Reviewed November 10, 2002.
A Sonderbooks' Best Book of 2002
(#5, Fiction)
The first Amelia Peabody mystery.
Mysterious Press, New York, 1984. Originally published in 1975.
After I reviewed Lord of
the Silent, my friend Leah informed me that I really should
read the Amelia Peabody mysteries in the order they were written.
Better yet, she loaned me the first book!
Crocodile on the Sandbank is absolutely delightful.
It takes place in the 1880s, when Amelia Peabody is not yet an
Egyptologist. In fact, she is single and has recently inherited a
fortune.
She is supremely capable, confident and self-sufficient and feels no
need for men in her life.
In Rome, Amelia meets Evelyn Barton-Forbes, a young lady in great
distress. She takes Evelyn on as a companion in her further
travels to Egypt. In Egypt, Amelia gets her first experience of
work on an excavation when she visits the archaeological site run by
the disagreeable Radcliffe Emerson (who seems to have little use for
women) and his young and handsome brother. While there, the
excavation
is haunted by a walking mummy. She doesn’t believe the mummy has
really come to life, but circumstances get sinister.
The interaction between Amelia and Emerson had me chuckling all the way
through the book. The adventure was absorbing, with the unusual
setting in Egypt adding interest. I am definitely going to want
to read further in this series.
Although Sembach Library does not have this first book, Ramstein
Library does.
Amelia Peabody Mystery #2: The
Curse of the Pharaohs
Amelia Peabody Mystery #3: The
Mummy Case
Amelia Peabody Mystery #4: Lion in the Valley
Amelia Peabody Mystery #5: The
Deeds of the Disturber
Ameilia Peabody Mystery #13: Lord
of the Silent
Copyright © 2006 Sondra
Eklund. All rights reserved.
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Book Reviews by Sondra Eklund
