Seeing a Large Cat

The Amelia Peabody Series, Book 9

By: Elizabeth Peters

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat

Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Best-selling mystery author Elizabeth Peters has captured the hearts of thousands of readers with her spunky Victorian Egyptologist, Amelia Peabody Emerson. In Seeing a Large Cat, Amelia must ensnare a modern-day killer, a bogus spiritualist, and a predatory debutante in the awesome Valley of the Kings. Someone is sending ominous messages: "Stay away from tomb Twenty-A!" Intrigued, parasol-wielding Amelia won't rest until she finds the forbidden burial site. But when the excavation yields an unusual mummy, she suddenly must protect both her family and the macabre discovery.

Her Ph.D. in Egyptology enables Elizabeth Peters to portray a lavishly detailed turn-of-the-century Egypt in her lively tale of crisp wit and shivery suspense. The spirited cast including Amelia, her eccentric family, and an array of international characters bursts into life with Barbara Rosenblat's brilliant narration.

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

©2004 Elizabeth Peters (P)2004 Recorded Books

Like Old Times

After the disaster that was <i>The Hippopotamus Pool</i>, <i>Seeing a Large Cat</i> is a refreshing return to the novels of old. Back is the fun dialogue, 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 <i>The Hippopotamus Pool</i>, 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.

Top -Notch Story & Performance

Elizabeth Peters can always be depended on to write an entertaining tongue in cheek adventure, containing mysteries, at least one murder, danger and wry commentary on the social mores of the day. In this 9th book in the Amelia Peabody series, she delivers one of her best!

The year is 1903. In the 3 years since the previous book, the Emersons' son, Ramses, and their adopted daughter, Nefret, have aged and grown. Ramses is 16 and is 6 feet tall, Nefret is 19 and has begun to take classes at a London medical school for women. Ramses and his friend David Todros have spent the summer with a sheik and his tribe and are consequently much more mature than the previous year.

The plot involves a search for the alleged murderer of a woman, led by the actual murderer; discovery of a tomb below the floor of the Valley of the Kings; a collapse of the tomb roof trapping Amelia; the saving of Amelia by Ramses; freeing an old friend from powerful delusions about an Egyptian princess; and Vandergelt's infatuation with and engagement to an Englishwoman involved in the princess delusions matter. Much of the last half of the tale creates a good deal of suspense and laughter.

I continue to be amazed by the astounding talents of narrator Barbara Rosenblat. She is, without doubt, the most versatile narrator I have encountered on Audible. The Amelia Peabody stories require not only a wide range of accents in both male and female voices. They require, and Rosenblat delivers superbly, the voice of one character, Ramses, aging from 4 and 5 to 8, 10, 13, and now 16, while remaining clearly recognizable as the same character. A real tour-de-force!

One of the best of this series.

The Best!

Seeing a Large Cat has now become my favorite of all the Amelia Peabody series books. It even got 5 stars from me, which is not something I do very often.

The story was exceptionally good and I am in love with the grown up Ramses. I did not find him whinny or annoying (as another reviewer noted). I found him sexy and intriguing. I am very pleased with the grown up Ramses voice - I can't say the same for David's voice. In my opinion his voice should have been more British in light of his adoption by the Walter Emersons and subsequent British education.

The Emerson family is back in Luxor - and they have built a house nearby. They still have their boat (the Amelia). David and Ramses are staying in the boat and Amelia, Emerson and Nefret are staying at the house. There are visits (known and unknown) between the two locations. Cyrus is discovering a love interest and we find that Ramses has a love interest too. The mysteries in the story are quite perplexing and the entire family and crew are involved in solving them. Ramses female cat (I can't spell her name) from previous books has died, and Ramses is quietly and silently grieving over her death - they had a special bond. Nefret wants to ease his grief by trying to get him to pay attention to one of the deceased cat's kittens, but Ramses isn't consoled at all by the new kitten.

The book includes a character named Dolly, a Southern Belle from America whom I itched to slap. She has eyes for Ramses. She is so hateful and spiteful that she may come back in future books. Dolly is the type you love to hate and she is the polar opposite of Nefret. Needless to say, Nefret can't stand her either.

