Reviews

Lion in the Valley by Elizabeth Peters

Only show reviews with written explanations

kcolvin's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

celiapowell's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

"You were talking in your sleep last night, Amelia."

"What nonsense, Emmerson! I never talk in my sleep. It is a sign of mental instability. What was I saying?"

Ah, love the banter.

***

Awww - I love these books. Amelia's capture and rescue was quite thrilling, and I enjoyed her musings about the Master Criminal being like the pharoahs, a lion in a valley of goats. About to commence the carnage, one assumes. I am even enjoying Ramses now, who at first I found rather insufferable, but an insufferable character is much more endearing when it is apparent that his own parents find him rather insufferable (or at least, Amelia does). It makes me wonder whether Ramses is one of those characters that authors speak of that emerge in their mind, and then rampage through their stories doing whatever they like.

***

Also, listening to this as an audio book makes me begin speaking with a rather English accent, much to my husband's bewilderment.

tinaha083's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

I love it. Ramses is delightful and Amelia's overwhelming obtuseness on a certain topic (no spoilers) is hilarious. The Master Criminal really is one and some of my favorite scenes in the entire series are in this book. Also, Emerson. Sigh.....that's all I have to say.

lilylanie's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I think the subtitle for this series should be:
“ ‘Hmph,’ said Emerson”

I’m going to take a break from this series for a bit. They’re all so similar and their refusal to listen to Ramses is most annoying.

dmcke013's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

The fourth of Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody series of books, this again sees the Victorian archaeologist return to Egypt, in the company of her husband and precocious son.

As before, they are then caught up in a mystery surrounding a murder as well as the usual romantic entanglements for these novels. This also sees the return of the 'Master Criminal' from the previous books, who is both named (obviously not his real name) and looks like becoming a recurring character in the series as a whole.

I found this to be a diverting enough read, but not up to the standards of the first novel, perhaps due to the fact that I am now familiar with the type of story it is.