Crocodile on the Sandbank

The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 1

By: Elizabeth Peters

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat

Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Amelia Peabody inherited two things from her father: a considerable fortune and an unbendable will. The first allowed her to indulge in her life's passion. Without the second, the mummy's curse would have made corpses of them all.

Don't miss the rest of the Amelia Peabody series. You can also check out more of our Most Addictive Series.

©2004 Elizabeth Peters (P)2004 Recorded Books

Delightful

Loved it. I do love great literary style, an intriguing wholesome , pristine archeological adventure, also funny! The author took much care on developing her characters -they all came alive through the reader. Amelia is just fabulous, how I wished I was there in Egypt with her.

Amazing

Elizabeth Peters is an incredibly gifted author. Her use of humor and description catches the imagination helps you See. Describing someone bending over like “an inquisitive chimpanzee” is hilarious. The narrator brings everything to life!!! Excellent!!!!

Victorian Feminism at its Best!

So enjoy the wit and wisdom of this Victorian feminist! Amelia is a rip! The writing is wonderful, ‘tho I must confess the narration could be far better. Her Amelia is strident, her Evelyn saccharine, And the male characters … well, enough said about that. I suspect we are getting more demanding about the quality of narration these days. That being said, the characters, setting, and story win the day.

Excellent series!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who reads this review! This series is amazing and I promise you won’t be disappointed by the author or the narrator! Murder, mystery, love, humor, and a fantastic setting!

Great Fun!

I thought it best to start the Amelia Peabody series with Perkin's first book, and I'm happy that I did. It gives great background into this fabulous woman, who will knock the socks off of anyone who loves a strong female protagonist. For someone who does not know what to expect from this book, take a female Indiana Jones in the time frame of pre-1900, and plop her in the middle of a mystery in Egypt, surrounded by an archaeological dig complete with mummies, tombs, and curses. Amelia herself is a hoot. She's audacious, bold, single-minded, a flawless planner, extraordinarily intelligent, and very intuitive. She throws out one-liners that make the reader laugh out loud, while all the while Amelia is being completely serious. She's full of sarcasm yet sage advice. She will see to it that she gets whatever she wants, but at the same time shows compassion and tenderness when called for. Just to give a head's up, she speaks with the vernacular of a late 19th century proper English "lady" so if listening to that type of speech bothers you, skip it. But while I started somewhat skeptical that I could listen to Amelia for the entire length of the book, I quickly found her quick wit, and highly entertaining narrative style, very easy to listen to. Also, the narrator does an outstanding job with the other characters, keeping them in character throughout the book. In retrospect, considering how much dialogue there is in the book, and considering how the inflections of the narrator add so greatly to the entertainment factor, I believe that this is one of those books that actually lends itself more for listening than reading. The book is full of dry humor, a mystery, interesting information about archaeology, and even romance. In short, it has all the ingredients for a lighthearted book that is just plain fun, and I couldn't stop listening until I was finished! I can't wait to download my next Elizabeth Peters' tale with Amelia Peabody.

Excellent!

No doubt you have heard this already, but this is wonderful in more ways than I can say. Amelia is delightful and acerbic and she is my spirit animal.

The Essential Reading - First of the Series

This volume is an essential read of the Amelia Peabody mystery series, written my Elizabeth Peters and narrated by Barbara Rosenblat. I got hooked Elizabeth Peters while perusing my library in Ohio. Little did I realize how captivated I would become by Ms Peters and her side kick Ms Rosenblat. These two are a tandem that is a force of nature.

The book is about Amelia Peabody, how she comes to her own and a lot of how and why she thinks of events she encounters. She meets a variety of characters, many of whom continue on throughout the series...at least the 19 or so I have made it through.

Since I don't believe in spoilers, you will find none here. Suffice to say, each of these women, i.e. Ms Peters and Ms Rosenblat, are part of my life. I consider my money well spent on these series of books, plus I have now hooked my wife on them as we listen to them together.

Thank you ladies. I hope to meet you in this lifetime.

I forgot how much i loved this series

Any additional comments?

I read this series years ago when they first came out. I loved them then and its pure joy to listen again. Barbara Rosenblat's performance is the best. She captures the charters perfectly. She adds the best tonal drama as needed. I am very happy that audible has picked up this series and I intend to listen to them all!

Exciting story, lovely job by the reader

An exciting story with a good reader. Listened almost straight through. Fun to learn how Amelia and Redcliffe met.

Old, but still so good...

I first read Crocodile on the Sandbank during 5th grade, on a recommendation from a friend. Every few years during the 30+ years since then, I read or (now) listen to it again, but it never gets old. The wit of the author, repartee of the characters, and the sublimely fun gothic plot are just what I need to escape from modernity. A brilliant blend of romance, adventure, and mystery, with an iconic female protagonist for the ages.
The narrator of this wonderful book is gifted in her ability to separate the dialogue of the characters by intonation and accent, even the male characters. It really gives a new dimension to an already great read.