From Publishers Weekly
Peters's romantic thriller, in which the indomitable Victorian archeologist Amelia Peabody searches for Nefertiti's tomb, offers surefire entertainment. Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
YA-- Although this seventh in the series picks up where The Last Camel Died at Noon (Warner, 1991) ends, it stands delightfully on its own. Amelia's self-assuredness, her devotion to her husband, and her honesty with her readers match well her inventive embrace of adventure. Danger, although constantly present, is balanced with intrigue, confidences, romance, and intellectual exercise as readers gallop headlong into the mysteries surrounding a venture on the Nile. Teens will enjoy fine writing, learn some Egyptian history and meet an indomitable heroine, all between these covers.- Barbara Hawkins, Oakton High School, Fairfax, VACopyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Each addition to the deservedly popular Amelia Peabody series displays new facets of Peters's rich talent and whets the appetite for more. This archaeological season, Amelia and husband Emerson leave unruly son Ramses in England with beautiful ward Nefret ( The Last Camel Died at Noon , Warner, 1991). Amelia anticipates time alone with Emerson, but the Master Criminal devises otherwise: In his quest for directions to the fabulous Lost Oasis, he attempts abduction, subterfuge, and espionage. High adventure, narrated in Amelia's witty, inimitably resplendent style. Peabody fans will rejoice. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/92; for an interview with Elizabeth Peters, see "The Three Faces of Mertz/Peters/Michaels," p. 128.--Ed.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Kirkus Reviews
Victorian age archaeologists Amelia Peabody and autocratic husband Emerson Radcliffe are on yet another dig in Egypt, this time without formidable teenaged son Ramses, left back in England along with Nefret, the young girl brought out of the desert in secret circumstances during the last expedition (The Last Camel Died at Noon). These circumstances, amid rumors of a lost oasis rich in treasure, lead before long to Emerson's kidnapping; his rescue by indomitable Amelia and ever-faithful Abdullah; and Emerson's post-rescue amnesia. None of this halts the explorations at a tomb that Amelia hopes will turn out to be that of Nefertiti. Much help is provided by philanthropist-amateur archaeologist Cyrus Vandergelt, an American somewhat smitten with Amelia. But enemies old and new abound--ambushes, attacks, and villains in disguise proliferate in exasperating confusion--until the inevitable happy ending and the defeat of all foes, including the equally inevitable Master Criminal. Bloated plot, excessive verbiage and all--but there's still fun to be had for Amelia's fans and lovers of Egyptology in the seventh of this series. Dare one hope for less self-indulgence and a stricter discipline in number eight? -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

ANNOTATION

The delightful seventh adventure for popular heroine Amelia Peabody. The 19th-century Egyptologist and her dashing husband, Emerson, return to Amarna, where they first fell in love. When Emerson is kidnapped, Amelia must rescue her husband, find the culprit, and save her marriage.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A brand-new Elizabeth Peters novel is one of the uncompromising pleasures in life. As Peter Theroux in the New York Times Book Review points out, "Her wonderfully witty voice and her penchant for history lessons of the Nile both ancient and modern keep [her] high adventure moving for even the highest brows." In her previous outing, The Last Camel Died at Noon, Amelia Peabody and her dashing husband, Emerson, discovered a fabulous lost oasis in the Nubian desert. Now, in the seventh mystery in the series, the Emerson-Peabodys are traveling up the Nile once again to encounter their most deadly adversary, the Master Criminal, who is back at his sinister best. Amelia Peabody was unabashedly proud of her newest translation, a fragment of the ancient fairytale "The Doomed Prince." Later, she would wonder why no sense of foreboding struck her as she retold the story of the king's favorite son who had been warned that he would die from the snake, the crocodile, or the dog. Little did she realize, as she and her beloved husband sailed blissfully toward the pyramids of ancient Egypt, that those very beasts (and a cat as well) would be part of a deadly plot. The expedition began so happily....Leaving their delightful, but catastrophically precocious, son, Ramses, back in England, Amelia hoped this romantic trip might rejuvenate her thirteen-year-old marriage and bring back the thrills that she feared were fading. She and her dear Emerson were returning to the remote desert site where they had first fallen in love, Amarna, the holy city of Akhenaton and his beautiful queen, Nefertiti. But their return would threaten not only their marriage, but their very lives with perils as chilling as a mummy's curse. An old enemy was determined to learn Amelia and Emerson's most closely guarded secret: the location of a legendary long-lost oasis and a race of people bedecked in gold. So cunning was his scheme that Amelia might overlook - until it was too late - the truth about the myst

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Indomitable Amelia Peabody is nearly undone in the latest romantic thriller to feature this strong-minded Victorian archeologist and her husband, Radcliffe Emerson. Leaving in England their precocious son Ramses and Nefret, an orphan girl whom they rescued from an ancient Sudanese city in The Last Camel Died at Noon , Amelia and Emerson return to Egypt. Assorted kidnapping attempts, including one from Shepheard's hotel, suggest that someone, probably their archenemy (known as the Master Criminal), seeks to uncover the location of Nefret's lost city of gold. Amelia courageously rescues Emerson after he is abducted, only to find he has lost his memory, even of his love for her. In the company of wealthy American archeologist Cyrus Vandergelt, they proceed to a dig to search for Nefertiti's tomb, where Amelia tries to awaken Emerson's memory while hoping to disprove an ancient superstition that threatens death by snake, crocodile and dog. Amelia, beset by doubt but undaunted, is in top form as Peters supplies a surprise ending to cap her surefire entertainment. 50,000 first printing; author tour. (Oct.)

Library Journal

Each addition to the deservedly popular Amelia Peabody series displays new facets of Peters's rich talent and whets the appetite for more. This archaeological season, Amelia and husband Emerson leave unruly son Ramses in England with beautiful ward Nefret ( The Last Camel Died at Noon , Warner, 1991). Amelia anticipates time alone with Emerson, but the Master Criminal devises otherwise: In his quest for directions to the fabulous Lost Oasis, he attempts abduction, subterfuge, and espionage. High adventure, narrated in Amelia's witty, inimitably resplendent style. Peabody fans will rejoice. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/92; for an interview with Elizabeth Peters, see ``The Three Faces of Mertz/Peters/Michaels,'' p. 128.--Ed.

School Library Journal

YA-- Although this seventh in the series picks up where The Last Camel Died at Noon (Warner, 1991) ends, it stands delightfully on its own. Amelia's self-assuredness, her devotion to her husband, and her honesty with her readers match well her inventive embrace of adventure. Danger, although constantly present, is balanced with intrigue, confidences, romance, and intellectual exercise as readers gallop headlong into the mysteries surrounding a venture on the Nile. Teens will enjoy fine writing, learn some Egyptian history and meet an indomitable heroine, all between these covers.-- Barbara Hawkins, Oakton High School, Fairfax, VA

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