Customer Reviews

The Deeds of the Disturber

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In a nice change of pace, Elizabeth Peters makes England the setting for her fifth novel in the Amelia Peabody Emerson series. Set at the turn of the century, Peters has a great eye for period detail, a good knowledge of Egyptology and Egypt, and a marvelous sense of humour.

In this mystery the action is centered around a mummy and a murder victim--both in the British Museum. Radcliffe Emerson is furiously working on his manuscript (under deadline), Ramses is struggling to maintain his composure with two young cousins who are staying for a visit, and Amelia is (as always) writing an academic paper, struggling to control her son, and alternately fending off and succumbing to her husbands amorous advances. However, the whole family soon gets involved in trying to find out more about the mysterious mummy and the Egyptian priest who appears and disappears with alarming frequency.

I found this mystery a nice change of pace with its different setting and different cast of characters. I particularly liked the introduction of a wonderful butler named Gargery, who relishes every opportunity to get involved in the Emerson family's many escapades. If you're going to England in the near future and the British Museum is on your list of sights to see, be sure to take this book along. I think that you will enjoy seeing how little the interior of that august institution has changed!

This book was indeed a nice change of setting. I'm working my way through the series in order, and after Lion in the Valley (which I enjoyed) I was nevertheless a little tired of sand, Egypt, superstitious villagers, and all that. But Deeds of the Disturber's setting (London) and new characters (including Peabody's--um--"delightful" niece and nephew) really perked up this entry. Also, I found this a significantly darker book than its predecessors--it's never really gloom and doom (this is an Amelia Peabody mystery, after all!) but there's a sense of tragedy around several of the characters that seems more real and more sad than in the previous books. Too, Ramses continues to be the most disastrously endearing child in fiction. I also was pleased to see that, after the events at the end of Lion of the Valley, the tables are turned a bit in this novel.

Speaking of Lion of the Valley--in that novel I found Peabody to be insufferably, arrogantly smug. The author, I think, got rather carried away in that one (Peabody is smug, Emerson is angry, Ramses is long-winded, end of story). In Deeds of the Disturber, the characterization is much better: Peabody, especially, is back to her highly intelligent but essentially admirable self.

My only real complaint about this book is that "de cat Bastet" is present so briefly!

I was hooked from the first polysyllabic-word peppered sentence. This is real writing! This first-person account exudes the rareified atmosphere of the bowels of museums, bathtub rim-running cats, competing journalists, Egypt and England, spontaneously amorous old-fashioned hubby Emerson, and best of all, precocious young Ramses with his non-school-tainted (today it's called homeschooling) erudite vocabulary and mummification projects, all self-directed and in the vein of his Egyptologist parents. The Deeds of the Disturber was the first Amelia Peabody Mystery I had read. Peters puts me right in that Cairo hotel as Emerson stomps on the blasted newspaper, stands me on the dock in London as the gritty city grime smears my face, and has my feet getting damp in the rain as I follow her walking briskly to The New Scotland Yard a whole lot faster than the fashion-hobbled ladies on the street. Now I'm ordering all of Elizabeth Peters novels including the ones written under another one of her pen names, Barbara Michaels. I wish I knew more people who talked - and wrote - in real life like Peter's dialogue. Meanwhile, I'll escape with a cup of tea or a pint of Stout and her Amelia Peabody books.

Elizabeth Peters is a raconteur of the finest order. She has a gift for crafting outrageous, hyperbolic characters who speak in sesquipedalian sentences and still remain believable. If that sounds impossible, you haven't read the Amelia Peabody mysteries yet!

"The Deeds of the Disturber" is my favourite Peabody novel so far. It is a crazy, sinuous pursuit that shows all of the classic Peabody spirit and wit. The startling character of Ramses is developed more, and the plot is rife with twists and hints and portents.

Only don't make the mistake of reading any of the last three Peabody novels (Ape who Guards the Balance, Falcon at the Portal, He Shall Thunder in the Sky) before you read this one. I did, and I think you will enjoy the last three more if you read this one first.

I found this a solid read, but not one of the best Amelia Peabody books I have read. The characters are as lively and entertaining as ever - though I can't stand Ramses - and it's always nice to catch up with the next installment of their lives. The Deeds of the Disturber was particularly well written, and I think it was an improvement on Lion in the Valley in that respect. I just didn't think that the plot of The Deeds of the Disturber matched up to some of the other books in the series.

