The Ape Who Guards the Balance
An Amelia Peabody Novel of Suspense
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4.7 • 53 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
After eluding a kidnapper in London, an unperturbed Amelia Peabody accompanies her unconventional family to Cairo once more—only to be ensnared almost immediately in a web of stolen treasures and bloodthirsty cults. Villainy is running rampant in Egypt this 1907 archaeological season, but the members of the intrepid Peabody-Emerson clan have already proven themselves to be formidable adversaries. However, when a mint-condition papyrus of the Book of the Dead falls into their hands, and the corpse of an unscrupulous dealer in stolen antiquities is found floating in the Nile, the Emersons' prospects for surviving this excavation season unscathed appear increasingly dim.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In April of this year, Peters, who has been writing mysteries for 30 years, was honored as a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. This captivating novel, her 10th Amelia Peabody tale (following Seeing a Large Cat, 1997), validates her peers' high regard. Prospects for the 1907 excavation season in Egypt seem lackluster for the Emersons, since Professor Emerson, Amelia's beloved husband, can't abide the fools who administrate such activities--and makes no secret of that fact. But the family, including their adult son, Ramses, and his foster siblings, Nefret and David, departs for Egypt nevertheless after incidents in London point to the resurfacing of their old nemesis, known as the Master Criminal. The younger generation buys an ancient papyrus from an antiquities dealer and sets in motion a sinister chain of events. Two horrendous murders draw all of the Emersons further into the fray, and at times it seems as if the Master Criminal and his minions will at last best Amelia. But by drawing on the skills of all, the Emerson contingent once again brings villains to justice. The plot is complicated and involving, but the maturing of Ramses, Nefret and David offers particular pleasure and gives the book depth and poignance. Rich in characterization, incident and humor, this latest adventure of Amelia Peabody is a grand, galloping adventure with a heart as big as the Great Pyramid itself. Author tour.
Customer Reviews
Love everything Ms. Peters writes about Peabody
Can't wait to read another adventure!
Glaciers in Egypt?
My first impression was the book was written by an Anglophile of all thing English. But it became apparent it was really an attack on the English Gentry at the beginning of the 20th century, with their superiority, racism, sexism, and whatever other -ism she could create. And done with the same hypocrisy she accused them of, only 90 years later.
Reading it made me feel I was watching an over acted high school play about Egyptian mummy artifacts. And the glacier? That is how the plot moved along.