The Painted Queen

An Amelia Peabody Novel of Suspense

By: Elizabeth Peters, Joan Hess

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat

Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

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' best-selling, 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 a 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 is 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 BC 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.

©2017 MPM Manor, Inc. (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Enjoyed, but the master's touch ...

I am grateful to Elizabeth Peters' (the late Barbara Mertz') family for allowing Joan Hess to complete the last of the Amelia Peabody series, and compliment narrator Barbara Rosenblatt for yet another perfect audio portayal of Amelia and her kin,, and yet it is a parent that the Master's touch is not present throughout. that absence, difficult for this amateur reviewer to describe, I believe will be a parent too long time readers periodically throughout the story, and especially at the abrupt end. still enjoyable but not quite there... A bit of a sad end to this wonderful series.

Conflicted!

Firstly, I really appreciate Joan Hess for completing the novel--no small task! But there were inconsistencies that threw me out of the story--most glaring, Catherine was a dear friend but did NOT know Amelia since Ramses was born, and the lost oasis was a secret--Amelia would NEVER have told a stranger about her adventures there, even if a stranger had somehow known to ask. Some of the characterizations also felt off, especially Fatima, Ramses and Nefrette. But all that aside, Barbara Rosenblat was divine, and I was grateful to dive back into the world of the Peabody/Emersons. Wow, am I sad I'll never be able to do so again!

Good, but not quite the same

I literally on every single Amelia Peabody novel on Audible.

I love them very much and this was a excellent performance by Barbara Rosenblatt and overall I would give it five stars.

However, the storytelling, logic, and style are not quite consistent. This book had to be completed by Joan Hess after the original authors demise. I think overall a good job was done but the plot does not quite live up to previous novels.

Admirable narrative similarities to Elizabeth Peters

You can hear many narrative similarities to previous Peabody novels by Peters, Joan Hess did her proud.

Barbara Rosenblat was amazing as always!!

It was an entertaining novel and makes me want to listen again to the full series, but I have to mention that there were things missing or off such as the lack of a “counsel of war” being called, weird references to “pita” sandwiches and last Fatima calling Amelia by her Married name instead of how she always refers to her via the sobriquet of “Sitt Hakim". I am sad that this is the last new novel in the series, but think that Hess did a great job, thank you for finishing the book.

I had high hopes, and I wish they’d been better met.

I appreciate the effort and love that went into finishing this book. Unfortunately, it is not well done.

The errors in language use are understandable. It is difficult to create a credible imitation of someone else’s writing style. On the other hand referring to Amelia and Emerson’s cabin as “the marital chamber” when she is going in alone to change her clothes is asinine.

The deepest disappointments are in bizarre changes in the characters. Daoud is presented in this book as an oafish caveman, petulant, petty, resentful. Gone is the lovely, nuanced man of few words, and a concomitant acuity of thought. Similarly, David has no role beyond being Ramses’ somewhat more chaste and vapid personal Greek Chorus. He was almost never a dynamic participant in a scene or conversation. One of the weirdest behaviors, that was depicted more than once, was him going off to the side to smoke his pipe while everyone else worked.

The relationship between Amelia and Emerson seemed like a paper doll shadow version. No passion. No intelligence. No respect. No fire.

Nothing about the characters’ lives or relationships moved forward. Walter and Evelyn and their brood almost don’t exist.

Maybe the failures of this book are proof of the artistry of Barbara Mertz (Elizabeth Peters). Or, maybe a deeper and more thoughtful approach was warranted? My take away is that although I can and will listen to/read the rest of the series over and over, I will skip this one in future.

Excellent end!

Excellent end to an extraordinary series! Joan Hess did a good job writing the final book to Elizabeth Peters series she started decades ago! Barbara’s performance as always was perfect! I couldn’t imagine another voice for Amelia! I will definitely be listening to this series again someday!

Just did not feel like the Peabody Emersons

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I missed the characters and did enjoy revisiting them. there were errors in the details that jarred

Would you be willing to try another book from Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess ? Why or why not?

Probably but it is over anyhow

Which scene was your favorite?

Sethos rang true when he grabbed Amelia on the horse

Did The Painted Queen inspire you to do anything?

Nope

Any additional comments?

I appreciate the attempt to finish the novel but I wish some of the facts from other books had been more carefully edited Daoud did not have many wives Kathrine did not know Ramses from birth,Emerson would have never left the shop unguarded so it made the characters less real to me

Better next time

Some kind of magic was missing from this book. It was ok but the characters weren't as true as they were in other books. As much as I love B. Rosenblat she seemed a little tired in this narration.

Wonderful to hear familiar FRIENDS

Time has moved on and does it's work on all of us together. Aging takes place. Barbara Mertz has passed, leaving a treasure for we who loved her creations. Barbara, the narrator has been a wonderful. Her beautiful voice has aged and I am very grateful she has been here at the end. THANK YOU to both BARBARAs. What a great gift I have found and keep close to my heart!!!

How many will there be?

Wow, I can't believe it. The Emersons actually made it through a story of grime, crime, 5 murderous attempts and came out no worse for wear. To complete it all, what are electric fish in the rushes...in the Nile? I'm rereading this set for the umpteenth time and never tire.