Amelia Peabody is an Englishwoman with independent means in 1884 who travels to Egypt to pursue her passion for Egyptology. There she meets Radcliffe Emerson, an eminent Egyptologist, whose brusque manner is not immediately appealing. However, there’s a murderer afoot and it’s down to our pair to crack the case.
I love this series for so many reasons:
- The way Amelia and Emerson are gently mocked but you love both characters and want them to succeed
- The way they get a bit jealous of others who show an interest
- The twisting and turning murder plots which keep you guessing who did it
- The romance sub-plot between another pair of characters
- The amusing incidents
- The choice of vocabulary of all the characters
- The interesting history
- The audiobook narrator (Barbara Rosenblat) is also brilliant and gets the comedy perfect!
It’s been a couple of years since I read the first one in the series, Crocodile on the Sandbank. As the series continues it mantains its high standards of comedy, romance and mystery.
I could rave about this for ages so just read it, OK?
Will it change the world?
Amelia is a committed feminist and respectful to the Egyptians she meets. She’s confident, opinionated and doesn’t go anywhere unless armed with her trusty parasol, which she doesn’t hesitate to wield.
Bear in mind this book was written in 1975 and set in 1884 – the pros and cons of bringing artifacts back from Egypt to the British Museum wouldn’t have been a discussion topic.
Get the book!
Books I’ve read to far in this series:
1 Crocodile on the Sandbank
2 Curse of the Pharaohs
3 The Mummy Case
4 Lion in the Valley
5 Deeds of the Disturber
There are 10 more after that too – yey!
I listened to Crocodile on the Sandbank on Everand.
Heroine All of Us 