Amelia and her husband, Emerson, return home after another season of archeological exploration in Egypt. The plan is to stay in London, so Emerson can consult the resources of the British Museum to finish his book. Yet there are mysterious goings-on at the Museum, all focused upon a mummy whose curse has already claimed one life - or is it just journalistic hyperbole? Through their connections to the archeological and Egyptian communities, Amelia and Emerson find themselves drawn into the mystery. Matters become stranger and stranger, leading to a highly melodramatic conclusion. Set against this is a tiresome sub-plot involving their son Ramses and his two little wretches of cousins, Percy and "dear little Violet" - really, how obtuse can two parents be?
Peters makes an atmospheric setting out of the murk of London, and Amelia moves through society both high and low with her usual panache. The return of Kevin O'Connell, journalist extraordinaire, was particularly welcome, and Miss Minton makes a good addition to the cast of recurring characters. There are a number of very funny scenes in The Deeds of the Disturber, and we do learn more about our favourite characters, but the mystery plot does not really add up to anything and is not, in the end, particularly interesting. I was pleased with myself that I managed to figure out part of the mystery, because that's a feat usually well beyond my powers. I'm not convinced, though, that Peters ever gives her readers enough clues to figure it all out.
If you're a fan, you should enjoy this - my criticisms are a matter of opinion, after all. If you haven't read any of the Amelia Peabody mysteries before, you would be better advised to start with a different book - perhaps The Curse of the Pharaohs.

The Deeds of the Disturber is one in a series of books about Amelia Peabody Emerson. This is perhaps one of the best mystery series I have ever read. Each one of the books has romance, mystery, adventure and education about other cultures. This particular book, unlike most of the others, takes place strictly in England. Although there is not a profound emphasis on Egypt, the presence of the mummy keeps the book right in line. I enjoyed the different adventures of the individual family members and the personal touches that make the characters so real (i.e., the annoying brother and his even more annoying children). I would recommend this book to any reader.

Back in London, the acclaimed British Egyptologists and sleuths, heroine Amelia Peabody and husband Radcliffe Emerson, attempt to solve a case involving the famous mummy's curse, after a British Museum night guard is found dead. Lords, journalists and renowned Egyptologists are among the suspects. Containing accurate Egyptological details, full of action, with a touch of romance and much atmosphere, it is an exciting, entertaining and chilling adventure for all to read.

I have been enjoying the Amelia Peabody series up to now, but my biggest complaint was that at times it appeared a bit fantastical and far-fetched, but Ms. Peters can get away with this in her stories because of the settings - Victorian Egypt with a good dollop of the superstitious Ancient Egypt. This book is set in England though, and even though there is still an Egyptian cast to the plot, it's more about chasing a gang of criminals in Victorian London. Amelia and her Emerson are totally charming, and in this book they appear to become even more human. Ms. Peters has a real knack for characterization. Even their precosious son Ramses become much more likeable in this outing. Amelia and Emerson are on the tail of mysterious priest who seems to leave dead bodies behind him. They get in their usual scrapes, and there's still the usual love interest in the book (although this one takes more of a secondary role in the story). The book is funny, endearing and utterly delightful.

The Deeds of the Disturber is one of the best books in the Amelia Peabody series. Not only is it absolutely hilarious, it marks the debut of a pivotal character (Percy Peabody) who later wreaks havok in the Emersons' lives.

The Deeds of the Disturber is a respectful tribute to Wilkie Collins and The Moonstone; MPM gives Collins' Inspector Cuff a new lease on life.

This volume is the last "pre-Nefret" book; the tenor and character content of the series changes dramatically in subsequent books. The Deeds of the Disturber is well worth the read, and is one of the few books that actually makes me laugh out loud.

As in the other Peabody mysteries this is less about the mystery than about madcap action and humorous hyperbole. Peters does it well. The book moves along quickly, characters appropriately absurd while still functional in terms of moving the plot along. Peabody's continuous commentary is vastly entertaining. The only complaint I had in this novel was the side plot of Peabody being concerned with Emerson's fidelity; it distracted from the typical energy and closeness of the two detectives.

I'm sure within a few months I'll have completely forgotten the plot, but the memories of individual scenes (e.g. Emerson fighting off numerous "high priests" with Ramses clinging to his side) will be retained and cherished much longer.