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Summary: For the Egyptophile
Review: The primary requirement of the fiction writer is to take the reader away and convince him or her that the new setting has a certain reality. This is true of every genre, sci-fi, western, mystery, romance.... Elizabeth Peters does an absolutely remarkable job of that in this novel. Granted, I have a positive predisposition for books set along the Nile; nonetheless this one is outstanding.
The plot and mystery might be described as so-so, but the characters and the ambience of Egyption archaeology in Victorian times are perfect. The strange romance between Peabody and Emerson is certainly not of the standard variety. The tombs, the sand, the pyramids, the terrace at Shepheard's...they are enough to carry one away.
I've now read the first four in this Amelia Peabody series and so far have found them all to be most convincing.
Rating: 
Summary: enjoyable
Review: this book was way off from what I would normally read, but in the end I found it as a rather enjoyable tale.
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Summary: Mr. Peabody versus Amelia Peabody
Review: As I was reading this book Amelia Peabody kept me remining me of Mr. Peabody from the old Bullwinkle series. They are both self assured, very intelligent and stubborn. The only difference is that Mr. Peabody is a dog and Amelia Peabody is a spunky Victorian woman who wants to experience all that life can offer a single woman. The storyline was really good and the book enjoyable to read. I can't wait to continue the series to see what happens to her next. I loved the Egyptian setting. It made for a great story.
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Summary: A Little bit of Victorian Egypt.
Review: This book is our introduction to the world of Amelia Peabody and and her adventures in Egypt during the Victorian age. Ms. Peters has a fine sense of time and place, and her descriptions of Egyptian antiquities as they would have appeared in the 19th century are quite realistic and accurate. We also get to meet the irascible Amelia Peabody. She is actually very funny, and nothing more so than her frequent diatribes about the strictures placed on women at this time in history. The book does get a bit melodramatic with star-crossed lovers and threatening mummies, and the mystery is quite easy to figure out. But in spite of that, it's a pretty good read, and serves as a good introduction to Amelia's world.
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Summary: Put yourself in another world with Amelia Peabody
Review: This is the first installment of The Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. This is actually my second Amelia Peabody book, I first read The Lord of the Silent. My experience with this series is limited, but I am fasinated by Egypt, and this series brings me to the Land of the Pharaohs without actually being there. Elizabeth Peters is a great writer, she can wholly involve her reader in the story, and even adds humor to it. This is a great book and I would recommend reading all of them, just like I am going to do!
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Summary: Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful !
Review: Thoroughly enjoyable story. Well written. Well read. Treat yourself...you won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful read
Review: This is the debut novel of amateur sleuth and Egyptologist Amelia Peabody, and it's really wonderful. Elizabeth Peters crafts a fun, beguiling mystery, two charming love stories, a study of Victoriana society and Ancient Egyptian artistry in a respectable 272 pages.Recently made an independent woman through a large inheritance, Amelia Peabody sets out to see the sights of Europe and the Middle East, particularly Egypt, which she has a great fondness for. While in Rome, she stumbles (literally) upon a young woman named Evelyn, a disowned heiress whose lover has abandoned her and who has been left to starve. Amelia takes to the young lady right away, and employs Evelyn as her companion. They set out for Egypt, seeing the splendid sights and meeting the Egyptologist Emerson brothers, Radcliffe and Walter, with whom Amelia and Evelyn respectively share similarities and interests. However, when very odd things start to happen and mummies begin walking around at night looking to scare people, Amelia realizes that there is more to the scenario than meets the eye, and someone is trying to kidnap Evelyn. Irascible and spirited as always, Amelia sets out to uncover the villain. This novel works well for anyone who enjoys Victorian mysteries with a splash of Indiana Jones flavoring. It's got the enjoyable, unconventional heroine, the inevitable and often entertaining battle of the sexes, and that occasional afternoon tea, but since we're in the middle of Egypt there's a little more adventure and a little less lecturing than you'd find in an Anne Perry mystery. Peters knows what she's talking about, what with a doctorate in Egyptology. The treasures and tombs of Egypt come vividly to life, and you'll be swept up in the grandeur and romance of the country. It's just like being in a polite Raiders of the Lost Ark, or King Solomon's Mines. The book does have its flaws. The mystery may be a little too predictable, although the mummy is just plain cool. We haven't really got any strong Egyptian characters, and the Europeans make a few too many remarks about how barbarous and uncivilized the people are. (They had irrigation systems long before we did, people. Most of Egypt's problems in the nineteenth century came from the Brits.) And Amelia's just a little too consistently blunt. Right after Evelyn tells of the disastrous love affair that stripped her of her virginity and her grandfather's love and left her starving in Rome, Amelia asks her how sex is. Maybe I misread the scene, but my God! Still, you can't put this book down. The intellectual showdowns between Amelia and Radcliffe ring with honesty and humor, and the descriptions of Egypt are so breathtaking and fascinating that you just won't care about much else. I read it in two days, when I should've been studying for finals, and I just ran out and bought the second one, Curse of the Pharoahs. If you're looking for a new smart, adventurous series to get hooked on, run out and buy this. It's the best mystery series I've ever read.
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