Silhouette in Scarlet: The Third Vicky Bliss Mystery

We are now at the middle of the series to date, and this book was a bit of a disappointment. We fall into a pattern, and for some reason this one just got a little slow for me. It?s still a very good story, and I like where it took the characters, but his one just took its toll on me.

Love Elizabeth Peters writing style with such great characters and dialogue. Rosenblat is an amazing narrator

You will definitely appreciate the Vicky Bliss series more if you start with the first one -- "Borrower of the Night" -- and listen to them in sequence. That will allow you to familiarize yourself with -- and get attached to -- the ongoing characters in this fun soap-opera. Like, for instance, the Han Solo-esque rogue, Sir John Smythe, who apparently meets his demise in "Silhouette in Scarlet" (but we know that he really doesn't, don't we?). With each entry into the Vicky Bliss series, I keep thinking that I like this one the best so far. It makes me sad that Elizabeth Peters only wrote six episodes in this series. I think that I enjoy Vicky Bliss even more than Peters' more famous heroine, Amelia Peabody ... although, I have to admit, that the Amelia Peabody series probably has more literary merit. Comparing the two would resemble trying to chose between cheese cake and raspberry tart: One of them might have more nutrition, but both are delicious. Barbara Mertz -- a brilliant Egyptology scholar writing under the pen name "Elizabeth Peters" -- somehow manages to have fun with her characters, while making us like them (or hate them, as appropriate). If, like me, you get emotionally affected by the audiobooks that you listen to, and would rather avoid anything gut-wrenching or upsetting in your escape-fiction, then Vicky Bliss will suit you nicely. And Barbara Rosenblat provides the perfect narration for Peters' wry humor. This astonishing narrator has more voices and more accents at her command than any other voice actor that I have heard. In particular, with "Silhouette in Scarlet," she uses perfect German, French, Swedish, American English, and Queen's English accents. Her acting talent awes me. I recommend "Silhouette in Scarlet" to anyone looking for a light-hearted, entertaining, downer-free romp.