Book excerpt: A mysterious stranger appears in the Nile Delta - has the Emperor Akhaten returned to Egypt? Capturing Ancient Egypt in all its beauty and brutality, Paul Doherty's powerful novel, The Season of the Hyaena, brilliantly evokes the atmosphere of the hyaena world, in which the ally standing beside you at one moment may turn the next. Perfect for fans of Christian Jacqs and Wilbur Smith. 'An opulent banquet to satisfy the most murderous appetite' - Northern Echo Mahu, former Chief of Police and Keeper of the Secrets of the Heart is sitting down to record his memories. He sees uneasy quiet reigning in the Royal Circle at Thebes, after the disappearance of the Pharaoh Akenhaten and the abandonment of his new, sun-worshipping religion. Members of different factions are barely held together by loyalty to the six-year-old Emperor, Tutankhamun. Then extraordinary news reaches the Council: Akenhaten has returned to Egypt. The words are greeted with dismay by all who hear them, for surely Akenhaten is dead? Mahu can certainly vouch that the woman claiming to be the Emperor's wife, Nefertiti, is a fraud. Whoever the man is who has appeared in the Delta, he must be investigated. What readers are saying about Paul Doherty: 'Without a shadow of a doubt: 5 stars for the The Season of the Hyaena' 'The sounds and smells of the period seem to waft from the pages of [Paul Doherty's] books' 'Doherty again manages to tell the story in a fascinating manner... [you] fly over the pages'