The Curse of the Pharaohs (Amelia Peabody #2) by Elizabeth Peters

My Rating: 5 Stars

A brilliant mystery novel with a fantastic par of main characters! Unfortunately, I skipped the first book, which is already ordered! I can’t wait to see how this all start.   
 
Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson don’t find that domestic life is up to their standards. After five years away from an Egyptian adventure, the only thing or person that makes that all better is their son, the abnormal intelligent ‘Ramses’ Walter Peabody Emerson. When Lady Baskerville comes to them fearing the curse that killed her husband on an expedition, the Amelia and Emerson travel to deep into Egypt and continue to work on the excavation Sir Henry left behind. However, as they make progress, people around them start dying. By curse or not, a lady dressed in white floats spreads fear and death.

For this one, I have to start with the main characters.
I can’t love a fictional couple more than do Amelia and Emerson. Amelia, the main female lead, believes she’s the smartest person in the room, observant of the details and connections missed by the normal eye. She’s this incredible Victorian woman with a mind and beliefs way ahead of her time that prefers to face ancient curses, camels and extreme height to tea parties with the neighbours. At the same time, she uses communication to get her way even without others noticing it, especially Emerson. I just love how she handles him. While she enjoys being a mother, she’s very happy to be able to escape the boredom of London with her handsome husband. She’s not afraid of admitting she needs a break from everything. Emerson is a grumpy, arrogant man that thinks he’s always right, but he has a soft side for Amelia and Ramses. His love for Egyptology is bigger than himself and sometimes even his wife but his heart is in the right place. They complement and challenge each other at each turn; they make the other stay on their toes. Their relationship is incredible and it’s hard not to enjoy the sparing between them. They make a great team.
Ramses, their son, takes after both of his parents both in the level of intelligence and wittiness. While a normal child likes to hear fairytale bedtime stories, Ramses prefers the History of Egypt. Even his parents don’t know how to react to some of Ramses comments or deep vocabulary. He’s only 4 and a half years old!
As for the other characters, Elizabeth Peter’s does a great job in developing them in depth. Everyone has a purpose and she manages to engage every single one of them in the story, both in the murder investigation and the daily life of the group of explorers.
 
The plot is engaging and complex. Peters masterfully brings up the Victorian and Egyptian life and completes with detailed historical facts which shows the passion of the author on the subject of Ancient Egypt. At the same time, she makes everything fit and the reader doesn’t grow bored with the history lessons. A simple yet intriguing and engaging style of writing is an essential part to achieve such a thing and Peter’s is the queen of it! I actually learned a thing or two about some pharaohs and their accomplishments.  The murder storyline is also complex. Peter’s gives includes a considerable number of characters which a respectful list of suspects. The best part is that the author makes everyone look like a suspect with both motivate and alibi. I was able to figure out who the killer was before the end, but even so, the story was explored very well.
 
This is was the perfect novel for me. I can’t wait to see more of Amelia and Emerson in the next instalments! I recommend this novel to fans of archaeology, Ancient Egypt and a complex murder mystery with a dash of romance.

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