Unlike another reviewer, I absolute love the insertions of Manuscript H. I think they make perfect sense where they are placed and help move the story along. Also, the Manuscript H sections are apparently written by Ramses but he writes them as if they are a fiction story. They are really helpful to tell what is happening out of Amerlia's sight and provide a viewpoint other than Amelia's about events and people (including Amelia). I think they add spice to the series and keep the books from becoming monotmous, which they will do if we only hear Amelia talking all the way through every book. I love Amelia, but she can get a little stuck on herself sometimes.

Dependably Enjoyable

This series is a favorite. The history is reliable, the style is authentic, and the plots are engaging. The the characters are likable and amusing; their development and their changing relationships pique interest in the ongoing saga.
A great plus in the audio versions is the amazing Barbara Rosenblat, who gives each character a distinctive and convincing voice.

This series just keeps getting better

This series and especially this reader are among my guilty pleasures in life. Looking forward to the next read.

GODD BUT...

After the but is..this is the 9 th book in the series and the 9th one I have read ...and this one lacks some of the pizzazz that the first 8 book had it is still a good book but hoping book 10 goes back to the adventure contained in the earlier books

Best of Historical Mysteries

If you are a fan of historical mysteries, and can accept some, (okay a lot) of improbability in your mysteries for the sake of fun, listen to all of this series. NOTE: Make sure the narrator is Barbra Rosenblatt before you download. ALSO - the unabridged aggravate me - maybe they don't you....

These books are so entertaining, fun and an escape from reality.

Excellent narrator and story teller

Barbara Rosenblat IS Amelia Peabody, but she is also perfectly Emerson, Nefret, and especially Ramses. Even if I didn’t like the story I would still enjoy hearing her do the many different voices! But luckily, it’s a “spiffing good” tale too.

A wonder adventure in the saga of Peabody/Emerson.

I have listened to the story a couple of times now. It brings me the original amount of joy I felt every time I hear it. Very well written. Great use of vocabulary. Certainly one of the greatest tales of our time.

A Surprise in a Tomb

Barbara Rosenblat is the most amazing reader. She changes her voice perfectly for each of the characters, accents and all. She makes each one so believable.
This is a good story also. I look forward to listening to more of the Egyptian tales.

An entertaining listen

The narrator really brings out the humour of the story, giving life to the various characters. This book sees the return of Donald and Enid Fraser (from book 4). I particularly enjoyed the parts of the story that were told from Ramses' perspective. I have enjoyed seeing him grow up and play a greater part in the family adventures. The world of Amelia Peabody is a place I always enjoy escaping to!

Seeing a Large Cat

I can only repeat that I love the Amelia Peabody books. The stories are good and educational, and the characters are brought to life by Barbara Rosenblat.

Old-style Sweet

Really enjoyed this, in the style of an Agatha Christie novel. Good characters, well-read though with a couple of odd accents that just added to its 'old-style'ness'.

Seeing a Large cat by Elizabeth Peters

Yet another of Elizabeth Peters excellent stories about Amelia Peabody. Well written, with interesting, and numerous Characters.
Happy to recommend this serious, And Barbara Rosenblat is a excellent narrator, they could not have chosen better

Another button lost

FANTASTIC - The Amelia Peabody books are fabulous, and the reader of the series of audio books, including this one, has added yet another dimention to my enjoyment of these stories. Brilliant.

Excellent addition to the series.

Perhaps not the very best of the series, we really enjoyed it.
Loads of action scenes and Amelia is her usual combative self. The youngest Emerson's are coming into there own and playing a larger po art on the story.
Some laugh out loud passages.
The reading is as usual, first rate. Exceptional.
The fact that we have paid for many of the series and will purchase more, tells you what you need to know about how much we like the books.

Five star - again!!!

Another ticked off the list with a 5* rating.
Such great yarns, wonderful description and detail, but what makes all the difference is of course the narration. Barbara Rosenblat’s narration is superb in every aspect.
I would recommend without hesitation.