"'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.Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


The New York Times Book Review
"...between Amelia Peabody and Indiana Jones, it's Amelia--in wit and daring--by a landslide."


From AudioFile
Mystery novelist Elizabeth Peters and actress Samantha Eggar make for an amazing combination in the latest mishaps of Egyptologist Amelia Peabody and company. In the style of Agatha Christie, Peters introduces (or returns the reader to) Egypt's imposing pyramids, full of shadowy characters and dark tunnels. Eggar's performance will make listeners want to brush the sand from their hair as her stuffy English accent drops the listener into Peabody's shoes. Whether portraying Peabody herself, her blowhard husband or her lovelorn son, Eggar masters each character. A fantastic story and a great performance make for delightful listening that's more like an old-time radio mystery than another whodunit. H.L.S. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From Booklist
No one can say Peters sets an easy task for herself in this eleventh installment of her series featuring archaeologist-cum-detective Amelia Peabody. The plot elements include stolen and forged artifacts, treacherous defamations of character, a murder, a love affair gone disastrously wrong, and if that isn't quite enough, the effect of the rising nationalist movement in 1911 Egypt on Amelia's family. Yet, with her patented skill and attention to detail after fascinating detail, Peters pulls it off with the aplomb of, well . . . Amelia Peabody. A new digging season is underway in Egypt, but it has begun under a cloud for the young Egyptian archaeologist who has recently married Amelia's niece and is now being accused of selling forged antiquities. While Amelia's son, Ramses, puts himself into all sorts of danger to divine the truth, he also struggles to keep his feelings for his adopted sister, Nefret, under control. The focus here is on personal and family relations, but there's more than enough crime and archaeology to keep series fans happy. Details of the dig hold attention as always, but it's the way Peters mines the previous books for personal history that makes this adventure such a standout. Especially intriguing is the way Peabody's treacherous nephew Percy is brought to the forefront. The ramifications of his actions set up what will surely be the next book, which readers will await with justifiable anticipation. Ilene Cooper


Cleveland PlainDealer
"Peters draws all the elements together with trademark wit and a new note of poignancy...raise a toast to the incomparable Amelia Peabody."



"...between Amelia Peabody and Indiana Jones, it's Amelia--in wit and daring--bya landslide."


Book Description
Amelia and family have arrived in Egypt for the 1911 archeological season--after the marriage of young Ramses' best friend David to Amelia's niece Lia. But trouble finds them immediately when David is accused of selling ancient artifacts. While Amelia and company try to clear his name and expose the real culprit, the body of an American is found at the bottom of their excavation shaft. As accusations of drug dealing and moral misconduct fly, a child of mysterious antecedents sparks a crisis that threatens to tear the family apart. Amelia brings her brilliant powers of deduction to bear, but someone is shooting bullets at her--and coming awfully close!Amelia and family have arrived in Egypt for the 1911 archeological season---after the marriage of young Ramses' best friend David to Amelia's niece Lia. But trouble finds them immediately when David is accused of selling ancient artifacts. While Amelia and company try to clear his name and expose the real culprit, the body of an American is found at the bottom of their excavation shaft. As accusations of drug dealing and moral misconduct fly, a child of mysterious antecedents sparks a crisis that threatens to tear the family apart. Amelia brings her brilliant powers of deduction to bear, but someone is shooting bullets at her---and coming awfully close!Amelia and family have arrived in Egypt for the 1911 archeological season---after the marriage of young Ramses' best friend David to Amelia's niece Lia. But trouble finds them immediately when David is accused of selling ancient artifacts. While Amelia and company try to clear his name and expose the real culprit, the body of an American is found at the bottom of their excavation shaft. As accusations of drug dealing and moral misconduct fly, a child of mysterious antecedents sparks a crisis that threatens to tear the family apart. Amelia brings her brilliant powers of deduction to bear, but someone is shooting bullets at her---and coming awfully close!


Download Description
Amelia and family have arrived in Egypt for the 1911 archeological season--after the marriage of young Ramses' best friend David to Amelia's niece Lia. But trouble finds them immediately when David is accused of selling ancient artifacts. While Amelia and company try to clear his name and expose the real culprit, the body of an American is found at the bottom of their excavation shaft. As accusations of drug dealing and moral misconduct fly, a child of mysterious antecedents sparks a crisis that threatens to tear the family apart. Amelia brings her brilliant powers of deduction to bear, but someone is shooting bullets at her--and coming awfully close!Amelia and family have arrived in Egypt for the 1911 archeological season---after the marriage of young Ramses' best friend David to Amelia's niece Lia. But trouble finds them immediately when David is accused of selling ancient artifacts. While Amelia and company try to clear his name and expose the real culprit, the body of an American is found at the bottom of their excavation shaft. As accusations of drug dealing and moral misconduct fly, a child of mysterious antecedents sparks a crisis that threatens to tear the family apart. Amelia brings her brilliant powers of deduction to bear, but someone is shooting bullets at her---and coming awfully close!Amelia and family have arrived in Egypt for the 1911 archeological season---after the marriage of young Ramses' best friend David to Amelia's niece Lia. But trouble finds them immediately when David is accused of selling ancient artifacts. While Amelia and company try to clear his name and expose the real culprit, the body of an American is found at the bottom of their excavation shaft. As accusations of drug dealing and moral misconduct fly, a child of mysterious antecedents sparks a crisis that threatens to tear the family apart. Amelia brings her brilliant powers of deduction to bear, but someone is shooting bullets at her---and coming awfully close!


