Trojan Gold: The Fourth Vicky Bliss Mystery

The setting is a German museum, where our sleuth gets a photo of an ancient treasure in the mail. The envelope is tinged with blood and on closer inspection, the treasure in shown being worn by a contemporary woman....and our sleuth is off to a ski chalet in the mountains of Germany chasing clues. Followed by a known jewel thief and an unknown treasure hunter, Vicky tries to track down the ancient gold of Troy. She also has to worry about keeping her boss, a funny litte Santa of a man who fancies he is Sherlock Holmes, and herself safe. Amongst all this treasure hunting, we are treated to a wonderful description of Christmas in a small German town, and a variety of characters that are fun to meet. As usual, Barbara Rosenblatt is an awesome reader.

Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series is my favorite; however, the Vicky Bliss series is very good also. I especially liked Tojan Gold because it best features Vicky's boss, Herr Professor Schmidt, a truly hilarious character that needs to be featured more often.

Ok I will admit that after the third book I was getting REAL familiar with the formula of the series. I was chalking it up to the fact that I plowed through the whole series in one go, but this one changed my mind. Of course we have the great-established set of characters that we have come to love, but we also have a very different end to the book. It does not clean up neatly, and I must say that I still love John?s ?Marry Poppins? comings and goings.

This is a series about Vicky who is a trouble-prone art historian and John the art theft who keeps getting Vicky out of trouble. In this installment, Vicky and her boss, Anton Schmidt, are looking for the legendary gold of Troy. I think this is the best book in the series, because it really does portrait the cold war accurately. Trojan Gold took me back to a Reagan world. It was a fun visit, but I am so glad it is gone. Schmidt is also a central character in this book. And I am so glad he is, because he is the best part of this series. Barbara Rosenblat is always wonderful!

Combine Elizabeth Peters story telling abilities with Barbara Rosenblat's performances and you get Magic! I have listened to all these series and Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody mysteries performed by Barbara Rosenblat and you just can't miss. It's addicting....I highly recommend it.

This is a series about Vicky who is a trouble-prone art historian and John the art theft who keeps getting Vicky out of trouble. In this installment, Vicky and her boss, Anton Schmidt, are looking for the legendary gold of Troy. I think this is the best book in the series, because it really does portrait the cold war accurately. Trojan Gold took me back to a Reagan world. It was a fun visit, but I am so glad it is gone. Schmidt is also a central character in this book. And I am so glad he is, because he is the best part of this series. Barbara Rosenblat is always wonderful!

Elizabeth Peters' Vicky Bliss series mercilessly spoofs the (eminently spoofable) romance genre of novel-writing. With "Trojan Gold," she takes the spoof right over the top, plop into romance. Yes, the elusive Sir John finally declares his love for Vicky, our beautiful heroine. "Trojan Gold" refers back, multiple times, to "Borrower of the Night," the first novel in the Vicky Bliss series; so you will want to listen to that entry, at least, before starting this one. (I advise listening to them all, in sequence, for the most fun.) "Trojan Gold" has more length and more plot complexity than the previous entries, and, therefore even more entertainment value. Yet, despite the light-hearted fluffiness of the Vicky Bliss series, Peters' intelligence and skill always shine through. In order to distinguish her fiction from her scholarly tomes, prolific author and eminent Egyptology scholar Barbara Mertz uses the pen name "Elizabeth Peters" for her Amelia Peabody series, her Vicky Bliss series, her Jacqueline Kirby series, and many other stand-alone novels. She also writes spoof-gothic fiction under the pen name "Barbara Michaels." (I have set myself the pleasant task of listening to every one of this brilliant woman's novels. I'll probably pass on the scholarly tomes.) Taken in conjunction with Barbara Rosenblat's inspired narration, you can hardly do better. Go for it.

Suspenseful, humorous, romantic

Professor Schmidt - someone I would like to know in real life.

She has the wonderful ability with her voice to keep the characters straight in the listener's mind even if she doesn't say who is speaking.

Yes

I have listened to alot of Elizabeth Peters books, especially the Amelia Peabody Emerson series. A couple of Peters' books in the Vickie Bliss series are read by another narrator and just don't "cut the mustard"! Too bad - I've missed out on Vickie's adventures!

No, while the performance was superb, the story dragged in several parts.

I was surprised by "who dunnit," but it took a long time to get there.

I love how Barbara Rosenblat gives each character a unique personality!