The Golden One Book Review.

Title: The Golden One.

Author: Elizabeth Peters.

Genre: Mystery, Action/Adventure, Historical Fiction, War Thriller, Egyptology, Romance, Humorous, Sequel.

Plot: Amelia Peabody Emerson and her husband Radcliff Emerson bring in the new year of 1917 on board ship heading for Egypt at the start of a prolonged stay in that country. It’s the beginning of another excavation season and Emerson is keen to get back to work. Also in their party are the Emerson’s grown son Ramses, his wife Nefret and Amelia’s energetic great-niece Sennia, along with her cat Horus. The usual bustle and confusion ensues as they get from one point to the next but they finally arrive at their house in Luxor in one piece and all eager to settle down for the long stay of productive work. However trouble seems to follow the Emersons everywhere they go and this time is no different.

Juggling rumors of a rich find by a wild young tomb robber with whom they have had trouble before, and the standard difficulties of getting Sennia off to private lessons and keeping Emerson and Ramses out of trouble, Amelia has her hands full. Things get even more hectic when Ramses’ unique assistance is required in a secret operation of various military branches stationed in the Middle East. Amelia, being very independent and strong willed, insists on bringing the family {except Sennia of course} along and they settle in a friend’s house to wait while Ramses carries out his mission. While doing so he encounters an old foe and his life is suddenly on the line; Ramses receives timely aid in the most unanticipated form and rushes to get his family out of harm’s way.

Surviving this adventure the family returns to Luxor a little the worse for wear and bring the tri-fold mystery and adventure to a grand finish. But are they really out of the woods or is something more deadly waiting in the shadows to pounce?

Likes/Dislikes: From the first page I was hooked; the writing style is fun, engaging and descriptive without being tedious. In short, it’s the kind of writing style I adore! The characters were all beautifully drawn and wonderfully easy to become acquainted with. Their struggles and thought processes were also highly entertaining. About the only thing objectable I found was a brief scene in which Nefret and Ramses are described as hastily dressing and dashing outside at the dead of night to catch somebody {yeah, I won’t go into any other detail than that for fear of spoiling it} and the language. Emerson is called the Father of Curses by the Egyptians and this title is rightly earned. I didn’t mind most of his British language but I really would have liked if God’s name hadn’t been used as a swearword so often. Btw, this is not a Christian book and the characters are not Christian either, although Amelia does quote Scripture once in a while. This is the fourteenth Amelia Peabody mystery {I always start series in the middle} and I’m looking forward to reading more of them in the near future.

Rating: PG-15 and up for language and violence.

Date Report Written: August 4, 2011.