BookBrowse:

A highly entertaining entry in a series that continues to delight.

From the book jacket: A hitherto lost journal of the indomitable Amelia Peabody has been miraculously recovered: a chronicle from one of the "missing years", 1907–1908, shedding new light on a remarkable family and an unexpected terror. Ousted from their most recent archaeological dig and banned forever from the Valley of the Kings, the Emersons are spending a quiet summer at home in Kent, England, when a mysterious messenger arrives. Claiming to be the teenage brother of their dear friend Tarek, prince of the mysterious Lost Oasis, the charismatic herald brings troubling news of a strange malady that has struck down Tarek's heir and conveys his brother's urgent need for help only the Emersons can provide.

Comment: Long time readers will know that I have a soft spot for the Amelia Peabody series, especially the audio versions read by the very talented Barbara Rosenblat, who so ably brings Peters' tongue in cheek tales to life.

This book fills in a gap in the chronological record (between The Ape Who Guards The Balance and The Falcon at the Portal).  As always Peters slops out great dollops of romance, derring-do and bravery, plus multiple deceptions, betrayals and disguises.  There are a few tiny slipups in the plot (when you're filling in a year in the middle of a series that's probably inevitable) but I can forgive Elizabeth Peters almost anything!

The Amelia Peabody Series in publication order

1. Crocodile on the Sandbank
2. The Curse of the Pharoahs  
3. The Mummy Case
4. Lion In The Valley
5. The Deeds of The Disturber
6. The Last Camel Died At Noon
7. The Snake, The Crocodile and The Dog
8. The Hippopotamus Pool
9. Seeing A Large Cat
10. The Ape Who Guards The Balance
11. The Falcon at The Portal
12. He Shall Thunder In The Sky
13. Lord of The Silent
14. The Golden One
15. Children of The Storm
16. Guardian of the Horizon (fits between 10 & 11 in chronological order).

Also: Amelia Peabody's Egypt: A Compendium (2003).  A blurring of historical fact and fiction that 'informs and enchants'.

Coming Soon: The Serpent on The Crown (to be released March 29th), set in 1922.

This review first ran in the March 16, 2005 issue of BookBrowse Recommends.

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