date:	06/16/2026
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Sean McLachlan is an archaeologist who has excavated in the Middle East, Europe, and the United States. Now a full-time writer, he specializes in history, travel, and fiction. He is a two-time Kindle Scout Award winner and won the 2013 Society of American Travel Writers Award for his Iraq reportage. Sean is busy working on two fiction series: The Masked Man of Cairo (neo-pulp detective adventure) and The Berlin Murders (historical mystery). Half of Sean's time is spent on the road researching and writing. He's traveled to more than thirty countries, interviewing nomads in Somaliland, climbing to clifftop monasteries in Ethiopia, studying Crusader castles in Syria, and exploring caves in his favorite state of Missouri.

Curtis Michael Holland has craved performing and sharing what he knows ever since he first experienced the adrenaline rush of a connected audience. With a mixed background that is Canadian-Greek, African, and Indigenous (Blackfoot and Cherokee), you could say that he emerges from a rich mosaic of storytellers. Then, there's the fact that he has lived across three different continents-four, if you count the Middle East as its own. Nevertheless, the world is his home and he loves exploring new corners of it. Along this journey, he has developed basic proficiency yet refined pronunciation in: Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, French, and Italian. Curtis's worldly adventure began once he left his home in small-town Canada to teach students theater around the world as soon as he earned his honors degrees. This member of the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities is proud to share his spirited, textured, and entertaining voice. On one hand he loves bringing authenticity to queer romances and young adult fiction; on the other, he enjoys flirting with stories of horror, thrills, and high tension. Whatever the tale may be, it is his ultimate goal to educate and entertain.