Customer Reviews

The Last Camel Died at Noon (Amelia Peabody, Book 6)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

In this engaging mystery Amelia Peabody Emerson, her husband Radcliffe, and their son "Ramses" journey once more to Egypt in search of artifacts and adventure, armed with a mysterious map and a commission from an English aristocrat to search for his long lost son and his wife. As in all Peabody mysteries, these goals intertwine with complexity and speed.

Elizabeth Peters here gives a nod to the romantic adventure stories of the late nineteenth century (such as She, by Rider Haggard) when the Peabody-Emerson caravan begins to suffer from the mysterious deaths of their camels. When all looks dark and desperate, the group are rescued and whisked off to a fabulous Shangrila where the ancient rites of Egypt are still practiced. By the end the Emerson's have solved the mystery of the missing nobleman and his wife, have amassed quite a collection of artifacts for study, and Ramses is suffering from a bad case of puppy love for Nefret, who returns with them to England.

This is the first story to feature Nefret, and fans of the later books will like to read how she enters the story. If you enjoyed Romancing the Stone (a similar tale with elements of late 19th century adventure) and have never tried the Amelia Peabody mysteries, this would be a great place to start!

I collect the Amelia Peabody books faithfully. Often I don't read them at once, but wait for a few to accumulate and settle down for an enjoyable interlude with Peabody, her redoubtable husband Emerson, and their son, Ramses. I've had this book for quite some time (four more have been published since its release), and was only sorry that I'd waited to read it. Surely this is the best Peabody yet. The book is a send up of the Haggard novels, King Solomon's Mine and SHE, complete with erudite and noble natives, riots, wars, ancient mysteries, improbable situations and the incomparable Amelia and her belt with things that she's sure that she'll need, attached, including a revolver, sewing kit, knife, compass, and mini-surgery kit. Peabody's companions are her husband, Emerson, who has a meteoric temper but considers himself a mild fellow (the natives call him the Father of Curses) and their son, called Ramses (who inherited this name because his young profile resembled that great Pharoah, complete with 'rather largish features'). In this installment, they're off to search for a missing Englishman and his bride, who have been missing for 14 years. Their camels mysteriously die and it looks as though they will, too, but then, things really get interesting. Nothing compares with the humor in this series and although you may find yourself thinking that the language is a little too like a Bronte novel to suit you, you'll more regularly find that you've awakened your sleeping spouse, again, by laughing too hard. All of the main characters are admirable, certainly people you'd like to meet - that luncheon engagement would surely be riotous. Run out now, buy this book, and settle in for several hours of pure fun.

This is an excellent book, both hilarious and thought-provoking. In the beginning, I found her character's references to the Arabic myths (?) and ancient manuscripts absolutely fascinating. I was tempted to rush out and see if I could find a copy of The Book of Hidden Pearls or about Zerzura, "The Place of the Little Birds."

However, you will probably find the family's dialogue and some of the situations they get into slightly caricatured. I find that this makes the story all the more enjoyable, and, sometimes it's so blatant, it makes you laugh out loud.

All in all, I would highly recommend this Rider Haggard-esque adventure to anyone. Enjoy!

Thanks to AMAZON'S recommended books and reviews, I discovered this delightful series. Elizabeth Peters does a wonderful job combining mystery, history and archeology into a fast paced story that entertains the reader. Then of course we can't forget the romance (implied, naturally).
In my opinion, THE LAST CAMEL DIED AT NOON is the best of the first six books in the series (the first one did get me hooked). The concept of finding a lost city hidden in the middle of the desert was brilliant. We are also introduced to Nefret who not only becomes the Emerson's adopted daughter but an integral part of the rest of the Peabody series.
And, I am absolutely thrilled to discover a series of books where there are at least 20 already written. I don't have to wait for the next one; I can just go straight through!!

Elizabeth Peters really outdoes herself with this novel, which continues the Amelia series and has all the hallmarks readers have come to expect--Ramses doing his best to bring about his own premature death, Amelia and Emerson enjoying their passionate relationship, excavations, facts about Ancient Egypt, suspense, intrigue, and of course, a dead body or two. The final chapter is a bit convoluted and the reader who devoured the novel may have to go back and re-read certain portions, but that's hardly a punishment. This is the best of the series that occurs while Ramses is still a child.

