Rating: 
Summary: The best yet!
Review: "Seeing a Large Cat" is the best Amelia Peabody mystery in quite a while. The children are growing up, (although Amelia has trouble admitting that fact) and have become an integral part of the family.
Adding the journal, perhaps written by Ramses, gave the characters more depth and allowed the reader to see them in a different light. With her uncanny knack for becoming embroiled in a season of mystery as well as archeological digging, Amelia has her hands full this season. An old friend's husband is being hoodwinked by a con-artist with a consience, a southern Colonel is embroiled in the mystery disappearance of his last wife, his spoiled belle of a daughter is out to find a husband, Ramses being first on her list, and, in pure Amelia and Emerson style, there is the requisite numbers of nefarious people trying to make this the last adventure. This is a must read for all lovers of suspense, villains, parody and humor.
Rating:
Summary: One of Peter's best writing to date.
Review: A a loyal fan of Amelia Peabody Emerson (and fellow student of Egyptology) I have followed Elizabeth Peters' (a.k.a. Dr. Barbara Mertz), novels and am happy to say that this is one of her best. Amelia is with dignity, handing over much of the narrative to her troublesome yet endearing son, Ramses, while preparing the reader for further development of his and other key characters. Her dialogue is less explanitory than usual, and quite witty and relaxed. My only complaint is her treatment of the native Arab population as overly superstitious as exemplified by a scene where a male servant cowers behind a counter due to the presence of a cat that neither scratches nor bites. Furthermore, I think that the incantations of Ramses and Nefret (usually it is Emerson), in front of the tomb about to be explored (for the purpose of convincing the locals that all evil spirits have been exorcised), is getting a bit tiresome. Most of the time Ms. Peters goes out of her way to treat that culture fairly considering the time period for which she has chosen to portray her novels, but this is a bit much. Anyway, the book left me wishing that another one was already published and on the shelves!
Rating:
Summary: Well done Amelia et al.
Review: After my disappointment in her last book, Peters has recaptured me. See a Large Cat was fast, funny and fascinating. I particularly enjoyed seeing Ramses and Nefriti come into their own. I am eagerly awaiting the next . . .
Rating:
Summary: Full of Fun
Review: After reading some of the reviews for this book I am inclined to ask if they got it. This series has never been about hardcore mystery so much as mystery-lite with tons of characterization. I highly recommend that you not start out with this book. Go to "Crocodile on the Sandbank." That being said, I adored this book! It was so sun to see Ramses taking matters into his own hands. As usual, there was much to learn about Egyptology, and the speech Ramses gives to David describing Emerson's feelings for Amelia (and his for Nefret) were worth the price of admission!!
Rating: 
Summary: Tedious
Review: After struggling through this book, I tried to figure out what made this book so tedious compared to the previous Amelia Peabody mysteries (I am a HUGE fan of all the previous Amelia Peabody novels). I finally decided that it was getting around Nefret that made this book so hard to get through. The character of Nefret adds absolutely nothing to the stories and actually makes them hard to read. Quite frankly, she's BOORISH. Apparently she's supposed to have "the heart of a man" but if this is so, it is a man I wouldn't want to know. I would be put off by any man that behaved in that manner. I see no charm in extremely boorish and uncouth behaviour. If we were to compare Nefret to Dolly (whom everyone has an aversion to), we could see that Nefret is just flaunting her "manliness" just the same as Dolly is flaunting her "feminism"--neither have any REAL substance. Dolly giggles/Nefret curses. Dolly dresses in fancy clothes and corsets and hangs on men/Nefret dresses in tight pants, unbuttons the top buttons of her shirt and deliberately pulls up her pants leg in front of three men. There are many comparisons and neither Dolly or Nefret hold any charm for the reader and shouldn't hold any charm for any of the characters in the book if the characters hold true. Is Nefret just another brainless bimbo who is just trying to show off and get attention by "acting like a man"??? So it would seem. It's too tiresome to read through all that muck. Take her out of the stories and they will move along much faster and be MUCH more interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: Like Old Times
Review: After the disaster that was The Hippopotamus Pool, Seeing a Large Cat is a refreshing return to the novels of old. Back is the fun dialogue, the satiric eye-wink of a mystery, and wonderful banter between Emerson and Amelia. With this book, Peters has pushed the children into their middle to late teens, which provides for new an interesting voices to combat the bombastic Emerson and the lovingly know-it-all Amelia. The addition of David, the only good thing to come out of The Hippopotamus Pool, provides a freshing new voice to the series and loving foil to Ramses and Nefret. Also new to this book is the addition of Manuscript H, which provides a fictionalized voice to the adventures of Ramses, Nefret, and David. While I liked the addition of a new voice that allows for a perspective different from Amelia Peabody's, I found the way Peters chose to insert them into the novel annoying. I would rather have had her break the Manuscript H sections into seperate chapters, but she's the writer, not me. Overall, this was a nice return to the Amelia Peabody mysteries of old, but with new voices, new characters, the return of old favorites, and a much more dramtic turn than we've seen before.
