Rating: 
Summary: A great read--and you get to know "Ramses" Emerson!
Review: The Mummy Case is the third in the series of Amelia Peabody mysteries, which are set in turn-of-the-century Egypt and England. Amelia is a staunch believer in the superiority of all things British, and her husband is an archaeologist with a mission (namely to save the antiquities of Egypt from the clutches of untrained archaeologists and unscrupulous antiquities dealers). All of the Peabody mysteries are tongue-in-cheek tributes to the mystery genre in general and English female detectives in particular.The Mummy Case is the most enjoyable of the first three mysteries, in large part because we get to know the Emersons's four-year old enfant terrible--Walter Peabody Emerson, nicknamed "Ramses." Ramses already knows Coptic, Arabic, German, French, and the modern methods of archaeology. While his parents stumble about trying to find out how the death of a Cairo antiquities dealer is related to the mummy case of a German baroness and a village torn between an evangelical American missionary and the ancient Coptic church, Ramses quietly goes about solving the puzzle before either one of them. Ramses is a fantastic addition to the Emerson family, and only increases the reader's enjoyment. The mysteries are not the main thing in these books; the development of highly individualistic characters is.
Rating:
Summary: The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters
Review: This remains one of the funniest books I've ever read. It's probably my favorite Amelia Peabody (Next to Lion in the Valley}
Oh how I wish Peters hadn't let Amelia's son Ramses grow up so quickly. In later books, his character(while interesting) has evolved into the standardized tall, dark and handsome leading man beloved of all historical mystery writers. But oh, what a fiendishly (not to mention, hysterically funny) atrocious little boy he is in these early books. I love his lisp! I love the way Peters sets his longwinded conversations with the lisp in tact. If you read them aloud, they're even funnier. What a deranged little genius. And speaking of deranged, what about his father, the most famous archeologist of his or any other time, Radcliffe Emerson? I love Amelia, I really do, but one of the main reasons I read and reread these books, is the inspired lunacy of her husband. Whenever I'm depressed, I pick up The Mummy Case or one of the other early Peabodys and I'm sent back to turn of the century Egypt and the intrepid Amelia and her zany family. DON'T
read these for the mysteries, although there certainly is one in every book, instead read these for the ingenious characters and the inspired lunacy of plot. This is satire in its best form. Fun. Fun. Fun.
I'm wondering if Elizabeth Peters now regrets setting these books in 'real' time. I believe she should've held on to the earlier years of the Emersons a bit longer. I'm also wondering why this wonderful series hasn't been snapped up by Hollywood.
If I could, I'd option them myself.
Rating:
Summary: Again, I Loved It
Review: This third book in the Amelia Peabody Emerson series is a great one. In it, the Peabody Emersons are once again headed to Egypt for the digging season. This time, however, they (and we) also get to me their son, called Ramses, as he also joins them. The mystery of this one is the usual mix of Egyptology, dastardly deeds, romance, and the indomitable Amelia. The addition of the talkative, often times know-it-all, adventurous Ramses is great; however, the ability of this child to know as much, if not more, than his parents is it hard to believe at time, but this is after all fiction. As usual, Ms. Peters leaves us with a better understanding of the beauty that is Egyptian history -- the woman knows her stuff. The great thing about this book is that there were times when I was actually on the edge of my seat, furiously reading the pages in order to find out what happened next. All in all, a great read and a lot of fun.
Rating:
Summary: Again, I Loved It
Review: This third book in the Amelia Peabody Emerson series is a great one. In it, the Peabody Emersons are once again headed to Egypt for the digging season. This time, however, they (and we) also get to me their son, called Ramses, as he also joins them. The mystery of this one is the usual mix of Egyptology, dastardly deeds, romance, and the indomitable Amelia. The addition of the talkative, often times know-it-all, adventurous Ramses is great; however, the ability of this child to know as much, if not more, than his parents is it hard to believe at time, but this is after all fiction. As usual, Ms. Peters leaves us with a better understanding of the beauty that is Egyptian history -- the woman knows her stuff. The great thing about this book is that there were times when I was actually on the edge of my seat, furiously reading the pages in order to find out what happened next. All in all, a great read and a lot of fun.
Rating: 
Summary: I'm Hooked
Review: To be honest, I was not a mystery fan until I was given a stack of Elizabeth Peters novels as a birthday present. I gave the first three a try, because they are about Egyptology, something I am extremely interested in. Now that I have finished 'The Mummy Case,' I am hooked. Gotta go get more Egypt mysteries. The charachters in all of the books are very likeable, especially if you are interested in archaeology and history, as my hubby and I are. (I could almost imagine us in place of Emerson and Peabody during some of their arguments.) There were also plenty of humorous breaks to the suspense and drama, and just enough action to speed you through the end. Even Ramses (and I know I'm going to get flack for saying this,) becomes more likeable toward the end of the book, and his presence was initially my least favorite part of the book. That is my only real nitpick though, and I look foreward to reading more novels in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Amelia is back****meet catastrophically precocious Ramses
Review: ~ - ~ - ~
Amelia is married now, but no less independent, or strong willed! The romance certainly isn't gone either. This mystery is generally very light. But we meet a character Amelia dubs "The Master Criminal"
-~(You'll want to meet him right from the start, just in case he sneaks into the later books, Careful, you may have a hard time spotting this master of disguise!)
:- )
``Emerson is as loveably irascible as ever, though he has a soft spot for one very special person, and surprisingly enough it's not Amelia
Young, "catastrophically precocious" Ramses, son of Amelia and Emerson, really is the star of this story. He is constantly adorably mischevious,getting into trouble, and coming up with some startling clues of his own.
Ramses is certainly believable as a well-meaning little boy, who attracts trouble (and dirt) like a magnet.
~~~~I recommend this book heartily as it is the one that got me hooked on the series.
*****Great fun-not a very deep mystery, but you really will be having too much fun to care!
Rating:
Summary: Amelia is back****meet catastrophically precocious Ramses
Review: ~ - ~ - ~
Amelia is married now, but no less independent, or strong willed! The romance certainly isn't gone either. This mystery is generally very light. But we meet a character Amelia dubs "The Master Criminal"
-~(You'll want to meet him right from the start, just in case he sneaks into the later books, Careful, you may have a hard time spotting this master of disguise!)
:- )
``Emerson is as loveably irascible as ever, though he has a soft spot for one very special person, and surprisingly enough it's not Amelia
Young, "catastrophically precocious" Ramses, son of Amelia and Emerson, really is the star of this story. He is constantly adorably mischevious,getting into trouble, and coming up with some startling clues of his own.
Ramses is certainly believable as a well-meaning little boy, who attracts trouble (and dirt) like a magnet.
~~~~I recommend this book heartily as it is the one that got me hooked on the series.
*****Great fun-not a very deep mystery, but you really will be having too much fun to care!
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