The Murder of King Tut: A Novel

Much is known and has been written about King Tutankamen’s treasures, but very little literature explores what it must have been like to know the ‘boy-king’ who ascended the throne at the tender age of eight and died mysteriously a mere ten years later. Many Egyptologists today believe Tut may have been murdered.
The Murder of King Tut, is a fact-based fictional account of the extraordinary life of Tut as seen through the eyes of a fictional childhood friend and later bodyguard, Abdari, a Hebrew slave. The antagonist is the high priest Aye who, history tells us, succeeded Tut.
In the opening scene, a wealthy merchant from Egypt accuses Abdari as Tut’s murderer. Abdari is forced to tell the true story of Tut’s life and death for the first time in forty years in order to clear his name. In a first-person account, Abdari narrates the story that began when he first met Tut as a young boy.
Tut and Abdari, spend their early years as fond playmates, but each well aware of their respective places. Abdari provides the kind of support only a true friend can give when the fearful young prince is declared pharaoh upon the death of his predecessor.
As a young adult and the pharaoh’s bodyguard, Abdari introduces Tut to the Hebrew God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Tut becomes convinced that Yahweh is the one true God, a dangerous proposition even for a pharaoh in a staunchly polytheistic society. (According to historical record, Akhenaten, Tut’s predecessor, promoted monotheism as well but soon after mysteriously vanished). Fearing the loss of the tremendous power and wealth of his position, Aye kills the young king and manages to place the blame on Abdari who must flee to the surrounding desert, never to return to Egypt.