Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointed!
Review: The Peabody series rebounds after the uneven Hippopotamus Pool, but rather than returning to the tone of the pre-Nefret books, it takes off in a new direction. The "children"-- calculating Ramses, gutsy Nefret, and gentle David-- come into their own here, though sixteen-year old Ramses still, at times, seems older than his two comrades combined. Peters allows the readers access to the minds of these three through the device of "Manuscript H," which provides a welcome contrast to Amelia's familiar but none too reliable way of recounting events.This volume has a smaller cast of characters than some of its predecessors; a handful of familiar faces is balanced by a handful of new ones, but the mystery benefits rather than suffers from this reduced cast. It's a unique case this time, with no pesky journalists needed to lend the events an air of exoticism. The juxaposition of a medium, her delusional client, a five-year-old disappearence and a highly unconventional mummy create a blend of a genuinely interesting plot and the characterization and dialogue at which Peters excels. Darkness begins to creep into this once-lighthearted (in spite of all the murders) series, as foreshadowed conflict between the three children builds to premonitory images of doom at the novel's end. In other words, proceed directly to The Ape Who Guards the Balance if you want answers... though you may not like what you find.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun fluff
Review: This is a fun, quick read...perfect for a plane ride or a lazy afternoon. It's a historic, aristocratic murder mystery...an old-fashioned who-dunnit placed in Egypt at the beginning of the century, when archaeological discoveries were in their prime. The main characters are a family of noted egyptologists well known not only for their famed discoveries (tombs, mummies, you know..) but for their spate of crime solving successes. Each family member has an over-the-top persona, and the dialog is hilarious due to both the aristocratic flair and the high-drama egos. The mystery is fairly simplistic, but it's really more about the style than the substance. This novel is high-camp all the way, which makes for a fun, amusing read. There is an entire series of mysteries with this family/setting, but, honestly, one was enough for me. As goofy and fun as this one was, I certainly wasn't intrigued by the characters--as, clearly, the author intended me to be--I was, rather, amused and slightly annoyed with them.
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