Rating:
Summary: A welcome depature from form
Review: After the uneven Hippopotamus Pool, the Amelia Peabody series plunges in a new direction with Seeing a Large Cat, an alternately charming, funny, poignant, and disturbing mystery. The pacing of this novel is tighter, the cast of characters trimmed down, and shadowy Master and Mistress Criminals are replaced by a fresh new set of antagonists. Amelia's trademark first-person narrative is supplemented by a third-person "Manuscript H" that gives insight into the personalities and activities of the "children": Ramses, Nefret, and the recently acquired David, now young adults with a great deal to add to the Amelia-and-Emerson formula.
Ramses has at last matured from "catastrophically precocious" child to an interesting young man; those long-winded speeches of his are finally a thing of the past. In many ways this is a book about Ramses' coming of age-- from his dramatic entry with flowing robes and rakish mustache to his internal monologue at the wrenching conclusion, Ramses is developed as a conflicted and worthwhile character rather than a deus ex machina brat. He has his aggravating moments, but his moments of adolescent bravado (see: flowing robes and rakish mustache) are given nuance by what we finally see of his interior life.
David, the Egyptian boy adopted into the family in The Hippopotamus Pool, is a gentle, sensitive counterpart to the calculating Ramses-- almost too nice a person to be believable, but welcome all the same. Nefret is a more polarizing character; her past as the "incarnation of Isis" is a receding memory, and Nefret is a "thoroughly modern" girl who spends the day working in trousers and swearing and then can change into the belle of any ball. It's all a far cry from the flower-like maiden of the Lost Oasis, and some may not care for her.
So, Amelia and Emerson remain themselves, the kids are a good addition-- what of the mystery? Well, a trio of old friends (Enid and Donald from the Lion in the Valley, and good ol' Cyrus Vandergelt) mingle with a trio of newcomers: a fraudulent medium, an American colonel, and his spoiled daughter Dolly. The tensions generated by these characters' interactions interweave with Amelia's own mystery-- the secret of Tomb 20A, a tomb that isn't supposed to exist. Once-and-future "young lovers," eccentric millionaire, bogus medium, Southern-fried colonel, and spoiled brat all collide with the Emersons over the mystery tomb and its occupant-- the most unique mummy Amelia has ever unearthed.
Seeing a Large Cat is one of the most satisfying reads in the Peabody series: it blends the usual mystery-spoof comedy with chilling tragedy, makes skillful use of old characters while introducing memorable new ones, and generally revives the series after the Hippopotamus Muddle. I especially liked the moment when Amelia discovers the ill-kept grave of Alan Armadale in a cemetery near Luxor; that this footnote character, one of the many bodies that piled up in the long-ago events of The Mummy Case, should be brought back to prick Amelia's conscience linked the jolly-spoof early books of the series with the dramatic-suspense later ones in a touching way. Seeing a Large Cat acknowledges the past of the Peabody series, and then marches off in a different direction-- a storm-shrouded horizon. I give it four stars not because I consider it great literature, but because I think it one of the best books in a wonderful series.
