Crocodile on the Sandbank

The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 1

By: Elizabeth Peters

Narrated by: Susan O'Malley

Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Meet Egyptologist Amelia Peabody in the first mystery in the Victorian-era, New York Times-bestselling series.

"If Indiana Jones were female, a wife, and a mother who lived in Victorian times, he would be Amelia Peabody Emerson."—Publishers Weekly

Amelia Peabody, that indomitable product of the Victorian age, embarks on her first Egyptian adventure armed with unshakable self-confidence, a journal to record her thoughts, and, of course, a sturdy umbrella. On her way, Amelia rescues young Evelyn Barton-Forbes, who has been “ruined” and abandoned on the streets of Rome by her rascally lover. With a typical disregard for convention, Amelia promptly hires her fellow countrywoman as a companion and takes her to Cairo.

Eluding Evelyn’s former lover, who wants her back, and Evelyn’s cousin Lord Ellesmere, who wishes to marry her, the two women sail up the Nile to an archaeological site that is home to a rather lively mummy. Soon strange visitations, suspicious accidents, and a botched kidnapping convince Amelia that there is a plot afoot to harm Evelyn.

Don't miss the rest of the Amelia Peabody series.

©1975 Elizabeth Peters (P)2002 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"The indomitable Amelia Peabody carries the listener along as easily as she carries her umbrella." (AudioFile)

Delightful

Clean, interesting and funny. The narrator is easy to listen to and catches the humor of the author

An Excellent Victorian Adventure

The start of a fantastic series. The best I have read in a long while.

Outstanding!

This is one of the best books I have listened to in years. It was my first Elizabeth Peters book. I started with this one to see if I would enjoy the Amelia Peabody series. Obviously, I can hardly wait to hear more. I was a bit hesitant to pick this one after reading the negative reviews of the narrator, but I personally thought she was outstanding. The characters in this book are superb and the ending extremely satisfying. Thank you Ms. Peters!

Much more amusing when read by Barbara Rosenblatt

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would but not with this reader.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

The Egyptian background.

How could the performance have been better?

Barbara Rosenblatt was a much better reader. The story seemed completely different. It was actually very funny and the story moved along so much better in the Barbara Rosenblatt edition. It seemed more interesting as well. This version is so flat and does the story no justice.

Do you think Crocodile on the Sandbank needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

It has several but this can stand alone.

Any additional comments?

Please get the better edition with Barbara Rosenblatt as reader.

Didn't hit the mark

I was disappointed in this book. All the characters were unlikeable and annoying A couple of the characters, including the main character, were rude, pompous, and full of themselves throughout the whole story. This seems like a feminist book. I'll probably return this.

Book holds up

I 1st encountered this book back in the 70s. I would recall whether I heard the audio version as well at that time period this is obviously a remake of the original no in the narrator is adequate but not not particularly good

Unfortunate

I love these books. Fun reads. Unfortunately the narration destroys it. The narrator reads like a machine with no inflection at all. And this includes each character. Such a terrible disappointment. I will not listen to the others. And I was looking forward to.

Susan O'Malley is SO MUCH BETTER than Rosenblat!!

I honestly do not understand how or why anyone enjoys Rosenblat's performance of this book. She has no comedic timing, she reads soooo slowly, and her voices of the characters are all so annoying to me that I cannot stand to listen. I tired, I listened to the whole first half of Crocodile on the Sandbank narrated by Rosenblat, and had to give up. It was so incredibly terrible.

This on the other hand!! Susan O'Malley is SO WONDERFUL!!! She absolutely IS Amelia Peabody, and everything she does with these books is just such fun. She has great comedic timing, and it just makes the whole thing so enjoyable and fun and light.

It is a tragedy that she only did the first 6 books. I would love to listen to the entire series, but I just CANNOT deal with Rosenblat. So instead I have listened to these first 6 books narrated by O'Malley about 4 times each now. And I'll probably listen to them again and again. Someone, PLEASE have Susan O'Malley narrate the rest of the books!!! PLEASE!!!!

Adventure, villains and romance

This book was a wonderful adventure with a list of characters that keeps you entertained from start to finish. The time era, location and historical references are very well put together. I had not started this book series in order so I am biased in the narration. I do prefer Barbara Rosenblat, she narrates the rest of the series.

An enjoyable story!

Narrator is good if you don't have anything to compare her to. This was my first time listening to an Amelia Peabody book, so I thought the narrator was just fine, I enjoyed listening to her. The story was fun to listen to.