City of the Muse

For fans of The Lost Apothecary, a gripping dual-timeline novel about the mysterious death of an indomitable female papyrologist during an archaeological dig in the early 1900s and an aspiring young female researcher's present-day quest to find out who killed her.

An ill-fated dig. An ancient city believed to be cursed. And a century-old mystery at the heart of it all.

Egypt, 1903: When renowned papyrologist Helen Gardiner arrives at an excavation site in the ancient city of Calliopolis, she learns that she has been given the job because her predecessor has disappeared under mysterious circumstances. One of the only women on the dig, Helen--tasked with restoring and cataloguing the thousands of papyrus fragments recovered at the site--soon discovers that there's more to Calliopolis than meets the eye. The archaeologists on the dig, mostly men, all have not only their own towering egos, but their own agendas, including secrets they might kill to protect.

Toronto, 2019: Archivist Maddie Sloan is at a dead end: she feels like her academic career is stalled, and she's still healing from her recent breakup with her former partner, Ben. To make matters worse, Ben still works with Maddie's father, a famous archaeologist, and with whom Maddie has had a major falling out. It feels like her father has chosen Ben over her.

When famous TV archaeologist Peter Bahar arrives at the Toronto Archaeological Museum to verify the provenance of objects from their Egyptian collection believed to be from Calliopolis, Maddie jumps at the opportunity. After all, she has her own ties to the Cursed City of Calliopolis through her grandmother, Iris, who worked at the site. As Maddie and Peter begin digging into the objects and circumstances surrounding the excavation, they learn that two papyrologists seem to have abruptly disappeared from the dig without explanation. Suddenly, a search for provenance becomes a quest to uncover a history shrouded in secrets and lies--and a murder that has been covered up for more than a century.

Author: Kate Hilton
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 04/14/2026
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.82lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.76d
ISBN13: 9781668069554
ISBN10: 1668069555
BISAC Categories:
- Fiction | Mystery & Detective | Historical
- Fiction | Women
- Fiction | Historical | General

About the Author
Kate Hilton is a bestselling Canadian writer. In addition to City of the Muse, her fiction includes The Hole in the Middle, Just Like Family, and Better Luck Next Time. She is also the coauthor, with Elizabeth Renzetti, of the Quill and Packet mystery series: Bury the Lead, Widows and Orphans, and the forthcoming Put It to Bed. When not writing, Kate works as a psychotherapist in private practice, with a focus on personal reinvention and life transitions. She lives with her family in Toronto.