Rating: 
Summary: Amelia Peabody - Mystery solver???
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: 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: 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: Peters does it again
Review: E. Peters does it again - she's funny and savy and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Wonderful read - excellent addition to your library.
Rating:
Summary: Curiosity Killed The Cat
Review: Elizabeth Peters' ninth novel in her series, "Seeing a Large Cat," illustrates the adventurous life of Amelia Peabody in Egypt. Amelia Peabody and her family are caught in a net of hidden tombs, a mummy who wears blue, silk underwear and mysterious attacks on a visiting American woman and Peabody's son Ramses. Together the English family risks their safety and lives to find the murderer of the mummy, and the reason for their presence in Egypt. While the extended number of characters was somewhat hard to keep track of, the novel is quick-paced and intriguing. Peters' references historical sites of Egypt like the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatchepsut's Tomb and Gizeh to create a distinct environment and add to the realism of this mystery. She utilizes beliefs and superstitions of Egyptian culture to enhance her writing. For example, the large cat Amelia dreams of symbolizes good luck, and it also references the maturation of Peabody's son, Ramses. Ramses must accept the death of one pet cat and learn to love another; he accepts change and learns to embrace it. Throughout the novel he gains the respect and trust of Amelia, signified by the drinking of whisky and soda with his mother. Peters' development of Ramses's coming-of-age character creates a multi-facet novel that illustrates both adventure and family relationships. Overall I enjoyed "Seeing A Large Cat" because it is a mysterious novel that incorporates history, family, deceit and wonder.
Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointed!
Review: I am a huge fan of the Amelia Peabody Series, but this is the last book I will read in it. I have to agree with the other negative reviews. This is the first one that didn't really seem like the good old reliable Peabody novel. I agree that Nefret is simply annoying and too much a focus of the book, to the detriment of developing Ramses. What happened to Ramses's great personality??? The "Manuscript H" added very little to the story or the characterizations. In fact it was boring: compare that to the hilarity of Ramses's letters in Snake, Crocodile and Dog! None of the spark and wit was there.
Ramses did't even seem like the same person. Emerson has been shunted to the background and rendered totally minor. The great humor of the previous books seems completely gone. I've always thought the only thing this series had going for it was the humor and the characterizations: without that, it just becomes kind of rote and dull.
In fact, this book was so lacking inthe usual Peabody charm that I seriously wonder if someone else wrote it, or Ms. Peters/Mertz just couldn't care less anymore.
Still the first 8 in the series are wonderful reads I will always cherish.
Rating:
Summary: What a wonderful find
Review: i really liked Seeing a Large Cat... because Ramses got growed up!! This is really cool, because in all the previous books u kinda grow up with Ramses and your there with all his little mishaps and such and then, WHAM, he's a grown man... with a mustache. im like Amelia; hate facial hair on my men. but eventually he got rid of it, thank god. Nefret teases just a little about the mustache...and how much Ramses and David have grown up!!!
This novel introduces the infamous Manucript H, which i personally come to love and cherish. this and the next 3 are really abnout Ramses and him growing up and maturing. Of course Amelia, i think, is having problems letting her son grow and become a man. (Though she wouldn't admit to that maternal feeling)
Of course there is enough mystery and stuff to keep u interested. Though at times its a little long-winded and that gets tiresome.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Campfire or Beach Read
Review: I took Seeing a Large Cat along on a week long camping adventure with my Cub Scout son and his pack. Each night I dragged my rain soaked copy into the cot in my Army tent and lost myself, via flashlight, in the Emerson family's adventures. By introducing the intriguing device of the H Manuscript Ms. Peters allows us to see what is going on in the minds of Ramses, Nefret, and David while keeping this knowledge from Amelia, who sometimes credits herself with more insight than she should. We see too that Ramses is not as self-contained and unflappable as he seems, and that he is outright helpless when it comes to his affection for Nefret. Although the pool of suspects is quite small in this book, Ms. Peters does succeed in a surprising plot twist. In addition, she has introduced a new and interesting character in Mrs. Whitney-Jones. The characters' occasional references to the casual racism and (mistaken) assumption of superiority in the Western community in Egypt serve as useful reminders of the pain of such thinking, especially when we see the treatment of David, a kind and gifted youth, as literally not worthy of notice.
Rating:
Summary: I don't believe I finish this book
Review: If you think that in this book you will read something interesting about the ancient Egypt, you are completely wrong, the main story of the book is the diary of Amelia Peabody, but I don't think that if someone writes a diary will write what think another person, you can't do that, you just don't know what others think.
Basically the book is the story of an assassin who killed his wife ten years or so before this story, it really is boring and boring.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Rendition of Egyptian Mystery!
Review: Seeing A Large Cat was Elizabeth Peters at her best. The book is truly intriguing and quickly draws you in- I couldn't put the book down!. The annual excavation trip to Egypt looks to be pretty boring exploring non-noble already discovered tombs in the Valley of the Kings. But knowing Amelia, something is bound to happen- and it did! A 15 year old mummy in a "new" tomb, dangers galore, and a long list of exciting suspects forms the basis for this excellent Amelia Peabody mystery. Good Gad, you've just got to read it!
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