A Novel of Suspense (Amelia Peabody Series) - Lord of the Silent

Amelia Peabody and her brood often take their time in geting down to the business of a tale. In Lord of the Silent, however, I wasn't sure if the action ever really started, despite a series of false apprehensions. Perhaps Peters bit off too much to chew: WW I, Egyptology, the antiques market, global spying and various household crises. A bit too cute, too precious, and too long.

In the last few books, the inclusion of "Manuscript M" somewhat annoyed me, because I hate Amelia not knowing what's going on, in the lastest outing, the aforesaid manuscript appears more than ever, but due to a promise "to keep no secrets from each other", I actually look forward to it, and at some points found myself screaming: "Hurry up Amelia, let's get back to Ramses and Nefret!!"
This book has been well worth the wait. We get to see R & N dealing with married life, we don't make many new friends, but we meet an awful lot of old ones, including one particular very old friend, whom I had nearly forgotten. In fact I had to go back and read the book in question to remind myself of a few details. But I won't spoil the surprise.

I love the Amelia Peabody adventures -- I can taste the sand, feel the sun, relish the thrill of the find, admire Emerson's musculature and grow misty eyed at the thought of Ramses and Nefret FINALLY "seeing the light". HOWEVER, this last volume seemed ENDLESS --endlessly trite, with little --or no plot to take it anywhere. I do not begrudge Ramses and Nefret having a romantic moment or two -- and I even enjoy the usual give and take with Amelia and Emerson --but this story went NOWHERE. If I want to read a romance I'll buy Georgette Heyer or whomever--if I want to read nothingness, I'll read some memos from work. It wasn't until the last chapter that there was a "find" or even a fight. I do hope Ms Peters hasn't tired of discovering and describing Egyptian treasures and hidden rooms and twists and turns -- "The Last Camel Died At Noon" was terrific as were the others -- and I have them all. But this experience was so disappointing! I kept hoping that maybe the next paragraph - the next page, the next manuscript excerpt - the next chapter -- but no -- nothing.--To be perfectly honest, I feel a bit betrayed. This has taught me not to buy the hardcover -- but wait --- in hopefull suspense -- for the paperback. Ms Peters give us a trove of treasures - forget the war, the Master Criminal, yes - forget even Sienna (she's annoyiing but not in the interesting way that Ramses was as a child)-- lets get back to Egyptolgy, discoveries and your best!

This is a fun series for mysteries lovers and Egypt buffs. All the pieces come together in this book. But please start the series from the begnning you will lose too much to stat in the middle. I think there are 18 books in the series now.

Perhaps the author is preparing us for a transition from Amelia and Emerson as the main characters to Ramses and Nefret. If only they weren't so increadibly dull! When did Nefret start worrying about being a perfect British bride? And why does Ramses have to become the perfect gentleman? I liked them so much better when Nefret performed the invocation of Isis and Ramses wanted to pound Percy.
Enough with the angst!
That being said, I laughed a bit through this book and I did enjoy it, but after some meaty adventures in previous books this one was a little confection full of air. A mere trifle.
The author can and has done much better.

Kudos for a job well done. Elizabeth Peters mysteries are somewhat formulaic, but so well written that one never notices 'til the end. Peter's books are entertaining and educational (she has a Ph.d. in Egyptology). Her characters, the Emersons, are an endearing and hilarious family of archaeologists who have a knack for attracting trouble. If you have not read any of this series, you can start with any of them. Be warned that these books are a lot like potato chips, you can't read just one. I buy all of them hardbound because I reread them that much.

How the mighty have fallen. I loved Elizabeth Peter's characters of Peabody and Emerson in her early works. But in this book she has turned them into weak, milk soaked toast, images of themselves. These once strong characters are now bullied by their manservant and cower at the whims of a very spoiled 6 year old child. I managed to suffer through this disaster up to page 28 before I threw it into the recycle bin and removed Peters from my favorite author list of future buys.

I was thoroughly disappointed while reading Lord of Silent, as the overall action and suspense was kept almost at a minimum.

It seems almost as if Peters went on a long tangent about the Emerson's family life, writing a lot of filler to go along with the main plot. Until the last forty pages or so, I struggled to get through the book because there was no suspense at all. No cliff-hangers or anything of the sort.

Ramses and Nefret, though darling, only thickened the struggle. I don't think that all the interaction between them was really necessary; perhaps Peters wanted to throw in some romance, but is wasn't working.

Lord of the Silent is a sheer failure of Peters's story-telling skills, as in many of her other books her talent proves to be quite brilliant. Save your money and buy a different Peters's book.

This is the first Peabody novel I was disappointed in,especially after it's jammed packed predecessor He Shall Thunder in the Sky. The story lacked most of the exciting touches that make the Peabody series great. I'd rather wait awhile longer for a great story then waste time and money on a mediocre one.

The reader is excellent, a master of the lexicon. I purchased the book, because of the reader. The book itself is very well written, many twists and turns to hold your attention. The ending is somewaht predicable. This is a very British novel.

I was so excited to get this latest installment of the Emerson clan mysteries. However it sure was slow going at first. I thought it didn't get interesting until almost halfway through. Though any Peabody mystery is worth reading.