The Last Camel Died at Noon

The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 6

By: Elizabeth Peters

Narrated by: Susan O'Malley

Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

The last camel is dead, and Egyptologist Amelia Peabody, her dashing husband, Emerson, and precocious son, Ramses, are in dire straits on the sun-scorched desert sands. Months before, back in cool, green England, Viscount Blacktower had approached them to find his son and his son's new bride, who have been missing in war-torn Sudan for over a decade. An enigmatic message scrawled on papyrus and a cryptic map had been delivered to Blacktower, awakening his hope that the couple was still alive.

Neither Amelia nor Emerson believes the message is authentic, but the treasure map proves an irresistible temptation. Now, deep in Nubia's vast wasteland, they discover too late how much treachery is afoot (and on camelback)...and survival depends on Amelia's solving a mystery as old as ancient Egypt and as timeless as greed and revenge.

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

©1991 Elizabeth Peters (P)2000 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"If Indiana Jones were female, a wife and mother who lived in Victorian times, he would be Amelia Peabody Emerson...Combining a fierce affection for her family with indefatigable independence, stalwart Amelia proves once again an immensely likable heroine." (Publishers Weekly)
"Another interest-holding and humorously told Amelia Peabody Victorian suspense tale." (School Library Journal)
"The plot twists and turns....it's delicious." (Washington Times)

Interesting story

Great story, but I did not care for this narrator. I prefer Barbara Rosenblat and her varied character voices. That is the only reason I gave this book a 3 rating. The Emerson-Peabody clan is again involved in an interesting mystery. This time far away from Cairo, or the valley of the kings. The family ventures to Sudan and a mysterious oasis in search of an Englishman and his wife. What they find is intrigue, political power-plays and a people practicing the religion of ancient Egypt.

Another great addition!

I actually like Susan O'Malley as the narrator and am a little saddened that this appears to be the last book in the series she does.
I find her voice and speech pattern for Amelia to fit the self-confident, intelligent nature of the character. I had no problems distinguishing her different characters and visualizing them by their voices.
Some have described her as sounding Texan or overly-drawled but I really didn't hear it.
I'm really enjoying the series, and this book is as fun as the rest! Darned camels!

Peabody!

I really love this story. I feel as though I could find that lost civilization.

Very Disappointing Narration!

I want to listen to this series in order, and being unable to find this book (#7) in the Amelia Peabody series narrated by Barbara Rosenblat, I reluctantly downloaded this version. I was even more disappointed than I expected to be,and frankly found myself 'nodding off', distracted and skipping through E.Peters deliciously charming prose because of the lack of distinction and animation in this narrator's reading of the characters. I know how hard it can be to find the time to sit and read a book these days, and find these audio books wonderful for commuting in my car 2+ hours each work day. HOWEVER, in this case, I would strongly recommend finding the time to read this book, if you are going to do this series in order..... this narration just plain stinks.

3 stars for author, 0 for narrator

I listened to "Crocodile on the Sandbank" narrated by Ms O'Malley and barely made it through, I found the narration extremely tedious and bland. I switched narrators to Ms Rosenblat and was immediately enchanted with books 2, 3, 4 & 5. I am disappointed that this sixth book in the series is not available from audible with Ms Rosenblat's narration, as I have had to endure a rather bland rendition to continue the series.

Many Plot Twists

I love the Amanda Peabody books that are narrated by Susan O'Malley. Ramsies, the son, plays a vital role in this book. Educational, witty, and adventurous.

A Surprising Relief

I was dreading this narrator for the simple reason that Barbara Rosenblatt does such a superb job that surely no one could live up to it. I agree that Susan O'Malley's delivery is much quicker, the accents sometimes Texan and it is indeed much more flat. Almost more unforgivable was the way she made Ameila sound whiney. However, I discovered to my astonishment, I enjoyed it!

I have found myself wincing during Ms Rosenblatt's readings due to the extremes she goes to when Ameila is excited. It was a bit of a relief to hear the book read less dramatically. One can only take over-the-top drama for so long before hitting overload.

I encourage you to take a listen and make up your own mind.

Susan O'Malley is the best Amelia Peabody!!

I honestly do not understand how or why anyone enjoys Rosenblat's performance of this book. She has no comedic timing, she reads soooo slowly, and her voices of the characters are all so annoying to me that I cannot stand to listen. I tired, I listened to the whole first half of Crocodile on the Sandbank narrated by Rosenblat, and had to give up. It was so incredibly terrible.

Susan O'Malley on the other hand is SO WONDERFUL!!! She absolutely IS Amelia Peabody, and everything she does with these books is just such fun. She has great comedic timing, and it just makes the whole thing so enjoyable and fun and light.

It is a tragedy that she only did the first 6 books. I would love to listen to the entire series, but I just CANNOT deal with Rosenblat. So instead I have listened to these first 6 books narrated by O'Malley about 4 times each now. And I'll probably listen to them again and again. Someone, PLEASE have Susan O'Malley narrate the rest of the books!!! PLEASE!!!!

Keeps you guessing with tons of plot twists!

The dialogue between the characters is superb. Family dialogue interchange is spot on. A pleasure that brings smiles throughout.

One of my favorites

I'll freely admit that finding the Amelia Peabody series available through Audible.com was my primary reason for joining. This is one of my favorite series and have enjoyed them all immensely. However, I have made a conscious effort to stick with one reader, not this one. I would not suggest that there is anything wrong with her voice or style. She just did not provide life to the various characters in the same way that Barbara Rosenblatt does. Perhaps this is just what I have become used to, but I will stick with the other reader as much as possible.