Rating: 
Summary: Suffering a Whiplash Injury
Review: I just finished the book and am I glad that I borrowed it from the library. Peter's readers have long enjoyed the tantrums of this wealthy and eccentric English family which are grafted onto a smattering of Egyptology and a simple (gentlemanly) murder mystery where the bad guys expire or vanish after a longwinded explanation of what they were doing. But this simple story line cannot carry the new complication of the sexual energy between Nefrit and Rames and the trouble it gets them into. The editors of this series needed to give Peters some needed advice about plots. I suspect Peters was just trying to wring out one more book and to increase the emotional energy, but she has damaged the entire series (just read this one and then try to read the earlier ones). No doubt she will write the next book to solve this problem between Nefrit and Rames but she would have been better off to have killed off Amelia and Emerson and let Rames and Nefrit take their place as the next generation of eccentric and trantrum loving Brits that solve mysteries (and were perhaps present when Carter discovers that marvelous tomb). If you love this series--skip this book. I agree with the other reviewers--what could Peters been thinking of?
Rating: 
Summary: What Happened to Amelia?
Review: Much as I love Nefret and Ramses, the Peabody series has always been about Amelia Peabody Emerson and her husband Radcliffe. This newest installment focuses much more (as has been the trend in the last three books) on the "children." I really liked the technique Peters uses of incorporating excerpts from "Manuscript H" and other letters, but this technique dominates the book. Significant developments with the characters of Ramses and Nefret leave the reader feeling like she just got kicked in the stomach. I was so angry, I actually stopped reading in the middle of the book until I could calm down. But after looking at the previous books, the events are heavily foreshadowed, and as much as I don't like what happened, it is more realistic than simplistic happily ever after. This just shows that Peters is not afraid to move away from the expectations of genre fiction. I still love these characters though and enjoyed the book on its merits. I feel certain that Peters intends to resolve the cliffhanger in a satisfactory way. I just hope that Peters returns her focus to Amelia, who deserves a little more attention.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best in the Amelia Peabody Series.
Review: I thought this was one of the best in the Amelia Peabody Series and I have read every one! The suspence held to the end due to the deepening relationship between Ramses and Nefret. I am enjoying reading how all the characters are growing together. What a great family! I couldn't wait to get to the end but I didn't want it to end. The cliffhanger at the end is a wonderful touch! I can't wait for the next book!
Rating: 
Summary: no! no! no!
Review: I'm a long time reader of Peters/Michaels. But I have to agree with the reader of Oct. 13. I was so mad at the ending that I actually threw my signed copy against the wall (and went around screaming no, no, no). There was no reason to ruin these characters in such a way. Never having been a great fan of Ramses to begin with, I would really like to see Ms. Peters return to one of her other character series (Jacquelyn, Vicky) for a book or two and then straighten the Emersons out.
Rating:
Summary: Wish I'd Waited for the Paperback!
Review: In her most recent Amelia Peabody books, including this one, the author has used an annoying literary device of breaking the momentum of the narrative to insert "Manuscript" and diary segments from other characters. Why she doesn't just spin the next generation of characters into another series, instead of diluting the otherwise still-alluring plot and setting, is a mystery. I bought this book, as all the others, in hardback. The next book will either be borrowed from a library or purchased at a paperback exchange, and my money will go for another more deserving new mystery writer.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best.
Review: Unlike some readers who have written in, I loved this book. I like watching the children grow up and coming into their own. And yes, the last 1/4 of the book was sad, but then that's life. I hate books where everyone is goody two shoes and everything is always rosy all the time. I think Elizabeth Peters has done a fine job with her characters.I also thought her mystery this time around was much better. A few of the last books left me kind of bored with what was going on. This time, she was back in good form. Can't wait for the next book in this series!
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed emotion
Review: How could this happen? I have been a loyal follower to this series for a long time and then this? I have always loved Ramses and reading this book broke my heart over and over again. He deserves love and happiness too. I was completly shocked at how Nefret behaved in this book like some spoiled selfish brat. At some points in this depressing story I felt like crying or throwing the book up against the wall. After I finished the book I couldn't sleep at all, the cliff hanger left me excited for the next book but also sad because what this series has become. Hopefully the next book will be what many have come to expect from the Peabody Emerson gang, action, suspense, crime, togetherness, and most of all a happy ending.
Rating:
Summary: Sorely Disappointed
Review: I'm sorry to say I found this book manipulative and depressing. The characters I've grown to know and care about are flattened into brittle cariacatures of themselves, behaving rigidly according to the dictates of a forced and melodramatic plot. The identity of the villain is obvious early on, making everyone's blindness to it quite tiresome, and no real attempt is made to explore him; he's just a prop. Instead, we get to watch the younger Emersons behave like emotionally crippled morons while their elders fail to notice anything amiss. Halfway through the book, one of three voices that have been telling the first-person tale suddenly vanishes, leaving the reader completely in the dark as to that character's bizarre actions from that moment forward to the unpleasant ending, which is clearly NOT an ending--merely a cliff-hanger designed to make us eager for the next installment. Where is the freshness, the delightful surprise of getting to know interesting and fully-fleshed-out characters, of the earlier Peabody mysteries? My dear Ms. Peters, it was never the crimes or their solutions that drew us -- and you have never before resorted to keeping us on the hook from one book to the next.
Rating:
Summary: If I wanted soap operas, I'd watch TV
Review: No, no, no, no. Please, Ms. Peters, this is NOT the way to go. I started reading the Amelia Peabody series because it was funny, suspenseful, and upbeat. Unlike some mystery writers, you could count on the new Elizabeth Peters novel to leave you feeling enriched, not drained. After reading this book, the increasing dissatisfaction I felt with this series finally reached a head. How unfortunate that the creator of one of the truly unique and enjoyable romantic/mystery characters has fallen prey to the ubiquitous angst of current pop culture. The mystery here took a back seat to all of the emotional maneuverings--I kept checking the cover to make sure there was no Victorian maiden falling out of her bodice on the front. And what an underwhelming mystery it was--someone stealing antiquities and trafficking drugs for gain. Amelia, Emerson, wake up! Aliens have stolen your bodies and made you complacent and out of touch! Ramses, this why your mother wanted you to study poetry, not gothic novels. Stop smiting your brow, make some discoveries, and get that girl! Nefret, one word--Prozac. You made it through losing your parents, life in the Hidden Oasis, learning to be a British gentlewoman, and NOW you collapse? It's pretty sad when the most likeable characters in the series are David and Lia.
Rating:
Summary: Things Change and People Grow
Review: A most wonderful read! This novel sees the Emmerson family growing and the emphasis moving from the parents to their maturing children. What some see as darkness is surely a shifting perspective which is necessary to the growth of these characters. Bastet and Abdullah have has passed and Ramses and Nefret face the pain and challenges of life experienced within the framework of a changing social and political environment. The twists are significant and at 12:30 AM I awakened my wife with a pointed gasp, "My god!" The ending must be disturbing for any Peabody fan, but it is an ending that acknowledges the struggles of relationships and yet preserves hope and promise. The times are changing for the Emmerson's and this novel simply reflects that change. I loved this book, I loved the change from the usual Peters' formula, and can't wait for the next one.
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