The falcon at the portal

As the 1911 archaeological season begins, Amelia and famille have arrived in Egypt for their annual excavation. While the reappearance of Ramses' dreadful cousin Percy is to be lamented, the marriage of his best friend David to Amelia's niece Lia is a source of joy for everyone. But the bride has barely walked down the aisle before trouble begins stalking the family. First, David is accused of selling ancient Egyptian artifacts that are actually hight-priced, almost undetectable fakes. Then, though this year's site appears ordinary ebough-dull, really-some deadly surprises await the professional touch of Professor Radcliffe Emerson, the Father of Curses, holder of innumberable honorary degrees, scourge of the underworld, and the greatest Egyptologist of this or any other age.

But even as Amelia and company endeavor to clear David's name and expose the real culprit, worse crimes and surfacing. the first is the body of an American at the bottom of the Emersons' excavation shaft. Then, as accusations of drug-dealing and moral misconduct start flying, the appearance of a small child of mysterious antecendents sparks a crisis that threatens to tear the Emerson family apart. Meanwhile, as Amelia brings her brilliant powers of deduction to bear on all of this, someone is shooting bullets at her and coming awfully close.

As the tension mounts and accidents increase at the site, it becomes clear that the Land of the Pharoahs harbors more secrets than any tomb can hide. If Amelia doesn't expose a dangerous gallery of killers quickly, she may find herself the next candidate for burial.

Guaranteed to win new fans and thrill existing ones, this latest tale in th brilliant and award-winning Amelia Peabody series is ample demonstration of the style, wit and ingenuity that have made Elizabeth Peters one of the best-loved mystery authors of our time.

As the 1911 archaeological season begins, Amelia and famille have arrived in Egypt for their annual excavation. While the reappearance of Ramses' dreadful cousin Percy is to be lamented, the marriage of his best friend David to Amelia's niece Lia is a source of joy for everyone. But the bride has barely walked down the aisle before trouble begins stalking the family. First, David is accused of selling ancient Egyptian artifacts that are actually hight-priced, almost undetectable fakes. Then, though this year's site appears ordinary ebough-dull, really-some deadly surprises await the professional touch of Professor Radcliffe Emerson, the Father of Curses, holder of innumberable honorary degrees, scourge of the underworld, and the greatest Egyptologist of this or any other age.

But even as Amelia and company endeavor to clear David's name and expose the real culprit, worse crimes and surfacing. the first is the body of an American at the bottom of the Emersons' excavation shaft. Then, as accusations of drug-dealing and moral misconduct start flying, the appearance of a small child of mysterious antecendents sparks a crisis that threatens to tear the Emerson family apart. Meanwhile, as Amelia brings her brilliant powers of deduction to bear on all of this, someone is shooting bullets at her and coming awfully close.

As the tension mounts and accidents increase at the site, it becomes clear that the Land of the Pharoahs harbors more secrets than any tomb can hide. If Amelia doesn't expose a dangerous gallery of killers quickly, she may find herself the next candidate for burial.

Guaranteed to win new fans and thrill existing ones, this latest tale in th brilliant and award-winning Amelia Peabody series is ample demonstration of the style, wit and ingenuity that have made Elizabeth Peters one of the best-loved mystery authors of our time.

Amazon.com Review

"'Really,' I thought in mounting exasperation, 'there never was a household in which so many people felt free to offer their unsolicited opinions!'" This, of course, is the eminent Egyptologist and dedicated crime solver Amelia Peabody, setting the stage and the tone (an updated Oscar Wildean irony) for Elizabeth Peters's 11th book. And it's true that there are no shrinking violets in this particular household, from the redoubtable Amelia and her hot-tempered archaeologist husband Emerson (his native diggers call him the Father of Curses), to their dashing, unpredictable son Ramses (born Walter). Also, let's not forget their lovely ward, Nefret (rescued from a desert tribe several books back), and their butler, Gargery, "who wields a cudgel as handily as he carves a roast."

As she has so many times before, Peters presents us with this quaint--even campy--little group of people, plops them down in an exotic Egyptian setting, and then surprises us by involving them in a story of great strength and emotion.

It's 1911, and David Todros, a young Egyptian who has just married into the Peabody family, is suspected of dealing in forged antiquities, possibly to help support a rising nationalist movement. Amelia, Emerson, Ramses, and Nefret all take various actions to help David, and there are serious, dangerous consequences for everyone involved. Despite the melodramatic setting and the theatrical language, Peters's story is--as always--modern, believable, and exciting.

Other books in the Peabody series available in paperback are The Ape Who Guards the Balance, The Crocodile on the Sandbank, The Curse of the Pharaohs, and The Hippopotamus Pool. --Dick Adler

From Library Journal

Fake artifacts, dead bodies, and a mysterious child demand Amelia Peabody's attention in her latest.