I was thrilled for the chance to read THE PAINTED QUEEN.
Before I started to read this book I didn't know that
this is the last book in the Amelia Peabody
series. Elizabeth
Peters never finished it before she died and her
good friend, Joan Hess, took over and spent three years
working with it before it was released. I have to admit
that reading about Elizabeth Peters made me a bit sad about
the fact that she never got to
finish this book. She was a wonderful person who was a
dedicated author who loved writing.
As a big fan of reading about archaeology in books, I was
intrigued by the premise of THE PAINTED QUEEN. As this was my
first Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson book, I
have no previous knowledge about the characters and I was
amused at first by their relationship. Emerson was
especially amusing, he seems to be a bit of a hothead,
particularly when his wife is being threatened, which is
pretty much the first thing that happens in this book.
While Amelia is taking a
bath, an assassin stumbles in and then, for some strange
reason, collapses with a knife in his
back. Is someone keeping an eye out for Amelia? Could it be
Sethos, Emerson's nemesis?
This is just the start of an adventurous story with
assassins, suspicious characters, a lost bust of
Nefertiti, and sightings of Sethos, who seems to be there to
help Amelia. I have to be honest,
that, despite the promising beginning, I felt less and less
entranced with the
characters and the plot as the
story progressed. I even had a moment when
I wondered what was the point of this book? It just kept
going on and on with the fake Nefertiti bust and assassins
that were quite bad at their job. Seriously, if that
storyline was supposed to be funny it missed its
marks with me. I would have preferred a more serious
tone. The thing that annoyed me the most was
the whole "Father of Curses" and "Brother of Demons"
thing. That's Emerson and his son Ramses nicknames, and
apparently, they are widely feared and everyone in Egypt
seems to tremble before them. Honestly, I got more and
more annoyed as the story progressed and the Egyptians kept
calling them "Father of Curses" and "Brother of Demons."
So, THE PAINTED QUEEN started off good for me, but as the
story progressed the plot more and more irritated me.
But, for some strange reason did I quite like Sethos, the
master of disguises. To be honest, I like him more
than Emerson, who more or less of behaved like a child
with tantrums. However, if you love this series, and all
the things that bother me is what you like about the
books in this series, then you will probably love this
book.
Egypt, 1912—Amelia Peabody and her dashing archeologist
husband, Radcliffe Emerson, are once again in danger as they
search for a priceless, stolen bust of legendary Queen
Nefertiti and Amelia finds herself the target of assassins
in this long-awaited, eagerly anticipated final installment
of Elizabeth Peters’ bestselling, beloved mystery series.
Arriving in Cairo for another thrilling excavation season,
Amelia is relaxing in a well-earned bubble bath in her
elegant hotel suite in Cairo, when a man with knife
protruding from his back staggers into the bath chamber and
utters a single word—"Murder"—before collapsing on the tiled
floor, dead. Among the few possessions he carried was a
sheet of paper with Amelia’s name and room number, and a
curious piece of pasteboard the size of a calling card
bearing one word: "Judas." Most peculiarly, the stranger was
wearing a gold-rimmed monocle in his left eye.
It quickly becomes apparent that someone saved Amelia from a
would-be assassin—someone who is keeping a careful eye on
the intrepid Englishwoman. Discovering a terse note clearly
meant for Emerson—Where were you?"—pushed under their door,
there can be only one answer: the brilliant master of
disguise, Sethos.
But neither assassins nor the Genius of Crime will deter
Amelia as she and Emerson head to the excavation site at
Amarna, where they will witness the discovery of one of the
most precious Egyptian artifacts: the iconic Nefertiti bust.
In 1345 B.C. the sculptor Thutmose crafted the piece in
tribute to the great beauty of this queen who was also the
chief consort of Pharaoh Akhenaten and stepmother to King
Tutankhamun.
For Amelia, this excavation season will prove to be
unforgettable. Throughout her journey, a parade of men in
monocles will die under suspicious circumstances,
fascinating new relics will be unearthed, a diabolical
mystery will be solved, and a brilliant criminal will offer
his final challenge . . . and perhaps be unmasked at last.
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