Serpent On The Crown, by Elizabeth Peters★★★★ (★★★★★ and a ♥)Synopsis: A priceless relic has been delivered to the Emerson home overlooking the Nile. But more than history surrounds this golden likeness of a forgotten king, for it is said early death will befall anyone who possesses it. The woman who implores the renowned family of archaeologists and adventurers to accept the cursed statue insists the ill-gotten treasure has already killed her husband. Further, she warns, unless it is returned to the tomb from which it was stolen, more will surely die. With the world finally at peace—and with Egypt's ancient mysteries opened to them once more—Amelia Peabody and her loved ones are plunged into a storm of secrets, treachery, and murder by a widow's strange story and even stranger request. Each step toward the truth reveals a new peril, suggesting this curse is no mere superstition. And the next victim of the small golden king could be any member of the close-knit clan—perhaps even Amelia herself.In A Sentence: better than I previously remembered, but I still think the series starts to go downhill after book #12, and this is book #17.My Thoughts: After a while, all the different things that happen to Amelia and her family just start to blend together. Even though I finished this yesterday, I can barely remember what happened at the beginning of the novel. When they discussed the facts of the case at the end of the story, my first immediate thought was, “wait, there was a boat involved? Huh?”Despite my lapses in memory, I still enjoyed the read. For some reason I didn’t like this novel the last time I read this. So maybe the lowered expectations allowed me to enjoy it more this time around. The plot was interesting, with multiple things happening at once. The humor is still there, although it hasn’t changed much since the first novel. And Ramses is still my favorite.I am looking forward to the end of this series. There are two books left, and I want to re-read Lord Of The Silent eventually (reading the abridged version ruined it!). So here we go! 17 down, 2 more to go!
In this episode of the Amelia Peabody mysteries, a novelist who is also the widow of an Egyptologist asks the Emersons to take care of a gold statuette which she says is cursed. At first Amelia and her family believe this is part of a publicity stunt for a new novel. But when the woman turns up dead, the Emersons must investigate not only the origins of the statuette but also a possible murder.The book doesn't have a lot of character development, not surprisingly since this is book 17 of a series which is mostly written chronologically. Ramses and Nefret are fully adults by this point, and their children are old enough to talk, but not old enough to be POV characters.For most of the book I felt it was not as good as a lot of the other Amelia Peabody books, but was redeemed at the end (view spoiler)[ with Ramses confronting the murderer. I definitely got emotional when it looked like Amelia might die, and thought that Daoud's role was great. I also really liked his introduction of the dog into the household (hide spoiler)]
Do You like book The Serpent On The Crown (2006)?
Hooray, this series is back on track for me. Generally speaking I enjoyed the early books of the series before the advent of the children who were featured too heavily for my taste. Then the previous book, Guardian of the Horizon, was such a dud to me that I stopped following the series. At long last I decided to tackle the next book and am so glad I did! Yes, Ramses and Nefret are featured heavily, but they are more mature now and I enjoyed them along with Amelia, Emerson and the rest of the clan and visitors.
—Dagny
I love historical fiction, and I love series fiction. Ms. Peters (or Mertz, or Michaels) has been an inspiration to me for over a quarter-century.When I was a very young mother, and had all the time in the world for reading and writing, Ms. Peters' books stimulated my intellect and aroused my imagination. I had no college, and through Vicky Bliss and Amelia Peabody I was inspired to learn who John Donne and Howard Carter were, to read Shakespeare and listen to Handel, and to reach for independence.I visited, through Ms. Peters' stories, Rome and Munich, Luxor and Cairo. I went into tombs and through pig stys, across dry deserts and frozen mountains. I went to college in real time, learned more about the references in her books, gained even more inspiration, and kept writing. Ms. Peters' work continues to inspire me.The Amelia Peabody story is a fun and educational series that will appeal any woman who values independence and/or motherhood. Adventure, mystery, mother love and romance combine to make up fabulous entertainment.
—Ida Flowers
In general I enjoyed the Amelia Peabody mystery series very much (although I've just now gotten around to logging that I've read them on Goodreads), in part because I read the books in order so could watch Elizabeth Peters develop as a writer. For whatever reason, I missed this one when reading the series through a few years ago. Oops. Have made up for it now. Didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. It seemed predictable. Maybe I really did read it years ago and just didn't remember most of it, or maybe it's that the relationship between Amelia and her husband reminds me so much of the relationship between Alexia Tarabotti and Lord Conall Maccon in Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series that the storyline as a whole doesn't feel as fresh.
—Shala Howell
