jay roudebush

After eleven –year- old Robert Henry’s widowed mother dies in the 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic, he is left alone in the world and is sent to St. Jerome’s School for Boys, a bleak London institution for orphans and foundlings, where he is at the mercy of unfeeling adults and predatory older youths. Luckily for Robert, the school’s Headmaster discovers a distant relation of Robert’s who owns a small dairy farm in Devon. She agrees to have Robert come and live with her. Upon his arrival in Devon, he is greeted by Mavis McKenzie, a curt, stiff-necked spinster. Although they are distant cousins, she insists that he refer to her as “Aunt Mavis,” signaling the beginning of a relationship that takes a surprising turn.

A peculiar set of circumstances lead Robert to rescue and adopt a dog whom he names Anubis. In the meantime, he makes the acquaintance of a retired sea captain, Tristan Weatherby, who has moved into a cottage not far from McKenzie Farm. Weatherby repays a kindness by giving Robert an ancient Egyptian scarab that he purchased at a Cairo bazaar during his travels. The scarab ultimately becomes the focus of a fantastic adventure that includes kidnapping, heart-stopping escape and pursuit, and a hunt for buried treasure.

Secret of the Scarab is a story that will appeal to any reader who loves an exciting tale and is captivated by the mysteries of ancient Egypt.