Reviews

Book:

He Shall Thunder in the Sky: An Amelia Peabody Mystery by Elizabeth Peters

This book is a continuation the Amelia Peabody series, it takes place in Egypt during the breakout of the First World War. Amelia Peabody and her family are devoted Egyptologists who seem to always find themselves in the heart of murder mystery. This season's find marks the family as a huge target for both sides of the war. Ramses, Amelia's son has cultivated talents as good as any spy. Nefret, Amelia's adoptive daughter is as giving as she is beautiful, her work in saving the fallen women of Egypt's Red Blind district marks her as an oddity among the Anglo-Egyptian society, but her beauty is a draw for many friends and foes alike. Amelia's hot tempered, but always righteous husband Emerson completes the family. Together they stand strong and prove to be a impenetrable wall for enemies who try to break through.
The plot is swiftly moving and keeps the reader wanting more. Presented as factual papers from the Emerson household and gathered by "the editor" (who in reality is the author Elizabeth Peters) she offers up different flavors in the story by adding viewpoints. Rameses' excursions and things he keeps from his mother are always interesting on-your-toes action sequences. One voice flows seamlessly into the next and the reader is always involved in guess "who-done it?" The ending ties up beautifully and unexpectedly, leaving the reader jumping for joy. Long awaited romances blossom and the bad guys are behind bars.
Amelia's voice that Peters gives her is one of a fiery woman who knows what she wants and is strikingly easy to connect to. Sometimes she seems like my mother (fitting for she is the mother of three, one of blood and two adopted) and other times, she seems like a best friend and close companion. I seem to know her family as well as I know my own. Elizabeth Peters has a PhD.D in Egyptology, so not only does every scene she paint sound so real and tangible, her characters are telling the truth and are knowledgeable in what they are saying. It gives the story a ring of authenticity. She's a fantastic writer and portrays all arrays of human emotion, while still stringing together a fantastic mystery story.

"We might soon be in greater danger than those who remained in England...Archaeology offers excellent cover for spying and subversion."

Other reviews to be continued...