Elizabeth Peters + Barbara Rosenblatt = Perfection!

Finally, all of the Emersons go on a dig. In The Mummy Case, their son, Ramses, joins Amelia and her husband in Egypt. This season, Emerson has his ..Show More »heart set on giving Amelia her dream: the excavation of a pyramid. Along the way, the Emersons stumble across a master criminal and we learn just how loquacious Ramses is. If you like dry sarcasm, you will enjoy this series. Barbara Rosenblat is as wonderful as always. You may notice that there are two narrators for this series. You do not have to switch narrators to enjoy each volume in this series if you stick with Recorded Books and Barbara Rosenblat.

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This series is a true delight. I have read all of the books, twice - but Barbara Rosenblat brings out every nuance and makes the audio books even more..Show More » enjoyable. The characters come to life with her skillful narration. While these books are certainly full of suspense, they are so funny you will laugh out loud. As a bonus, Elizabeth Peters' PhD in Egyptology enables her to give credibility to her characters' adventures and lets her audience glimpse the Egypt that tourists do not see. Bet you can't listen to just one!

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For fans of the Amelia Peabody series, I highly recommend Ms Rosenblat's narration. She provides Amelia with a lovely british accent and appropriate ..Show More »voices for the other various characters. From a gruff and husky Emerson to the high and childlike Ramses her narration is completely entertaining. As this is the 5th Amelia Peabody narration I have listened to, three by Ms Rosenblat, I have established a definite preference for her's.

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Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody, along with her husband - Emerson, is an archaelogist and expert on Egyptian pyramids. Each year they spend time work..Show More »ing on digs but danger, murder and young lovers "dog" each season. This book in the series is by far the most superb with masterful development of the characters, plot and sub-plots. The tension before all is resolved will please any mystery reader, particularly those that enjoy historical fiction.

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I can't get enough Amelia Peabody read by Barbara Rosenblatt. These wonderful books come to life with her narration. Emerson's paper tiger voice, Peab..Show More »ody's ringing tones, Abdullah's wry humor all sing in this recording. And this installment of the series is one of Elizabeth Peters' best. If you like smart and funny mysteries, with the perfect touch of melodrama and a bit of real history, read these.

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This is the kind of tale that breaks down the ratings system. If you are looking for a page-turning, breathless thriller, you've come to the wrong pla..Show More »ce. If you are attracted by the possibility of enriching your penchant for Egyptology, you will not find this book compelling.
But. If you like your mysteries with a side of grin, this is the book for you. Amelia Peabody Emerson is an intrepid, sexy, brilliant, Victorian feminist who adores her equally brilliant and good looking husband. She gently nudges her son Ramses into proper behavior. Ramses is such a precocious lad that he can become annoying. Yes he is precocious enough to understand that and try to contain himself when it counts. There's a beautiful step daughter who is tinged with mystery. The family battles evil, uncovers lost burial sites, faces danger and rescues one another. But the fun of the book is peeking inside the brain of the undaunted Peabody, as her husband addresses her. As a devoted Rex Stout fan, I'm not ready to hand Peabody Archie Goodwin's crown in he kingdom of witty narrators. But Amelia Peabody Emerson is more than pleasant company.

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After the disaster that was The Hippopotamus Pool, Seeing a Large Cat is a refreshing return to the novels of old. Back is the fun dialo..Show More »gue, the satiric eye-wink of a mystery, and wonderful banter between Emerson and Amelia. With this book, Peters has pushed the children into their middle to late teens, which provides for new an interesting voices to combat the bombastic Emerson and the lovingly know-it-all Amelia. The addition of David, the only good thing to come out of The Hippopotamus Pool, provides a refreshing new voice to the series and loving foil to Ramses and Nefret. Also new to this book is the addition of "Manuscript H," which provides a fictionalized voice to the adventures of Ramses, Nefret, and David. While I liked the addition of a new voice that allows for a perspective different from Amelia Peabody's, I found the way Peters chose to insert them into the novel annoying. I would rather have had her break the Manuscript H sections into seperate chapters, but she's the writer, not me. Overall, this was a nice return to the Amelia Peabody mysteries of old, but with new voices, new characters, the return of old favorites, and a much more dramtic turn than we've seen before. As usual, the vocal stylings of Barbara Rosenblatt are spot on. Her over-the-top vocalizations bring a wry humor to the already fun story.

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If one isn't familiar with the "Amelia Peabody" stories, then some plot elements might (per another review) seem irrelevant. But to those of us who lo..Show More »ve repeating characters, that is the true treasure of these books. The fact that they are mysteries about Victorian characters set in Egypt is significant, of course--because they're always dashing good mysteries! But the mysteries are rarely any more important than the interactions of Amelia Peabody Emerson (a wonderful example of a strong but human woman), her gruff but adored husband, her amazingly resilient if quiet-natured son nicknamed Ramses, and her adopted daughter Nefret--not to mention all the other wonderful repeating characters who await their return to Egypt each year. My mother loved these books, and I resisted them for a long time, but now I am an absolute fan, and buy the new one the moment it comes out each spring. If you like the time period and setting, if you enjoy delightful narration (both from the author and from the reader, Barbara Rosenblat), or if you enjoy finding a fictional family whom you'll want to revisit again and again, don't just try this book--try this series.

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I made the mistake of first listening to the abridged version of FALCON. Some books can be abridged well, but not this one. Every line is full of char..Show More »acterization, or humor, or poignancy -- I cannot recommend the unabridged version, narrated by Barbara Rosenblatt enough.

FALCON is part of Peters' series of Amelia Peabody mysteries, and contains everything readers come to expect--another dead body, another shirt ruined, delightful narration, and the incredible character of Amelia herself, who manages to both exemplify and transcend Victorian femininity. We have all the wonderful secondary characters (Cyrus & wife, David, Lia, Selim, Kadija, etc.) and an actual pyramid (though a sad pyramid it is) for Amelia and her gruff husband Emerson to explore--in an archeologically sound manner, of course. We even get a glimpse of their English home at the start (along with an important wedding) and a forgery plot implicating someone near and dear to their hearts.

But what makes FALCON stand out more than (arguably) any other book in the series is the depth of the characterization. Yes, these are the same Amelia, Emerson, Ramses, and Nefret. But the clarity with which each is drawn, from their body language to their vocal inflections (thanks both to Peters and to narrator Rosenblatt) is absolute magic. The Emerson family has more personal stake in this mystery than ever before--because of the implications of the forgery, and because the murder victim is someone we get to know and, if not like, with whom we sympathize. Add to that a crescendo to the building romantic subplot between Amelia's genius son Ramses (it's a nickname) and her adopted daughter Nefret (it's Egyptian), and the fact that her horrible nephew Percy gets in some wonderfully low blows against the family's happiness, and FALCON ends up working not only as a mystery but as the best of family dramas.

Give it a shot.

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This is a wonderful tale, told with humor and knowledge. I've listened to all the books in the series, and this was definitely the best. Amelia can ..Show More »be a bit egotistical, so injecting some more "objective" narrative can be a relief. And this narrator - Barbara Rosenblat - is fantastic, with a range of voices that is truly awesome.

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Guardian of the Horizon is a worthy sequel to The Last Camel Died at Noon. I suggest reading the prior book first since much of the plot of this book..Show More » is built on previous incidents and relationships. Although there is enough of a back story in Guardian of the Horizon to allow it to stand on its own.

The Emersons return to The Lost Oasis where they are once again called to duty to help overthrow the usurper of the Holy City, and restore the rightful king to the throne. The story is full of zany characters and screwball antics, and there are loads of laughs along the way.

The book starts out a bit slow, but in the end you can't help but fall in love with the madcap Emersons. If you're a diehard fan, you'll fall in love with them all over again. The truly talented narrator brings each charater to life in this gem of the Amelia Peabody series.

Four stars for being one of my favorite books in the series.

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Such Fun!!! The best part was the reader tho, she gives different voices for all the characters and has such excellent expression.

Amelia and the rest of the sprawling Peabody-Emerson clan are back for yet another adventure featuring ... well, as Abdullah would have put it, "Every..Show More » year, another dead body."

It's the fall of 1922 in Luxor, Egypt, and Howard Carter is digging one last season in the Valley of the Kings in the hopes of finding anything buried under the sands before his benefactor, Lord Canarvon, pulls the funding away after several fruitless years. Amelia's archaeologist husband, Radcliffe Emerson, is fairly certain that at least one tomb remains - that of the little known 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Tutankhamun, and he thinks he knows where to find it. The fun begins when Carter stumbles across a step in the rock, and Emerson fails to remember that the find is Carter's and not his own. Soon, the Emersons are banned from the Valley, and old friends and foes start popping out of the woodwork to make life complicated.

The focus of this book is somewhat different than others in the series and those who've been wishing for a change of pace wll be pleasantly surprised to find that the focus of this book isn't the crime of the season, but the interactions of the Emersons themselves.

If you've never read one of the Amelia Peabody books, you'll be completely lost (start with Crocodile on the Sandbank and go from there) - after 18 books in the series, the backstory would take a volume of its own. I loved the story - my carpool pals were a bit lost, though, as I kept stopping the audio to explain who each character was.

If you've been with the series from the beginning, you might find yourself wishing the story were just a little longer. Elizabeth Peters has hinted that this will be the last book chronologically in the series, and that subsequent books will fill in the "holes" left in the 40 year span between our first encounter with Amelia and this latest tale. (I'm keeping my fingers crossed, though.)

The Tomb of the Golden Bird is Amelia at her best.

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To longtime fans of the Amelia Peabody series a warning that this is not "the latest instalment" but is set in 1910, between "Guardian of The Horizon"..Show More » and "The Falcon at the Portal". This is disconcerting, as if you are already familiar with the personal lives of the younger characters, Ramses and Nefret, David and Lia, in this book it is hard to forget what eventuates later on. The story is typical of the usual strange mystery, this time set in Palestine, and with the usual wonderful by-play between Amelia and Emerson. It is shorter than usual, but a welcome return and another pleasant interlude with our much loved characters. For new readers of the Amelia Peabody books it would be better to start at the beginning of the series with "Crocodile on the Sandbank" and work through in order.

Having become used to the superb narration of Barbara Rosenblat who portrays all of the characters in these books so perfectly and with each having individual distinction, I regret that this narrator, Karen Cass, was very disappointing. She seems to merely "read" the book, often rather fast, and without the special dignity these characters deserve. Amelia sounds like a fussy hen and even sometimes seems to have a lisp, while Emerson sounds like a jolly schoolboy. I believe there is a Barbara Rosenblat version available and hope that audible will include it very soon, as I had to stop listening to this version and return to my hardback book. For this reason only three stars.

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