laurenjodi's review against another edition
3.0
The Deeds of the Disturber
3.5 Stars
Amelia and her family return to England, where they learn of the mysterious death of a night watchman at the British Museum. When another man dies under suspicious circumstances, rumors abound concerning a mummy curse, and the Emersons find themselves wrangled into investigating.
Elizabeth Peters is a master of social satire with her tongue-in-cheek descriptions of British society and their sense of superiority. Nevertheless, this installment in the series has its problems.
To begin with, the mystery has potential as Amelia employs her detecting skills on British soil. However, the pacing is rather slow until the last few action-packed chapters (which earn the book an extra half-star), and the eventual explanation is convoluted and not altogether logical.
Moreover, Amelia can be exceedingly annoying at times, which is most apparent in her decided lack of communication with Emerson leading to completely unnecessary angst in their relationship. That said, there is some excellent character growth for them both as details of his past prior to his meeting Amelia come to light.
Ramses, as always, provides excellent comic relief and his antics are hilarious. In this regard, Amelia finally comes up to snuff and demonstrates an excellent understanding of her son's nature when.
While this installment is an improvement on the absurdity of the last, it still does not quite meet the expectations set by the first three books.
3.5 Stars
Amelia and her family return to England, where they learn of the mysterious death of a night watchman at the British Museum. When another man dies under suspicious circumstances, rumors abound concerning a mummy curse, and the Emersons find themselves wrangled into investigating.
Elizabeth Peters is a master of social satire with her tongue-in-cheek descriptions of British society and their sense of superiority. Nevertheless, this installment in the series has its problems.
To begin with, the mystery has potential as Amelia employs her detecting skills on British soil. However, the pacing is rather slow until the last few action-packed chapters (which earn the book an extra half-star), and the eventual explanation is convoluted and not altogether logical.
Moreover, Amelia can be exceedingly annoying at times, which is most apparent in her decided lack of communication with Emerson leading to completely unnecessary angst in their relationship. That said, there is some excellent character growth for them both as details of his past prior to his meeting Amelia come to light.
Ramses, as always, provides excellent comic relief and his antics are hilarious. In this regard, Amelia finally comes up to snuff and demonstrates an excellent understanding of her son's nature when
Spoiler
her obnoxious nephew's manipulative bullying comes to lightWhile this installment is an improvement on the absurdity of the last, it still does not quite meet the expectations set by the first three books.
becksus's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
What can I say? I was yet again thoroughly entertained. The setting in London proved to be just as interesting as Egypt, and the possibility of Emerson and Peabody having anything but a perfect marriage added intensity. As always, Ramses provided more funny moments. My personal favorite was "I have some nitroglycerin"...
megancmahon's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Probably one of my favourite Amelia Peabodys. The atmosphere that Peters brings to London - fog and dark nights, and Gothic manor houses - was just perfect for a fall read.
Also, Gargery.
Also, Gargery.
bargainsleuth's review against another edition
5.0
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There are a few differences in this volume of the Amelia Peabody Emerson Mystery series than the others. For one, the action takes place in London instead of spending their time in Egypt. For another, there’s an addition to the household with the butler, Gargery. He provided great comic relief and is a welcome addition to the series.
The basic plot is that dead bodies are starting to pop up around the British Museum and its mummy exhibit. There is no shortage of mysterious people, events, and suspects. There are colleagues from the archeological field, two journalists who become part of the repertoire of characters, a priest with supernatural powers, as well as members of the upper class, gypsies, janitors, you name it. It’s a hodge podge and Amelia Peabody has to sort out all the details, with the help of her husband, Emerson.
The enjoyment of these books is not the plot. Most times they are paper thin. The real reason one reads Amelia Peabody is because they enjoy Egyptology, witty banter, tongue-in-cheek opinions that make fun of the conventions of the day. Radcliffe and Amelia reflect the Victorian time period and the Imperialist views of the British at the time, yet in other ways they are surprisingly modern, such as Emerson’s acceptance of Amelia as an equal at work. Their son, Ramses, also provides comic relief, as he’s smart as a whip, and now that he’s a little older, he’s not nearly as precocious and obnoxious as previous volumes.
If you want to get the full effect of this fun cozy mystery series, listen to the unabridged audiobooks narrated by Barbara Rosenblat. She’s a consummate narrator and just nails the characterizations perfectly. Her work on these books is one of the reasons I embraced audiobooks in the first place.
