Sphinx
The treasures of Tutankhamen have enthralled the world for half a century. In Robin Cook's Sphinx, even this fabulous hoard pales to insignificance when a young Harvard Egyptologist stumbles across the unplundered tomb of a pharaoh who ruled after Tut. Mesmerized by a centuries-old statue in a Cairo antique shop, Erica Baron believes she has found the key to the untapped treasure. But how is she to decipher the riddle of the ancient relic without making its value known--and hence falling prey--to those who traffic in the treasures of antiquity? She must use the expertise of those who stand to make the most from plundering the past. Caught in the web of intrigue, corruption, and murder that soon envelopes her, Erica races to unlock the mysterious Curse of the Pharaohs that has kept the tomb intact over the centuries. The novel sets off a fascinating interplay between an ancient world of vast wealth and a modern world that both robs and reveres it.--Adapted from jacket.