A young American boy named Will Hunt accompanies the famous archaeological expedition led by Dr. George Reiser at Giza, becoming a witness to the discovery of the hidden tomb of Queen Hetepheres in this picture-book work of historical fiction and history. Eager to help, and fascinated by the ancient artifacts and tombs around him, Will describes everything for his friend Sam, back home in the United States. Illustrations from artist Melissa Sweet and photographs of the original 1920s expedition are both included. An afterword gives more information about the Giza7000X dig, and possible theories about the tomb, with its unusual arrangement of artifacts, and its empty sarcophagus...

I've been on a bit of an Ancient Egyptian-themed reading project recently, inspired by my viewing of the 2015 Tut television series, and The 5,000-Year-Old Puzzle: Solving a Mystery of Ancient Egypt is one of the books that came to my attention. It uses a fictional story structure to present a non-fiction narrative, exploring the discovery of Queen Hetepheres' empty tomb, and highlighting both the slow and painstaking nature of legitimate archaeological work, and the reality that easy answers aren't always available, when investigating the distant past. By presenting two possible theories as to the reason for the tomb's condition, and for the absence of the queen's mummy, the book also demonstrates that the disciplines of history and archaeology are often about competing theories and ideas, rather than one definite and correct narrative. This is a very valuable idea for young people to acquire - perhaps even more valuable that any facts presented about the tomb itself. I found this both engaging and informative, and would recommend it to young people fascinated by Ancient Egypt, and by the process of archaeology. ( )