The Night of the Dog : A Mamur Zapt Mystery Book

I'm burning through this series about the head of British CID in Cairo circa 1908. Terrific scene setting with convoluted murder plots taking advantage of the various populations in all their fractious and occasionally homicidal glory who called Cairo home at that time. Some lovely writing, too. Here Owen is lured into escorting a visiting parliamentary member's daughter to a polo match.

'Couldn't you find somebody else?'
'I've picked you. though not with the confidence I used to. However, with polo you ought to be all right. Just confine yourself to watching the game, that's all. If a horse has to be shot, or I suppose, a rider--perhaps they do that sort of thing in polo; I expect they do since the Army has a hand in it--you don't have to go out of your way to ensure that she has a ringside seat. Nothing nasty this time, please.'

Keeping in mind that the last time Owen escorted the daughter anywhere she had a--literally--ringside seat to murder, Owen's taskmaster sounds a tad insouciant here.

There is a hilarious subplot involving Owen's Moslem orderly's sort of kind of accidentally divorcing his wife, wreaking havoc in the office. Owen's attempts to remediate the matter with another, temporary husband go seriously awry.

'Bloody hell!' said Owen.
'They went back to Sulieman's house,' said the bearer, gratified, 'and barred themselves in an upper room. We heard them laughing, effendi. And then they made the noises.'

Oops. And not forgetting Zeinab, the pasha's daughter who steals every scene she's in. Oh yeah, loving on this series and starting the third now.