A River in the Sky

February 15, 2010
Set in 1910, the delightful 19th Amelia Peabody novel from bestseller Peters (after Tomb of the Golden Bird
) takes Amelia and her husband, Emerson, to Palestine, where an English adventurer, George Morley, is planning to excavate Jerusalem's Temple Mount in search of the Ark of the Covenant. Gen. David Spencer, the director of Military Operations in London, suspects Morley, an amateur archeologist at best, of spying for the Germans, whose influence has been growing in the Middle East. Spencer wants Egyptologists Amelia and Emerson to stop Morley from undertaking a project sure to offend the three religious groups that consider the temple site holy. Meanwhile, son Ramses embarks on a treacherous journey to convey to his parents important information learned from two travelers he meets while on a dig in Samaria. Once again, MWA Grandmaster Peters uses vivid settings, sharp characterizations, and deft dialogue to transport the reader to another time and place.

On the eve of WWI, Amelia Peabody and family gird for an archaeological expedition to Palestine to unearth the legendary Ark of the Covenant. This refreshing prequel is set in 1910, before the family entanglements featured in Peters's recent books. Barbara Rosenblat's unsurpassed performance scintillates once again. The many characters' distinctive voices profoundly contrast in tonal range and quality while retaining a sensitive awareness of age, sex, culture, and nationality. Rosenblat never ceases to amaze as she creates brand-new inflections to enhance each new personality, such as that of The Reverend Plato. Middle Eastern religious tension in this prewar period, murder, and mayhem surround the troupe as they strive to find son Ramses, lost while working on a dig in Jerusalem. Flawless expressive nuances embellish the familiar and so lovely voices of Amelia and husband Emerson as Rosenblat's charming AUDIOFILE Golden Voice continues to gleam. A.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine