Sunday, June 12, 2011

Review - The Curse of the Pharaohs



Title: The Curse of the Pharaohs
Author: Elizabeth Peters
Publishing Date: 1988
Genre: Mystery
Rating: B-
Sensuality: Kisses
Book Disclosure: I downloaded an audio book from my library.

The Curse of the Pharaohs is the second book in the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. Amelia Peabody is back after five years has passed between her first Egyptian mystery. Amelia and Emerson find themselves headed back to Egypt to continue an excavation that was stopped after the mysterious death of the patron investigator. Once again Amelia and Emerson find themselves surrounded by a cast of characters and wondering "who dun’ it?"

I am a huge fan of Elizabeth Peters aka Barbara Michaels. I read her as a young girl and have always loved her writing. I had only read the first book of the Amelia Peabody series and when I saw it was an audio book, I jumped at the chance to get it. It was a little weird at first to listen to Barbara Rosenblat narrate the story. She has a very distinct accent and delivery which you have to get used to, or at least I did. At first I really thought I wouldn't be able to listen to her, but I got over it after the first chapter and just sat back and listened. Some of her inflection is spot on. You just have to accept that the pacing is going to be slow.

There are a lot of characters in The Curse of the Pharaohs. I got mixed up a few times, but I think this was because I was listening to the book instead of reading it myself. I did like that the author used a different inflection in her voice every time a different person spoke, so it made it easy to follow along. This book is a little slow as far as action goes. There is a lot of dialogue and this is how the clues are discovered and presented in the book. The mystery will keep you guessing up until the end. The Curse of the Pharaohs takes place in a unique time period and setting with a gripping cast of characters and a decent mystery. Fans of Ms. Peters will enjoy this installment.

2 comments:

Joanne said...

Amelia Peabody is one of the most delightful Victorian characters! I enjoy Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels clever plots -- she has such a long backlist of goodies to read. :)

Jill D. said...

Joanne - she was one of my favorite authors growing up. I read Witch by Barbara Michaels when I was 15 and then preceded to devour her backlist. I never did read the Peabody series though.