Readers who enjoy this book might also enjoy Peters' books written under the nom de plume Barbara Michaels.

An enigmatic message scrawled on papyrus and a cryptic map trigger a desperate expedition to find a lost couple who have been missing in the war-torn Sudan for more than ten years. Egyptologist Amelia Peabody, her husband Emerson, and her son Ramses, are in dire straits on the sun-scorched desert sands when their last camel dies as they are deep in Nubia's vast waste land. Their very survival depends on Amelia being able to solve a mystery as old as ancient Egypt and as timeless as human greed and revenge! The Last Camel Died At Noon is a superbly written mystery by Elizabeth Peters given a flawless narrative performance by Susan O'Malley, and a technically excellent eleven compact disc audiobook format from Blackstone Audiobooks. The Last Camel Died At Noon is also available in a nine 90 minute cassette audiobook format as well (...).

Amelia Peabody mystery and adventure. Having excavated in many of the important sites in Egypt, Amelia, Emerson, and Ramses, their precocious son, now hope to go where to archeologist has ever gone before: the ruins of the ancient city of Napata in the heart of the Sudan. However, a war prevents them from their desired location. They end up in the arid Nubian desert where fourteen years previously the explorer Willoughby Forth and his new bride had disappeared. Through a series of mysterious and coincidental events, they end up on a search for these unfortunate souls.On this journey, the gallant Emerson-Peabodys find themselves in the most dangerous and extraordinary predicament of their lives. One of Peters' best fast-paced, suspenceful, educational mysteries.

I am a huge fan of Elizabeth Peters - have read and own all in the series - to me, this book is the turning point in the series - going to search for a lost land and finding it, and introduces Nefret to our cast. Who turns out to be a major character in the series. My favorite part of this book is when Emerson is imprisoned and in chains and he busts out of them! Of course, Ramses, who was a great character as a child and subsequently as an adult, is around and Peabody is everyone's sweetheart -
Adventure, romance, Egyptology, this book has it all -
A great starting point for the rest of the series, or an incentive to read from the start.

As this 6th book of the AMELIA PEABODY series opens the three Emersons (renowned archeologist Radcliffe, irrepressible Amelia and their son Ramses) are stranded in the middle of the desert, all but one of their servants have fled, taking most of the water and the last camel has just died. As they stagger forward toward their certain deaths Amelia reflects on how they reached this terrible fate. Weeks earlier they had been contacted at their English estate by an earnest young Englishman. Years earlier his elder brother had, with his young bride, disappeared while exploring. Recently a message had arrived giving hope that they still survived. Despite Radcliffe's initial reluctance to become involved circumstances conspired to lead, not only him, but his wife and son on this dangerous rescue mission.

The Emersons not only escape certain death in the desert but manage to discover an unknown civilization, take part in a palace coup and rescue a damsel in distress before Emerson is able to return to his beloved dig.

Fans of this series will take particular delight in this volume which introduces Nefret into the Emerson clan. Those who are unfamiliar with the series about the Victorian era archeologist/detective 'Nick and Nora' would do better to begin at the beginning (CROCODILE ON THE SANDBANK) and then proceeding in order as this series has a more pronounced overall story arc than most mystery series. In fact, the 'mystery' aspect of this series in general, and this volume in particular, is more of an afterthought to the adventures of Amelia and her family.

Three and a half stars is what this really deserves, but it's not possible to give it that. This is a good fun read, made better than some of its recent predecessors by a reduced emphasis on how good Amelia thinks she is, a less annoying Ramses, and a stronger plot. Emerson is the same as ever, but I'm not complaining about that.
This is high melodrama and adventure, with plots and mysteries abounding as the Peabody-Emersons set off into the desert in search of a missing explorer and find themselves in the midst of a power struggle in a hidden kingdom. Really enjoyable and with a good setting, though I did think the ending fell a bit flat. Perhaps I should have read my Rider Haggard directly before reading "The Last Camel Died At Noon", to fully appreciate all the references and jokes?