The Boy King's death is a subject that has been open to controversy ever since his tomb was discovered, and James Patterson weighs in with his theory in this entertaining book. That he was murdered is not a new idea, but Patterson sees it a little differently than other researchers. He has fleshed out scenes as they might have happened in the young pharaoh's life, and has leaned heavily on the journals of Howard Carter for the chapters on the search for, and the discovery of the well hidden tomb.

Tutankhaman was only nine years old when he became pharaoh of Egypt.  His reign was rife with controversy, with his most trusted advisors being jealous rivals for the throne.  When he died at only eighteen years of age under circumstances that are still controversial today, his name was removed from Egyptian history, and his reign was followed by the rule of figures who were not of royal lineage, in what seems like nefarious circumstances.

There is no doubt that Tut's modern day popularity and the public's fascination with him has, indeed, brought him immortality. Patterson has attempted to solve the three-thousand-year-old mystery by pursuing the forensic clues that modern science has unearthed.  Did he accomplish that?

The Murder of King Tut is a quick read with enough suspense and romanticism to bring Carter's search for Tut's tomb and the treachery of Tut's Grand Vizier and his top General to life.  Patterson's fictionalized version of royal happenings in Tut's Egypt is intriguing, if not totally convincing, and differs greatly from the theory set forth in the official King Tutankhaman exhibit that is currently touring the U.S.  Who is right?  Read it and judge for yourself.