The Curse of the Pharaohs

[This is not the cover I had; mine features a cobra wrapped around a shovel which is odd as there is no mention of cobras]

I had seen some recommendations for the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. I always like finding good mystery series so I decided to check my library for them. While I like to start at the beginning, I often find with mystery series that order is not so important. The first book was not in so I picked the second called The Curse of the Pharaohs.

Summary: Amelia Peabody Emerson and her archeologist husband have been living peacefully in England with their young son but when the opportunity arises for them to excavate a new Egyptian tomb, they arrange for him to stay with relatives and set off. Unfortunately this opportunity comes about because the previous overseer of the tomb was murdered. Curses, terrified workers, and a host of eccentric characters greet the Emersons as they work in Egypt.

I really enjoyed this book. The style was intimate and chatty as Amelia addresses the reader and tells her story. She and Emerson have a wonderful partnership and irony is utilized to a great extent to describe it. This is also a very humorous story-I laughed pretty often.

I did not figure out the murderer. Now if you've read the previous posts, you might be thinking "Stephanie, do you ever figure out who the murderer is?" And I will say "Yes, yes I have. But this is the first book I've reviewed here where I feel there are sufficient clues for the reader to finger the murderer." I also feel that it would be better to read the first book in the series first because there are some references to it in this book. While it did not ruin the story, I would prefer to have read in order.

Overall: 4/5 stars for this sparkling mystery. I would recommend this to people who enjoy light mysteries and/or have an interest in Egyptology.