A SERIES OF HISTORICAL NOVELS
The Muhammad Amalfi
Mystery Series
With meticulous attention to detail and suspenseful storytelling, this series will keep you captivated from
beginning to end. Add your email below to receive the Readers Companion Bonus Content!
About the Mysteries
About the Mysteries
Join Muhammad Amalfi in an exciting series of adventures and crime-related mysteries in the den of the most notorious corsairs the Mediterranean has ever known. The most unlikely of officials, as a foreigner, a convert, and still a student at the law college in Algiers, Muhammad is elevated by the capricious Dey of Algiers to fill the vacant office of Caid al-Fahs, or Chief Commissioner of the Hinterlands of Algiers. Amid the constant danger of the Dey’s disapproval or dismissal-both of which were often fatal for those whose actions displeased the mercurial Dey-the young and idealistic Muhammad sought justice amidst political intrigue, societal turmoil, and the need to survive in a strange and hostile environment.The ten novels in the Muhammad Amalfi Mysteries feature the adventures of a young Italian orphan raised in a brothel and lost at sea in an open boat before being taken to Algiers as a captive from a hostile nation. The first three novels, Early Years in Algiers, recount the coming of age of the young captive through his ordeal at sea, the agreement resulting in his ransom, and his years as a student of language and law when he comes to the aid of his friends, acquaintances and, through no intention of his own, the Dey of Algiers.Using his natural instincts, the street smarts developed while a guide to tourists and pilgrims in his native Amalfi and, in the final volumes, the help of his savvy and resolute wife, Hurriya, Muhammad seeks to navigate the troubled waters of a society consumed by the greed of its rulers and reviled by its European neighbors and competitors for the riches of North Africa and the Mediterranean.
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Click on the video above to step into the world of the Barbary Corsairs and Muhammad Amalfi in 1790’s Algiers.
About the Mysteries
About the Mysteries
Join Muhammad Amalfi in an exciting series of adventures and crime-related mysteries in the den of the most notorious corsairs the Mediterranean has ever known. The most unlikely of officials, as a foreigner, a convert, and still a student at the law college in Algiers, Muhammad is elevated by the capricious Dey of Algiers to fill the vacant office of Caid al-Fahs, or Chief Commissioner of the Hinterlands of Algiers. Amid the constant danger of the Dey’s disapproval or dismissal-both of which were often fatal for those whose actions displeased the mercurial Dey-the young and idealistic Muhammad sought justice amidst political intrigue, societal turmoil, and the need to survive in a strange and hostile environment.The ten novels in the Muhammad Amalfi Mysteries feature the adventures of a young Italian orphan raised in a brothel and lost at sea in an open boat before being taken to Algiers as a captive from a hostile nation. The first three novels, Early Years in Algiers, recount the coming of age of the young captive through his ordeal at sea, the agreement resulting in his ransom, and his years as a student of language and law when he comes to the aid of his friends, acquaintances and, through no intention of his own, the Dey of Algiers.Using his natural instincts, the street smarts developed while a guide to tourists and pilgrims in his native Amalfi and, in the final volumes, the help of his savvy and resolute wife, Hurriya, Muhammad seeks to navigate the troubled waters of a society consumed by the greed of its rulers and reviled by its European neighbors and competitors for the riches of North Africa and the Mediterranean.
Get the books
Early Years in Algiers
With meticulous attention to detail and suspenseful storytelling, this series will keep you captivated from beginning to end. Add your email below to receive the Readers Companion Bonus Content!Add your email below to receive the Readers Companion Bonus Content and enhance your appreciation of the exciting world of the Barbary Corsairs in the final decade of the Eighteenth century!
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Early Years in Algiers
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Enter the perplexing and fascinating world of the Barbary Corsairs during the last decades of Turkish rule. See it through the eyes of a young man finding his way in a city reviled by many as the Scourge of the Mediterranean. Experience the intensity, the intrigue, the danger, and the promise of a new life in a new and mysterious land.
A Captive in Algiers
On Amazon now!
Read the first in the exciting historical fiction series of mystery and adventure set in 1790s Algiers!
And be sure to add the Audible version!
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Follow Ettore’s perilous adventure after he ‘borrows’ a boat in Amalfi, facing unexpected challenges. -
Experience the gripping struggle for survival as Ettore confronts stormy seas, Algerian corsairs, and the treacherous slave market. -
Discover a tale of self-discovery, friendship, and sacrifice in this fast-paced historical fiction by acclaimed author AJ Lewis.
An Admirer of Books
On Amazon Now!
Imagine a law student’s first court appearance in a foreign land.
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Immerse yourself in a gripping tale of justice and chaos as you join law student Muhammad in defending the accused-an enslaved manservant and a mysterious maidservant named An Admirer of Books-in a city shaken by an earthquake. -
Experience the thrill of unraveling a web of danger and intrigue as you accompany Muhammad through debris-filled alleyways, encountering dangerous adversaries in court and uncovering unexpected connections to a madman with a haunting past. -
Explore themes of identity, struggle, and the pursuit of justice as you witness Muhammad’s unwavering determination to provide a makeshift defense, delving into the depths of a chaotic city and discovering the power of resilience in the face of adversity.
Another Tomb in Algiers
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Read the astonishing story of Muhammad’s unlikely appointment to high office.
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Immerse yourself in vibrant Algiers, delve into the clash of North Africa’s rich spiritual culture with representatives of the Ottoman regency. -
Join Muhammad in uncovering the truth behind trials for blasphemy and a recurring dream, experiencing suspense and anticipation. -
Follow young Muhammad Amalfi, a justice-driven law student, as he devises a jaw-dropping solution to his friend’s special problem.
Ready to discover a City on the Mediterranean
Long Thought to be Forbidden?
Begin the adventure below!
YES, I’M READY!
What did I, Ettore, know of Algiers when I was swept to sea in the year 1788? What could I know? I was barely more than a boy living in a hammock strung nightly from hooks in a kitchen at a seaside bordello in Amalfi.
Desert Debris Press
Historical Fiction doesn’t need to indulge sagas set in stale Eurocentric comfort zones.
Are you…
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Bored by the Victorians and their manors?
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Left cold by windblown heaths?
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Sick of detectives with complexes only a Freud could love?
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Confused by French periods?
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Exhausted by claustrophobic Gothic castles?
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Aghast at Visigoths, Vikings, and Vampires?
If so, the Desert Debris Press has some books for you!
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What our readers say…
AJ Lewis opened a door on the home of the bad boys of the Mediterranean and I couldn’t be more amazed at how like us today these very different people from those very distant times could actually be. How the young man from an altogether alien culture could survive and then thrive in the city of pirates makes an amazing story on its own. But his exploration of the city, the people from all over the world he encounters there, the intrigue in the courtroom, the adventures in the winding alleys of the casbah, the thrilling escapes, and how he manages to escape the wrath of the impulsive and unpredictable Dey; All of these make for real page-turners.
I’d like to compare these novels to others I’ve read, but I can’t. The Muhammad Amalfi Mysteries are adventures set in the most exotic and inaccessible of societies. The books are murder mysteries, too. But those responsible for finding the culprits have no tools other than their wits; and they’d better come up with answers that satisfy the Dey. They are court room dramas in courts presided over by cadis appointed for their erudition in religious law and empowered by the Dey to be judge, jury and, if necessary, executioner in his name. Unless, of course, the Dey decides to take the law into his own hands, which is sort of ridiculous because in 1790s Algiers, the Dey is the law! Every page in these novels is a revelation where the incredible comes to life. You know the old saying about history being stranger than fiction. How about fiction that is stranger than the strangest history?
Davis Smith
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