Amelia Peabody Series
About this ebook series
Radcliffe Emerson, the irascible husband of fellow archaeologist and Egyptologist Amelia Peabody, has earned the nickname "Father of Curses" -- and at Mazghunah he demonstrates why. Denied permission to dig at the pyramids of Dahshoor, he and Amelia are resigned to excavating mounds of rubble in the middle of nowhere. And there is nothing in this barren area worthy of their interest -- until an antiquities dealer is murdered in his own shop. A second sighting of a sinister stranger from the crime scene, a mysterious scrap of papyrus, and a missing mummy case have all whetted Amelia's curiosity. But when the Emersons start digging for answers in an ancient tomb, events take a darker and deadlier turn -- and there may be no surviving the very modern terrors their efforts reveal.
From New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Peters comes another riveting mystery in her phenomenally popular Amelia Peabody series.
The Land of the Pharaohs harbors more secrets than any tomb can hide.
In Egypt for the 1911 archaeological season, Amelia Peabody and her family are not anticipating trouble, but it finds them nonetheless. Their young friend David is accused of selling ancient artifacts, and it's up to the Emersons to expose the real culprit. But the body of an American discovered at the bottom of their excavation shaft and a child of mysterious antecedents are sparking twin crises that threaten to tear the family apart. Amelia brings her estimable powers of deduction to bear, but she might not survive long enough to unravel more than one perplexing puzzle—because suddenly someone is shooting bullets in her direction...and coming too close for comfort!
“Amelia is rather like Indiana Jones, Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple all rolled into one.”—Washington Post Book World
—Cincinnati Enquirer
One of the most beloved characters in mystery/suspense fiction, archeologist and Egyptologist Amelia Peabody bravely faces gravest peril in Cairo on the eve of World War One in New York Times bestselling Grandmaster Elizabeth Peters’s magnificent Egyptian adventure, He Shall Thunder in the Sky. The San Francisco Examiner calls these heart-racing exploits of Amelia and her courageous family, the Emersons, “pure delight.” But perhaps the New York Times Book Review states it best: “Between Amelia Peabody and Indiana Jones, it’s Amelia—in wit and daring—by a landslide.”
—New York Times Book Review
The intrepid archeologist Amelia Peabody and her fearless family, the Emersons, are back in Egypt, and something very nasty is afoot in Lord of the Silent—New York Times bestselling Grandmaster Elizabeth Peters’s sparkling adventure with more riddles than the Sphinx and more close calls and stunning escapes than an Indiana Jones movie. Reviewers are simply agog over Lord of the Silent, calling it, “Wonderfully entertaining” (Washington Times), “Deeply satisfying” (Entertainment Weekly), and in the words of the Toronto Globe and Mail, “The hype is true. This is Peters’s best book.”
Yet this is nothing compared with the lethal fate that threatens Ramses. Besieged by the British and defended by formidable Turkish and German forces, the fortified seaport of Gaza guards the gateway to the Holy Land. Answering a call he cannot refuse from British military intelligence, Ramses must journey to this ancient, fabled city to undertake a mission as personal as it is perilous. Death will surely be his lot if he is caught or exposed. Meanwhile, Ramses's wife, Nefret, guards a secret of her own....
Once again the incomparable and bestselling carries us to a breathtaking realm of ancient wonders and crumbling splendor -- from the hectic bustle of the Cairo markets to remote, sand-swept corners of the Egyptian desert where the gods of antiquity sleep. Returning visitors to the world of Amelia Peabody will be enthralled by the latest mesmerizing adventure from the award-winning grandmaster, and newcomers will succumb to her wiles as they are caught up in the tantalizing spell of the remarkable Elizabeth Peters and The Golden One.
The “grande dame of historical mystery” (Washington Post) is back with a thrilling new tale featuring America’s favorite archaeologist turned sleuth.
