The Camelot Caper [Mass Market Paperback]

Elizabeth Peters (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 9, 2001

The Lethal Stuff of Legends

For Jessica Tregarth, an unexpected invitation to visit her grandfather in England is a wonderful surprise—an opportunity to open doors to a family past that have always been closed to her. But sinister acts greet her arrival. A stranger tries to steal her luggage and later accosts her in Salisbury Cathedral. Mysterious villains pursue her through Cornwall, their motive and intentions unknown. Jessica's only clue is an antique heirloom she possesses, an ancient ring that bears the Tregarth family crest. And her only ally is handsome gothic novelist David Randall—her self-proclaimed protector—who appears from seemingly out of nowhere to help her in her desperate—attempt to solve a five hundred-year-old, puzzle. For something from out of the cloudy mists of Arthurian lore has come back to plague a frightened American abroad. And a remarkable truth about a fabled king and a medieval treasure could ultimately make Jess Tregarth very rich...or very dead.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This mystery follows American Jessica Tregarth on a trip to England to visit a grandfather she has never known. No sooner does she enter the UK, however, than her life is thrust into jeopardy.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Good pace, high spirits, and lots of amusement." -- San Francisco Examiner and Chronicle

"Gothica in the irreverent trappings I like best." -- New York Times Book Review

"No, one is better at juggling torches while dancing on a high wire than Elizabeth Peters." -- Chicago Tribune

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Avon (January 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380731134
• ISBN-13: 978-0380731138
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #860,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

ELIZABETH PETERS, whose New York Times best-selling novels are often set against historical backdrops, earned a Ph.D. in Egyptology at the University of Chicago. She also writes best-selling books under the pseudonym Barbara Michaels. She lives in Frederick, Maryland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good story, but kind of disappointing, May 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Camelot Caper (Mass Market Paperback)

Since this book was written in the late 1960's, I guess the heroine was still in the process of becoming the strong female character typical of Peter's work. This book disappointed me and I couldn't stand the passive heroine at times. In fact, once I set the book down in disgust at her behavior, although that may seem like an overreaction to some people. It seemed like she was always submitting to the "hero." Aaargh! However, for those of you that aren't as sensitive about these issues as I am, it's a great, funny tale to curl up in front of the fireplace with. It's also a tie-in with one of Peter's other series, the Vicky Bliss mysteries (which I love), giving some background to the elusive "Sir John's" origins.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Guinevere included ....., June 3, 2002

By 

"janmcalex" (Humboldt, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Camelot Caper (Mass Market Paperback)

A long time reader of Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody series, I found The Camelot Caper to be a good change of pace. As a trained archeologist, Peters's books are always a good combination of realisitic history and imaginative mystery.

In The Camelot Caper, young American Jessica Tregarth is summoned to England by an elderly grandfather whom she has never met. On the outs with her father and his son, Grandpa has to wait while Jess dodges two unsavory characters who harass and threaten her across jolly old England. Along the way she meets David Randall, a young writer of suspense novels, who helps Jess in sorting out the whys and wherefores of the chase and manages to fall in love with her, too.

The chase was something of a drag, but the moment they pull up in front of the old family homeplace in Cornwall, the excitement escalates. A dreary, decrepit old manor house, complete with a now deceased Grandpa, sets an excellent scene for the unmasking of the two unsavory characters and the explanation for the cross-country stalking.

As with any book written decades ago, the time warp issue becomes a factor. It was rather enjoyable to try to picture the clothing the characters were described as wearing. All in all, this is a solid, interesting suspense novel. An enjoyable read!

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars M. Green, NY. A rating number is N/A to this review., March 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Camelot Caper (Mass Market Paperback)

Elizabeth Peters' adventure novels are amusing, intelligent, and marvelously successful at spoofing their genre while providing all the pleasures of the real thing. In her recent novels particularly Ms. Peters has taken the classic Mary Stewart-style adventure/romance and turned it into witty, literate pieces of fluff that even a 1990's romantic can wholeheartedly enjoy. No one, on reading the perfectly balanced immodesty (in all senses of the word) of Ms. Peters' latest heroes and heroines, need feel that they are subverting their feminist ideals, or feel obliged to adopt the resolute blinkers needed to enjoy the charming but socially distressing romances of , say, Georgette Heyer (whose unspoken assumptions about class, gender and race would, if met face-on, deeply offend just about any American today).

The Camelot Caper was one of Ms. Peters earlier ventures, and while it is picture-perfect with its spoof it hadn't, in the late 1960's, quite broken through a certain passive cast to the heroine that was once endemic to these sorts of stories. It did, however, introduce a highly amusing, rather attractive villain whose name will evoke whoops of delight from fans of the superb art historian-turned-amateur-detective series most recently embodied in Ms. Peters' Night Train to Memphis. For that alone (though there is also some very funny dialogue), this book is definitely worth a first or a return read.