Lion in the Valley (1986)

 




Amelia Peabody #4

Higher Love

The Emersons return once more to their beloved Egypt, and this time to one of the most exciting archaeological sites in the entire country--Dahshur. But before Amelia can wholly give herself up to her beloved pyramids she must straighten out the tangled love affair of a young English couple, ensure Ramses' survival despite his many escapades, solve a murder, and evade the peculiar attentions of the Master Criminal, who certainly seems to carry a grudge from last season...for surely, it is a grudge...?

As Sethos's role in the Emersons lives grows, so does his charm and mischievous personality. Watching Emerson writhe in jealousy is always a favorite past time of mine while reading this. Our favorite villain always steals the book when he stirs up trouble for the Emersons.

Enid and Donald will appear in a later book, and and MPM uses them both times to lampoon Victorian romantic traditions. This time, the self-sacrificing hero who takes the blame for his villainous brother gets prodded into the spotlight to show precisely what kind of stupid it requires to think this is a good idea. Further, I always adore MPM's references to Sherlock Holmes and H. Rider Haggard--the Victorian mystery and adventure staples she delights in riffing off of.

Ramses' adventures are always side-splitting, and if his precocious crush on Enid is amusing now, wait until he's all grown up (no really, adult Ramses is the most swoonworthy of any hero I've ever encountered. Hard to believe now, isn't it?)

I always run short of things to say about the Amelia Peabody series, perhaps because I've read them so often that the only words I think capable of doing them justice are MPM's own.

Rating: *****

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