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Available
Call number
Description
Fiction. Mystery. Historical Fiction. Join spunky Amelia and her charming family for a thrilling new archaeological adventure in Edwardian Egypt. Even on the joyous occasion of the marriage of their Egyptian "son" David to their beloved niece Lia, trouble finds Amelia and hunky hubby Emerson. And this time it is personal. In London, someone impersonating David is peddling high-quality fake antiquities, and soon the Emerson-Peabody home is burglarized. Once in Egypt, trouble only escalates as Amelia becomes a shooter's target, her son Ramses is implicated in a paternity scandal, and an American girl is found dead in the shaft of the pyramid they are excavating. When the family's impetuous ward Nefret disappears and comes back married, it takes all of their upper-crust British restraint to keep familial relations civil. Grand Master Elizabeth Peters once again delivers the delectable goods we have come to expect: beloved characters, an intriguing mystery, and alluring settings among the ruins. Romance and danger heighten the excitement, as does Barbara Rosenblat's narration, which is nothing short of perfection.… (more)
Pages
464
DDC/MDS
| 813.54 |
Language
User reviews
LibraryThing member paradoxosalpha
There is criminal mystery and egyptological discovery in this book, as in all of the Amelia Peabody novels. But in this 1911-1912 volume, those elements really have to take a back seat to the evolving family drama, especially the difficulties involved in the amorous affections among the younger
The documentary conceit of this series continues to be stretched across the Ameila Peabody journal/memoirs, the third-person self-accounts of her son Ramses Emerson ("Manuscript H"), and the correspondence of Nefret Forth, providing various perspectives and opportunities for dramatic irony. (In the early volumes of the series, Peabody's solo voice could create such irony in abidingly amusing ways.)
The Falcon at the Portal does not end with a cliffhanger, but it is not a happy ending, by any stretch. It is an gloomy ending with portents of worse strife to come! While it is very entertaining and tense, of all the Amelia Peabody books I have read, this one would probably stand on its own the worst. It is very much a serial installment, and a decidedly engaging one.
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generation. The documentary conceit of this series continues to be stretched across the Ameila Peabody journal/memoirs, the third-person self-accounts of her son Ramses Emerson ("Manuscript H"), and the correspondence of Nefret Forth, providing various perspectives and opportunities for dramatic irony. (In the early volumes of the series, Peabody's solo voice could create such irony in abidingly amusing ways.)
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LibraryThing member jennyo
::sigh:: Sometimes you just need a good romance. And this is one of Peters' best. I think I'm a bit in love with Ramses myself.
I usually try to space these out a bit, but I think I'm going to have to go directly to He Shall Thunder in the Sky. . .
I usually try to space these out a bit, but I think I'm going to have to go directly to He Shall Thunder in the Sky. . .
LibraryThing member picardyrose
This is my favorite of all her novels about Amelia Peabody Emerson. Most of the others are more fun, but none of them is more affecting.
LibraryThing member nolak
Amelia returns to Egypt with a cloak of suspicion over David for doing counterfeit egyptian work, but a murder on site puzzles them wondering about the connection and Ramses becomes involved with trying to crack a drug ring with the police. All these incidents are very puzzling, but they become
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connected, even with Amelia's nephew's half Egyptian offspring who is mistaken as being Ramses. It ends sadly, but at a cliff-hanger, so you must hurry on to the next book!! Show Less
LibraryThing member riverwillow
I'm enjoying this series so much that I suspect that I won't look at anything by another writer until I've reached the most recent. This book starts in London in 1911 as David marries Lia, Amelia's niece. While the young couple are off on honeymoon the Emersons discover that someone has been
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selling forged antiquities masquerading as David and, to add insult to injury, claiming that they come from Abdullah's, his grandfather, personal collection. The action quickly switches to Egypt, where the whole family become drawn into a series of events the consequences of which will change the lives of the Emerson clan forever. This is possibly the best book in the series so far as some of the scenes, particularly to the latter part of the book, are moving and sad, but as always coupled with the thrilling high camp humour that is at the core of the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member cc9
This book marked the end of my interest in the Amelia Peabody mysteries, Ramses angst in this and later books became incredibly annoying, and I felt that Nefret acted absurdly out of character in this book. Also, Amelia's character changed after the first book in the series Crocodile on the
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Sandbank, and she was never quite as much fun. Show Less
LibraryThing member bookwoman247
There was great character developement in this installment of the Amelia Peabody series. There were more surprises and twists regarding Amelia's family than there were involving mysteries.
All of the surprises made this one of my favorites in the series!
All of the surprises made this one of my favorites in the series!
LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
There is plenty to like about this latest adventure of the Emerson family. Relationships come to fruition, jealousy leads to impetuous and even deadly results, the mystery has plenty of turns, and there is increasingly more of Ramses, who I find to be such an interesting character, though perhaps a
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bit too in control of himself at times. Show Less
LibraryThing member antiquary
In general O prefer the pre-World War I stores in this series. This one is 1911, and the Peabody family's young friend David is accused of stealing antiquities; a murdered American's body is found at an archaeological site, and somebody is shooting at Amelia.
LibraryThing member VictoriaJZ
a good sense of humor, interesting to read and detailed enough to hold my interest
LibraryThing member EmpressReece
This was a fabulous read- Alot happened in this one! Im not going to spoil it so ill just say all of her books are consistently well-written & there is never a dull moment with the Emersons! I don't know what I'm going to do after I read all of this series! : ( I will miss them so much. I don't
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know that I'll ever find an author that compares! Show Less
LibraryThing member themulhern
The turn toward angst and action is a little too strong.
LibraryThing member Nadishka
I regretted my decision to buy this book. The blurb mentioned a dead body - but I couldn't find one although I read more than a quarter of the book. There are also a lot of characters in the family circle and it was confusing to keep track of them all, and their relationships. The point of view
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also kept changing from First to Third person, which was weird. I love Agatha Christie's Egypt books and was expecting something similar, to be honest. Show Less
LibraryThing member a-shelf-apart
In which Ramses and Nefret make me believe in love for the briefest of moments and then tear out my heart and shatter it into tiny pieces and stomp on it.
I'm also going to call out Peters for the following passage, because what the fuck:
... I caught Emerson - he had put himself deliberately in my
Is that... meant to imply that Nefret was making out with her adoptive father in a way that made Amelia uncomfortable? Because that's SUPER GROSS AND WEIRD. And then it's never mentioned again. I am DISTURBED.
I'm also going to call out Peters for the following passage, because what the fuck:
... I caught Emerson - he had put himself deliberately in my
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path - and he caught Nefret, who pulled him under the mistletoe and kissed him soundly. I had to put a stop to the kissing after a while. Is that... meant to imply that Nefret was making out with her adoptive father in a way that made Amelia uncomfortable? Because that's SUPER GROSS AND WEIRD. And then it's never mentioned again. I am DISTURBED.
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LibraryThing member kmartin802
The 1911 archaeological season brings more problems for the Peabody/Emerson family. It starts well with David and Lia's marriage. But when David is accused of forgery, it isn't only his reputation that is in danger. David has become involved in the Egyptian nationalism movement which puts him in
A young woman develops a crush on Ramses which isn't unusual but her murdered body being found in a shaft in the area where the Emersons are excavating is. The young woman's brother is determined to bring Ramses to justice despite the fact that the death has been judged an accident and Ramses had done nothing to encourage the woman.
In fact, Ramses and Nefret are finally becoming involved now that Nefret has realized that she is in love with him. However, the day after they spend their first night together, a procurer brings a woman and young child to the Emersons claiming that the child is Ramses's daughter. Nefret impulsively runs away and marries another archaeologist who has been hanging around her. Ramses and his parents know that he is not the child's father but, rather, that the child is Cousin Percy's.
Cousin Percy hasn't changed much since their first encounter. He's still unprincipled and sly and a blatant British chauvinist. He has also been courting Nefret despite her constant refusals.
This was a more emotionally intense episode than earlier books in the series. I liked that we got more of the story from Ramses' point of view even though I still enjoy Amelia's unique viewpoint.
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danger from those trying to thwart that movement.A young woman develops a crush on Ramses which isn't unusual but her murdered body being found in a shaft in the area where the Emersons are excavating is. The young woman's brother is determined to bring Ramses to justice despite the fact that the death has been judged an accident and Ramses had done nothing to encourage the woman.
In fact, Ramses and Nefret are finally becoming involved now that Nefret has realized that she is in love with him. However, the day after they spend their first night together, a procurer brings a woman and young child to the Emersons claiming that the child is Ramses's daughter. Nefret impulsively runs away and marries another archaeologist who has been hanging around her. Ramses and his parents know that he is not the child's father but, rather, that the child is Cousin Percy's.
Cousin Percy hasn't changed much since their first encounter. He's still unprincipled and sly and a blatant British chauvinist. He has also been courting Nefret despite her constant refusals.
This was a more emotionally intense episode than earlier books in the series. I liked that we got more of the story from Ramses' point of view even though I still enjoy Amelia's unique viewpoint.
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Publication
Avon (2000), 464 pages
Subjects
Original language
English
Original publication date
1999
Physical description
464 p.; 6.75 inches
ISBN
0380798573 / 9780380798575