The Mummy Case [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Peters (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1985

The third in the popular series charting the adventures of Amelia Peabody, this novel follows the Victorian lady sleuth to the "pyramids" of Mazghunah. On her arrival, it seems that the barren area can be of no interest, but a murder in Cairo soon persuades her otherwise.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Elizabeth Peters' Mummy Case excels with Susan O'Malley's smooth narrative style, bringing alive...Amelia Peabody's probe of a Cairo antiques dealer's murder. --Publishers Weekly

Between Amelia Peabody and Indiana Jones, it's Amelia--in wit and daring--a landslide. --New York Times Book Review

[Elizabeth Peters] scores again with a riotously witty, tense, and cunningly constructed tale. --Publishers Weekly --This text refers to the MP3 CD edition.

About the Author

Elizabeth Peters earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago's famed Oriental Institute. She was named Grand Master at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986 and Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 1998. In 2003, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Malice Domestic Convention. She lives in a historic farmhouse in western Maryland.

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 313 pages
• Publisher: Contemporary Books; First Edition. states edition (February 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865531404
• ISBN-13: 978-0865531406
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,860,745 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

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read--and you get to know "Ramses" Emerson!, May 26, 2000

By 

drdebs (CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mummy Case (Mass Market Paperback)

The Mummy Case is the third in the series of Amelia Peabody mysteries, which are set in turn-of-the-century Egypt and England. Amelia is a staunch believer in the superiority of all things British, and her husband is an archaeologist with a mission (namely to save the antiquities of Egypt from the clutches of untrained archaeologists and unscrupulous antiquities dealers). All of the Peabody mysteries are tongue-in-cheek tributes to the mystery genre in general and English female detectives in particular.

The Mummy Case is the most enjoyable of the first three mysteries, in large part because we get to know the Emersons's four-year old enfant terrible--Walter Peabody Emerson, nicknamed "Ramses." Ramses already knows Coptic, Arabic, German, French, and the modern methods of archaeology. While his parents stumble about trying to find out how the death of a Cairo antiquities dealer is related to the mummy case of a German baroness and a village torn between an evangelical American missionary and the ancient Coptic church, Ramses quietly goes about solving the puzzle before either one of them.

Ramses is a fantastic addition to the Emerson family, and only increases the reader's enjoyment. The mysteries are not the main thing in these books; the development of highly individualistic characters is.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters, January 21, 2002

By 

Yvette (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mummy Case (Mass Market Paperback)

This remains one of the funniest books I've ever read. It's probably my favorite Amelia Peabody (Next to Lion in the Valley}
Oh how I wish Peters hadn't let Amelia's son Ramses grow up so quickly. In later books, his character(while interesting) has evolved into the standardized tall, dark and handsome leading man beloved of all historical mystery writers. But oh, what a fiendishly (not to mention, hysterically funny) atrocious little boy he is in these early books. I love his lisp! I love the way Peters sets his longwinded conversations with the lisp in tact. If you read them aloud, they're even funnier. What a deranged little genius. And speaking of deranged, what about his father, the most famous archeologist of his or any other time, Radcliffe Emerson? I love Amelia, I really do, but one of the main reasons I read and reread these books, is the inspired lunacy of her husband. Whenever I'm depressed, I pick up The Mummy Case or one of the other early Peabodys and I'm sent back to turn of the century Egypt and the intrepid Amelia and her zany family. DON'T
read these for the mysteries, although there certainly is one in every book, instead read these for the ingenious characters and the inspired lunacy of plot. This is satire in its best form. Fun. Fun. Fun.
I'm wondering if Elizabeth Peters now regrets setting these books in 'real' time. I believe she should've held on to the earlier years of the Emersons a bit longer. I'm also wondering why this wonderful series hasn't been snapped up by Hollywood.
If I could, I'd option them myself.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The men in Amelia's life, April 26, 2004

By 

Jeanne Tassotto (Trapped in the Midwest) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mummy Case (Mass Market Paperback)

are giving her fits! First there is her handsome, brilliant husband, Radcliffe Emerson, the emminent Egyptologist who finds himself once again being dragged away from his work by Amelia's escapades. Then the mysterious Master Criminal again wrecks havoc in the lives of the Emersons and their friends. The most exasperating 'man' in Amelia's life, however, turns out to be her precocious son 'Ramses'. By the time most children are struggling with their ABCs Ramses can both speak and read several languages including Arabic and was well versed in the family vocation of Eqyptology.

The Emersons set out for another season digging for ancient Eqyptian artifacts but soon find themselves swept up by a series of more modern mysteries and adventures.

The most charming aspects of this series are the hilarious Emerson family. Amelia and her tendancy to overestimate her abilities, and Emerson and his tendancy to underestimate them, are both confounded by their son's talents to keep them both struggling to keep up.

Ramses has a speech impediment (affectation?) that the author uses, I believe, to remind the reader that he is very young. The first few times it appears this device is rather cute but it does begin to wear thin after a time. He does outgrow it later in the series so bear with it for now. His precociousness brings a smile to anyone who can recall putting one over on an adult and bit of chagrin to any parent who has had a child put one over on them.

I love this series, particularly watching the characters grow and change with the times. The mysteries are intriguing, the action exciting and the comedy is delightful.