Rating:
Summary: Everything Elizabeth Peters writes is a must read!
Review: Amelia Peabody Emerson is a very old and valued friend. I love following her career and that of her husband and child. Once again Ms. Emerson is in the thick of things, as well as her son. Only now, Rames is growing into a young man and hopefully we will be able to continue to watch him grow into an adult. You will read through the book the first time just to see what happens and the second time to savor the wit and delicious escapades of the characters. Ms. Peters is without a doubt my faviorite writer, whether she writes as Elizabeth Peters or Barbara Michaels! M.D. Youn
Rating: 
Summary: Good Gad! Let's not move so slow!
Review: An anonymous warning, a desperate plea for help from an old friend, and a mysterious attack on her son serve as the prelude for Amelia Peabody latest adventure in the deserts of Egypt. Elizabeth Peters' popular heroine returns in Seeing A Large Cat for a tale of romance, murder, and deceit. Accompanying the witty detective on her journey is her usual cast of characters - husband Emerson, son Ramses, and the family's two Arabic companions Nefret and David. In this latest adventure, a routine excavating expedition in the Valley of the Kings takes an interesting turn when the family receives an anonymous note warning them to stay away from "Tomb Twenty-A." While Amelia and Emerson struggle to figure out why they have been warned about a tomb which is not known to exist, Ramses enters into what will become an extremely complicated relationship with an American named Dolly Bellingham. The daughter of a southern Civil War veteran, Dolly's seductiveness and cunningness lead Ramses into several dangerous situations. Further complicating matters is a desperate plea from Amelia's old friend Enid Frasier, who's husband has seemingly gone mad over unexplainable dreams of an ancient Egyptian princess. With this premise, the family stakes out the mysterious Tomb Twenty-A, which does turn out to exist - but it's not anything that anyone could have expected. The "ancient" tomb contains the body of a woman who has been dead no more than a few years. Having made this harrowing discovery, Amelia and friends find themselves plunged into a dangerous quest to solve this mysterious murder. Seeing A Lage Cat was the first Elizabeth Peters mystery novel that I have ever read. I enjoyed her vivid depiction of Victorian society, as well as her detailed and humerous portrayal of the normal cast of characters. Peters successfully integrates a high amount of character development into her storyline, providing the reader with several good instances of comic relief. On the whole however, the story is often tedious and slow-moving. Peters often seems to space the development of the plot between long passages of irrelevant character development or social interactions. As the book progressed, I found myself drawn closer to the storyline, but still occasionally found myself bored while reading through seemingly meaningless side episodes. On the whole, Seeing a Large Cat makes for good leisure reading, but if you're looking for a really captivating and thrilling mystery novel you won't find it here.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely amazing!
Review: Being an avid fan of Egyptology and mysteries, I was fortunate to find Elizabeth Peters and of course Amelia Peabody. I must say that out of the entire series, this is the absolute best. No longer is Ramses the aggravating fountain of verbosity but a young man who you really get to know. I accidently purchased this book before The Hippotomas Pool and was wondering how this mysterious David fit into the picture...but now I am almost finished with the latter (though dissapointed with the story so far). As far as everything else goes in "Seeing a Large Cat" I couldn't be happier as far as the characters go...Peters' novels seem to fare better when the villian is unknown and this one took the cake as far as that goes. Compared to some of her other books, haveing fewer characters is much easier to read, especially when they aren't all Arabic names (that get's tedious!). Peters' really knows how to keep her readers hanging, the last couple of paragraphs in the book left me flipping pages to see if there were any left...I cannot wait to see what happens between Ramses, Nefret and David. Some of the references made to these three made my jaw drop...Ramses and Nefret? One can only see what develops!!!
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