There are a few differences in this volume of the Amelia Peabody Emerson Mystery series than the others. For one, the action takes place in London instead of spending their time in Egypt. For another, there’s an addition to the household with the butler, Gargery. He provided great comic relief and is a welcome addition to the series.
The basic plot is that dead bodies are starting to pop up around the British Museum and its mummy exhibit. There is no shortage of mysterious people, events, and suspects. There are colleagues from the archeological field, two journalists who become part of the repertoire of characters, a priest with supernatural powers, as well as members of the upper class, gypsies, janitors, you name it. It’s a hodge podge and Amelia Peabody has to sort out all the details, with the help of her husband, Emerson.
The enjoyment of these books is not the plot. Most times they are paper thin. The real reason one reads Amelia Peabody is because they enjoy Egyptology, witty banter, tongue-in-cheek opinions that make fun of the conventions of the day. Radcliffe and Amelia reflect the Victorian time period and the Imperialist views of the British at the time, yet in other ways they are surprisingly modern, such as Emerson’s acceptance of Amelia as an equal at work. Their son, Ramses, also provides comic relief, as he’s smart as a whip, and now that he’s a little older, he’s not nearly as precocious and obnoxious as previous volumes.
If you want to get the full effect of this fun cozy mystery series, listen to the unabridged audiobooks narrated by Barbara Rosenblat. She’s a consummate narrator and just nails the characterizations perfectly. Her work on these books is one of the reasons I embraced audiobooks in the first place.
gooberdawn's review against another edition
5.0
The characters in Elizabeth Peters books are just wonderful. Each character has a tenacious and colorful personality which adds true vigor & vitality to each & every story by this author. LOVE THEM. If you like Indiana Jones, you will LOVE these books.
jazzthecat's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
leenichole's review against another edition
3.0
Look, I'll be straight with you. I love this series, but this is my least favorite book in it so far. I should probably rate it lower, but I'm giving it three stars out of longstanding Emerson family solidarity.
This is what it has that I liked:
1) Ramses Emerson, my favorite character in the series. Someday, that boy will actually be allowed to finish a sentence.
2) Gargery the butler. That's it. That's the sentence.
This is what it had that I didn't like:
1) Marital suspicion and jealousy as plot devices. The villain's ability to maintain secrecy relies heavily on the fact that the main characters don't trust each other. It's lazy storytelling, and it doesn't even try to be convincing.
2) Horrid children being horrid. Amelia's niece and nephew come to stay for awhile in this one and it's the worst. I daresay that writing children is not a strong suit of Elizabeth Peters.' You're seriously telling me that a six-year-old is just going to say "Nasty! Dead!" over and over instead of speaking in sentences? Nah, fam.
3) A very convoluted plot involving sex magic, dead bodies, and a very poorly explained motive for anybody to be murdered. I still don't really understand what this book was about.
And it's not even set in Egypt!
I didn't like it very much. BUT I do like the series overall, so I'm going to keep on keeping on.
This is what it has that I liked:
1) Ramses Emerson, my favorite character in the series. Someday, that boy will actually be allowed to finish a sentence.
2) Gargery the butler. That's it. That's the sentence.
This is what it had that I didn't like:
1) Marital suspicion and jealousy as plot devices. The villain's ability to maintain secrecy relies heavily on the fact that the main characters don't trust each other. It's lazy storytelling, and it doesn't even try to be convincing.
2) Horrid children being horrid. Amelia's niece and nephew come to stay for awhile in this one and it's the worst. I daresay that writing children is not a strong suit of Elizabeth Peters.' You're seriously telling me that a six-year-old is just going to say "Nasty! Dead!" over and over instead of speaking in sentences? Nah, fam.
3) A very convoluted plot involving sex magic, dead bodies, and a very poorly explained motive for anybody to be murdered. I still don't really understand what this book was about.
And it's not even set in Egypt!
I didn't like it very much. BUT I do like the series overall, so I'm going to keep on keeping on.
virginiacjacobs's review against another edition
4.0
The Deeds of the Disturber was pretty good. It's been better edited than some of the other books in the series, and Ramses has fully outgrown that stupid lisp. He still is an inconceivable child to me, but I guess you're allowed to do that when you write fiction. This book introduced a number of new characters, and two of them were Lords, so that became a little confusing. Also one of the Lords was dying of something, and I deduced it was syphilis, but in proper Victorian fashion, the book was very discrete about it. I think I prefer when the series takes place in Egypt (they were in England in this addition), and I'm really not sure that including Peabody's family added anything useful to the story line, but all in all, it was a very enjoyable read.