Seeing a Large Cat

Seeing a Large Cat (Amelia Peabody Mysteries (Hardcover)) Elizabeth Peters Date: 1997   —   used only?   —   Book product page Rating:

Fiction, Mystery

Amelia Peabody and her husband Emerson are going to Egypt to perform true archæology; that is, instead of the big flashy looking for treasure, they are going to be spending time closely examining a site so as to properly document it. Of course, those plans go by the wayside when they start receiving warnings to not examine a tomb that is previously unrecorded. As is probably intended, they find the tomb, and with it, an appallingly recent mummy, wrapped in the remains of a fashionable dress. Such things point to murder— but with who?

The most entertaining thing about this novel is the sudden glimpse into the mind of Ramses, as indicated by "Manuscript H". Far from being calculating and unemotional, these inserts show a young man who is, indeed, caluculating, but far from unemotional and, in fact, terrified by his mother. (Terrified, but not hateful; his biggest fear seems to be her disapprobation.) Somewhat less entertaining is the return of some characters from an earlier novel; the years have not treated them well and one has gone from merely prideful and gullible (but strong for all that) to being downright dumb, something that is skirting the edge of believeability. At any rate, this book gets a four from me because of Ramses alone, but the plots are getting wilder and wilder as they go along in this series.