At last the Great War is over. Amelia Peabody, her distinguished Egyptologist husband Emerson, and their extended family are preparing for another season of excavation in Egypt. To everyone’s great joy, their son, Ramses, and his wife, Nefret, have become parents. Amelia, enjoying the role of fond (yet firm) grandmother, hopes that for once this will be a quiet year with Ramses no longer undertaking perilous missions for British intelligence and no old enemies on their trail.
Yet the hazards of the past will be overshadowed by new danger and a new adversary—unlike anything Amelia’s ever encountered—who will pursue her in a battle that puts innocent young lives at stake.
As the l921-22 season begins, the Emersons are enjoying a busy period of excavation in Egypt, when they hear a lurid description of a man’s mysterious death. His widow is convinced he died of a curse, and implores the Emersons to return the “deadly” little statue that killed him to the tomb from which it was stolen--before it adds her to its list of victims. Clearly, it would be a serious error for the Emersons to start chasing tomb robbers, just when they have finally received permission to return to the Valley of the Kings, from which they were barred several years earlier. But the family soon realizes that the curse may be more real than they ever imagined....and they may be the next victims.
Powerless to intervene but determined to stay close to the unattainable tomb, the family returns to Luxor and prepares to continue their dig in the less promising West Valley—and to watch from the sidelines as Carter and Carnarvon "discover" the greatest Egyptian treasure of all time: King Tut's tomb. But before their own excavation can get underway, Emerson and his son, Ramses, find themselves lured into a trap by a strange group of villains ominously demanding "Where is he?" Driven by distress—and, of course, Amelia's insatiable curiosity—the Emersons embark on a quest to uncover who "he" is and why "he" must be found, only to discover that the answer is uncomfortably close to home. Now Amelia must find a way to protect her family—and perhaps even her would-be nemesis—from the sinister forces that will stop at nothing to succeed in the nefarious plot that threatens the peace of the entire region.
Filled with heart-stopping suspense, political intrigue, and Amelia Peabody's trademark wit and wisdom, Tomb of the Golden Bird is the latest thrilling installment from the renowned and beloved "grande dame of historical mystery" (Washington Post).
—New York Times Book Review
Intrepid archaeologist and superior sleuth Amelia Peabody returns in A River in the Sky. In this breathtaking new adventure, New York Times bestselling Grand Master Elizabeth Peters transports the indomitable Amelia and her family, the Emersons, from their usual milieu, early twentieth-century Egypt, to an exciting—and dangerous—new locale: Palestine! A tale full of atmosphere, intrigue, and thrills, A River in the Sky is further proof that “Peters has few rivals” (Houston Chronicle).
Arriving in Cairo for another thrilling excavation season, Amelia is relaxing in a well-earned bubble bath in her elegant hotel suite in Cairo, when a man with knife protruding from his back staggers into the bath chamber and utters a single word—"Murder"—before collapsing on the tiled floor, dead. Among the few possessions he carried was a sheet of paper with Amelia’s name and room number, and a curious piece of pasteboard the size of a calling card bearing one word: "Judas." Most peculiarly, the stranger was wearing a gold-rimmed monocle in his left eye.
It quickly becomes apparent that someone saved Amelia from a would-be assassin—someone who is keeping a careful eye on the intrepid Englishwoman. Discovering a terse note clearly meant for Emerson—Where were you?"—pushed under their door, there can be only one answer: the brilliant master of disguise, Sethos.
But neither assassins nor the Genius of Crime will deter Amelia as she and Emerson head to the excavation site at Amarna, where they will witness the discovery of one of the most precious Egyptian artifacts: the iconic Nefertiti bust. In 1345 B.C. the sculptor Thutmose crafted the piece in tribute to the great beauty of this queen who was also the chief consort of Pharaoh Akhenaten and stepmother to King Tutankhamun.
For Amelia, this excavation season will prove to be unforgettable. Throughout her journey, a parade of men in monocles will die under suspicious circumstances, fascinating new relics will be unearthed, a diabolical mystery will be solved, and a brilliant criminal will offer his final challenge . . . and perhaps be unmasked at last.