About the Author
Elizabeth Peters was named Grandmaster by the Mystery Writers of America in 1998. She earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute. In addition to the Vicky Bliss mysteries, Elizabeth Peters is the author of the bestselling Amelia Peabody mysteries.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Somebody'll have to come up with a new thesaurus. We're running out of synonyms to praise Elizabeth Peters with. Or, with which to praise Elizabeth Peters, if you're a stickler about such things. To make it clear: The Falcon at the Portal may just be the best Amelia Peabody yet.

A trek to Egypt. Archaeological trip. Good times being had by all until a new family member of the Peabody brood is accused of peddling fraudulent artifacts. What is going on here? I watch every Discovery Channel and History Channel episode on Egypt. If I weren't so lazy, I'd also spend a lot of reading time on the subject. But nobody brings Egypt alive quite like Elizabeth Peters. Maybe it's the lively, scorpion-tongued way she retells the history of the region, managing to create a perfect mix of mood, melodrama, and a certain sardonic skepticism about the land she so clearly loves.

In this novel, the accusation of fraud against the new in-law leads to all sorts of intrigue, both foreign and domestic, and gives Peters the opportunity to create a constantly shifting landscape that is, by turns, beautiful, ageless, and devastatingly cruel and treacherous. She also charts the struggle of Egypt to come to terms with this century, a fascinating subject in itself.

With The Falcon at the Portal, Peters proves yet again that she is in the first rank of mystery storytellers.

—Ed Gorman

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Amelia and family have arrived in Egypt for the 1911 archeological season—after the marriage of young Ramses' best friend David to Amelia's niece Lia. But trouble finds them immediately when David is accused of selling ancient artifacts. While Amelia and company try to clear his name and expose the real culprit, the body of an American is found at the bottom of their excavation shaft. As accusations of drug dealing and moral misconduct fly, a child of mysterious antecedents sparks a crisis that threatens to tear the family apart. Amelia brings her brilliant powers of deduction to bear, but someone is shooting bullets at her—and coming awfully close!Amelia and family have arrived in Egypt for the 1911 archeological season—-after the marriage of young Ramses' best friend David to Amelia's niece Lia. But trouble finds them immediately when David is accused of selling ancient artifacts. While Amelia and company try to clear his name and expose the real culprit, the body of an American is found at the bottom of their excavation shaft. As accusations of drug dealing and moral misconduct fly, a child of mysterious antecedents sparks a crisis that threatens to tear the family apart. Amelia brings her brilliant powers of deduction to bear, but someone is shooting bullets at her—-and coming awfully close!

Author Biography:

Elizabeth Peters was named Grandmaster by the Mystery Writers of America in 1998. She earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute. In addition to the Vicky Bliss mysteries, Elizabeth Peters is the author of the bestselling Amelia Peabody mysteries.

SYNOPSIS

British-style mystery in historical settings just doesn't get any better than that of Grand Dame Elizabeth Peters and her spicy sleuthing Egyptologist Amelia Peabody. Peters's latest, The Falcon at the Portal, begins when Amelia and her family arrive in Egypt for their annual archaeological excursion. Trouble erupts, however, when a Peabody relative is accused of selling really expensive, and really fake, Egyptian artifacts. Now it's up to Amelia to clear his good name and find the real culprit. Can she do it?

FROM THE CRITICS

Jill M. Smith - Romantic Times

This marks another splendid chapter in the hugely popular and always thrilling Amelia Peabody adventure series. In his book, a number of prominent characters make decisions that will make future episodes all the more interesting. Long live Amelia!

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Peters draws all the elements together with trademark wit and a new note of poignancy...raise a toast to the incomparable Amelia Peabody.

New York Times Book Review

...between Amelia Peabody and Indiana Jones, it's Amelia—in wit and daring—by a landslide.

New York Times Book Review

...between Amelia Peabody and Indiana Jones, it's Amelia—in wit an daring—by a landslide.

Cleveland Plain Dealer