The Serpent on the Crown

Starred review from March 7, 2005
MWA Grand Master Peters delivers another winner that you can't put down and yet don't want to see end, the 17th entry in her bestselling series to feature Egyptologist Amelia Peabody Emerson and her extended family (after 2004's Guardian of the Horizon
). Early in 1922, novelist Magda Petherick, the widow of noted collector Pringle Petherick, interrupts the tea that the Emerson clan are enjoying on the veranda of their house by the Nile. Mrs. Petherick wants Emerson, Amelia's eminent archeologist husband, to dispose of a beautiful golden statuette that Pringle acquired shortly before his death because she believes it carries a curse. All are intrigued. News travels fast, and such a magnificent artifact soon attracts all manner of collectors, museum authorities, journalists and evildoers. Emerson's illegitimate half-brother, Sethos, formerly a dealer in illegal antiquities, arrives in disguise, but unfortunately he's followed by the gentleman he's impersonating. Tomb excavations, mountain treks, brutal attacks, an abduction, an exorcism and murder keep the plot hopping. The author's droll sense of humor and picture of a leisurely and less complicated age add to the appeal. Agent, Dominick Abel.

Before the Peabody-Emersons can begin the season's archaeological dig, a flamboyant woman asks Emerson to remove an alleged curse from a rare gold statuette. The close-knit family faces danger and shocking surprises in Elizabeth Peters's seventeenth Amelia Peabody mystery. Harper Audio's author-approved abridgment scrupulously strives to include major characters and plot points. The CD version also provides helpful tracking information on each disc, and, no music to distract from the performance. The truly exceptional Barbara Rosenblat avoids abridgment confusion with her masterful portrayals. Her wit, intelligence, and subtle shadings establish age, class, and motive beyond any doubt. If they ever make a movie of the series, Rosenblat is the perfect choice for all the roles. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine