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Rating: 
Summary: Not one of Peters's best
Review: Elizabeth Peters is a great writer of mysteries. Most of her books have a terrific mixture of lighthearted style, tricky puzzles, exotic settings, and characters endowed with personality. I almost always enjoy their interactions. Four Hundred Rabbits was written in the early 70s, and the protagonist is still something of a stereotypical helpless woman--understandable for its time, but not so great when you compare her to the protagonists in Ms. Peters' later books (especially the Amelia Peabody mysteries). However, what really disappointed me was the shallowness of secondary characters, and the relationships among the characters. In 400 Rabbits, there's a murkiness in the relationships that doesn't feel mysterious, just not carefully thought out. The voices don't sound as real as usual.Of course, I'm comparing thsi work to other works by the same author; I'd recommend you select one of Ms. Peters more recent mysteries, which are nearly note-perfect, over this. But by all means, pick something she's written; you're certain to be hooked.
Rating: 
Summary: The best beach book that took me to Mexico airfare included.
Review: Elizabeth Peters is certainly one prolific author, whether
she calls herself Barbara Michaels, or whether she goes by
her real name, which my sources would not have me disclose,
no matter what form of torture is applied. (It does appear,
of all places, in Grolier's Multimedia Encyclopedia.) In this novel, Ms. Peters does the wonder of transporting us to
a Mexico that never was, with characters handpicked to represent the heyday's of the 60's and 70's, right out of
El Zorro, with just a little bit of Tijuana thrown in for
good measure. As always, she manages to involve her readers in the most mundane of occurrences, while managing
at the same time to make them seem earth-shattering and
unique. I have to confess that I, too, at this point, suffer from an addiction to her books, which is perhaps
mitigated by the knowledge that it is the medium which allows me the greatest utilization of my free time in order to dissipate my everyday tensions. I heartily recommend this book, which will keep you guessing wrong
until the last moment which hero is going to carry off
the heroine (or is it heroin?). Anyhow, please do not
take this the wrong way, but this book is probably best
read with a turist guide to Mexico right at your side,
which is probably the way the author composed her book,
just using it to refresh her memory for the most note-
worthy tourist treasures. Bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Alarming drug content...
Review: I've read 8 Elizabeth Peters books to date and this was the only one that I didn't absolutely adore. I was not prepared for the amount of drug content in it, and frankly it caught me completely off guard and made me uncomfortable. If you're looking for something light-hearted and a more fun read, stick to the Vicky Bliss books.
Rating:
Summary: Fast read after a slow start
Review: This book starts out slow, and I had to get through the first couple of chapters to get to the interesting part. A young college student and her boyfriend journey to Mexico to find the woman's father. The father left when she was a child and has not communicated with her since. He seems to be ambivalent about seeing her again and his household is a strange one. The boyfriend strikes up a friendship with Ivan, the son of Carol's father's paramour, and the trip seems to disintegrate from there. His previously mild drug habit becomes worse and a strange man seems to be following Carol. There are a few unexplained plot points and loose ends here, and the language is a bit dated, but this is an entertaining book, good for the beach.
Rating:
Summary: Fast read after a slow start
Review: This book starts out slow, and I had to get through the first couple of chapters to get to the interesting part. A young college student and her boyfriend journey to Mexico to find the woman's father. The father left when she was a child and has not communicated with her since. He seems to be ambivalent about seeing her again and his household is a strange one. The boyfriend strikes up a friendship with Ivan, the son of Carol's father's paramour, and the trip seems to disintegrate from there. His previously mild drug habit becomes worse and a strange man seems to be following Carol. There are a few unexplained plot points and loose ends here, and the language is a bit dated, but this is an entertaining book, good for the beach.
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