This is the umpteenth Amelia Peabody mystery; it’s just been released in
paperback. The umpteenth+1 has, accordingly, just been released in
hardback, and no doubt we’ll be hearing from Deb about it in a few weeks.

The first thing I have to say about this book (which I devoured) is that
Elizabeth Peters is utterly shameless. I won’t go into details, because
that would spoil things; all I’ll say is that someday I expect Amelia and
her intrepid husband to run into a completely new adversary, and die of
shock on the spot. I’m no longer sure whether this is a mystery series,
or a soap opera.

Anyway, if you’re not familiar with the series by now, go click on
the author’s name, above, to go to our Elizabeth Peters page; there
you’ll find a list of the earlier books in the series. That’s important,
because you won’t want to start with this one.

If you are familiar with the series, then all you need to know is
that it’s much like its predecessors. The Emerson clan arrives in
Egypt, Emerson wants everyone to help
excavate, Amelia wants to organize everyone, there are mysterious
happenings, Amelia wants to investigate, Emerson and Amelia quarrel and
make up repeatedly, scandalizing Ramses and Nefret, who quarrel and
make up occasionally, amusing Emerson and Amelia, while diverse members
of the extended (and growing) Emerson family wander in and out and about,
still more mysterious happenings happen, Amelia succeeds in
organizing everyone and has to make up with Emerson (again), and Ramses
and David investigate this and that and occasionally get injured, until
miraculously at the end we find out who the villains are and how they are
related to the Emersons, who probably can’t wait to make up again.

I enjoyed it thoroughly.