Mummy Dearest (Claire Malloy Mysteries, No. 17) (Hardcover)

by Joan Hess (Author) "Those Do Not look like camels to me..." (more)
Key Phrases: Lord Bledrock, Lady Emerson, Winter Palace (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Hess's delightful 17th Claire Malloy mystery (after 2007's Damsels in Distress) pays tribute to the Egyptian novels of Elizabeth Peters, the pseudonym of Barbara Mertz, to whom the book is dedicated. Claire has at long last married her cop boyfriend, Peter Rosen, and they are ostensibly on their honeymoon in Luxor, Egypt, accompanied by Claire's daughter, Caron, and Caron's best friend, Inez. Peter, however, is often called away on mysterious meetings with Egyptian police, and Claire and the girls are left to their own devices. Odd things start happening: the girls claim they're being followed by a sinister Arab with a scar, a young American woman is kidnapped in the desert, and murders dog an archeological expedition. Hess throws into this heady mix a deliciously eccentric cast of supporting characters, including one Lady Amelia Peabody Emerson, reputed to be the descendant of famous English archeologists. Manipulating everything with a practiced hand, Hess concludes the story in a manner worthy of Hercule Poirot in the classic Death on the Nile. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Bookstore owner Claire Malloy, of Farberville, Arkansas, is on her honeymoon in fascinating Luxor, Egypt, in this seventeenth in the series. Unfortunately, her law-enforcement husband, Peter Rosen, is on assignment in Egypt, leaving them little time alone. Because of Peter’s expected absences, Claire has brought along her teenage daughter, Caron, and Caron’s best friend, Inez. Claire’s reputation as a crime solver has preceded her, and a group of eccentric, elderly residents of their hotel, the Winter Palace, can’t wait to meet her. A kidnapping, two murders, and Caron and Inez’s pursuit by an unknown assailant leave Claire plenty to investigate while she visits Egypt’s treasured ancient sites. The sights and sounds of modern-day Luxor frame the story, and the history of ancient Egypt is also palpable, thanks to walking-encyclopedia Inez, who never misses an opportunity to bring her companions and the reader up to speed on what happened when. Humor, quirky characters, a rich mother-daughter relationship, and the fresh setting all add to this satisfying addition to Hess’ long-running series. --Sue O'Brien

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (April 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312363605
• ISBN-13: 978-0312363604
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #428,851 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #20 in	Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Authors, A-Z > ( H ) > Hess, Joan
  #55 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > Books & Reading > Booksellers & Bookselling

• This is item 17 in The Claire Malloy Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, May 7, 2008

By	Carolina "Mystery Lover" (USA) - See all my reviews

I eagerly awaited another Claire Malloy mystery but was really disappointed in this one. It was fun to see Claire in a different setting but the cast of characters were many and it took a long time to get into the mystery. Some parts were also very silly and situations were hard to believe.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Marginal at Best, May 27, 2008

By	Karen Vincent "spikeyv" (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

For some reason, Joan Hess never seems to put the effort or intellect into the more recent Claire Malloy volumes as she does in the ones on Maggody, which are, without exception, far superior. The characters are bland, the plot overdrawn and protracted, and the ending no surprise. This volume about Claire's long awaited honeymoon was so mediocre that I kept falling asleep. I get the feeling that Hess no longer likes this character. If not, do the kind thing and bump her off! To Ms. Hess - Go back to Maggody where the characters are full of life and humor. It's by far and away your best work.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Elizabeth Peters Wanna-Be, May 12, 2008

By	Christine L. Henry "JuneGem" (Arkansas, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was delighted to see a new Joan Hess book and couldn't wait to read it! Then I couldn't wait for it to end. Ms. Hess describes her trip to Egypt with Barbara Mertz (aka Elizabeth Peters) and it was painfully obvious in Mummy Dearest that she is a Peters wanna-be. It was either a sore attempt at mimicry or an equally poor attempt to satire Amelia Peabody.

There were a vast number of characters streaming in and out unannounced and typically unwelcome, a mystery man in disguise, cocktails at the drop of a hat, a convoluted and improbable storyline, and even a descendant of Peters famous character Amelia Peabody-Emerson.

Very disappointing and poorly done. Hope the next Claire Malloy book is an improvement.