Book Review: The Mummy Case

The Mummy Case, by Elizabeth Peters


I got this one as an audiobook from the library. I was hoping it would be good, as they had several other in this series. Peters is a prolific writer with at least three series, the Amelia Peabody books, the Jacqueline Kirby books, and the Vicky Bliss books, plus several books that are not part of a series. I really like the Vicky Bliss books. Vicky is a tall, blonde, kick-butt art historian always looking for stolen art treasures. Borrower of the Night is the first one in that series. I hate the Jacqueline Kirby books. But I couldn't remember whether I liked the Amelia Peabody books. Amelia is a Victorian Egyptologist. I remember reading the first one in the series, Crocodile on the Sandbank, but it was so long ago that I couldn't remember what I thought. And my sister is a big fan of the series, so I thought maybe I would like it too.

But I hated it! The book is told as if it's taken from her diary, so it's all in first person. That's OK, but it means if you don't like the main character, you'll be spending a lot of time with someone who bugs you. And I didn't like her at all. Amelia talks way too much, she's annoying coy about her love life with her fabulous husband, Emerson, and she complains all the time about her son. That was when I really just decided it wasn't worth listening. All she says about her son, named Ramses for mysterious reasons I didn't catch, is that he's too loud, too dirty, and always causing trouble. Well, I have a son like that, but I am pretty happy with him. So really, give it a rest already! I didn't even finish the first tape.

Then I thought maybe it was the narrator that was so irritating, and I could give the book another chance. So I found a copy at the library and thumbed through it. Nope. It was just as bad. I flipped through to the end, but it was the same style all the way through and I just didn't care what happened to any of the characters.

It's funny that one writer can have such a wide range of voices in writing. I also found 2 Vicky Bliss books at the library sale and picked them up. I already finished Silhouette in Scarlet, which is set in Sweden. It was a lot of fun, and now I'm looking forward to Night Train to Memphis.