Customer Reviews

The Seventh Sinner

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Barbara Mertz, also known as Elizabeth Peters, also known as Barbara Michaels has written nonfiction Egyptology books under her own name. As Elizabeth Peters, she is the author of many mysteries, including series starring Amelia Peabody, Vicky Bliss, and Jacqueline Kirby. As Barbara Michaels she has written 29 gothic suspense novels.

"The Seventh Sinner" is one of Elizabeth Peters's Jacqueline Kirby mysteries, told in the 3rd person by Jean Suttman who is in Rome on an archeological fellowship, and who literally runs down Jacqueline Kirby in a library. Almost as soon as Jean makes friends with Jacqueline, the younger woman witnesses the last few moments of a murder victim, and becomes the next target for the murderer.

Other novels in the Jacqueline Kirby series are "Murders of Richard III," "Die for Love," and "Naked Once More." Truthfully---and I know I must belong to a small minority---I like the Jacqueline Kirby books better than those starring Amelia Peabody, which tend to run on a single, dusty Egyptian track. Far better to be in Rome in the spring, even though Jean and Jacqueline are underground in various catacombs too much of the time. At least, they didn't have to spend any subsurface hours in the Cloaca Maximus, which still carries somewhere around one million cubic meters of waste per day.

Anyway, this book is more focused on the early Christians, rather than the pagan Romans. There are some fascinating archeological inquiries into the burial sites of Saints Peter and Paul, and of course there is the brooding, claustrophobic atmosphere of underground Rome itself---an important part of this mystery.

'Sinner' moves right along and there's no point in warning the heroine to stay out of the catacombs. That's where the final clue to the murder might be found, and Jean is going to find it or die trying.

There is the usual, stylish Peters 'humoresque' decorating this mystery---Lots of snappy dialogue and interesting characters to entertain her dedicated readers who may not be all that interested in early Christian archeology.

DO NOT be put off by a tacky cover or title. The Seventh Sinner introduces one of the all time great female, smart "aleck" sleuths in the malice domestic genre, Jaqueline Kirby. Smart, acerbic, very fuuny but a tad condescending, J. Kirby is a great predecessor for current female PI's and detectives now common in the mystery field. The Seventh Sinner is set in Rome where Jake meets up with a group of seven students, the seven sinners, and becomes embroiled in the suicide (or is it murder) of an outsider to the group. Cryptic death messages, death attempts, subterranean crypts, intelligent characters and a pithy conversational style make this a very enjoyable read. Elizabeth Peters, who also writes under the pseudonym Barbara Michaels, is a classical archaeoligist and, as with all her books, incorporates historical and archaelogical elements with the plot. I highly recommend The Seventh Sinner as well as E. Peters other books. Jaqueline Kirby pops up next in The Murder Of Richard III. Be aware of one thing, The Seventh Sinner was written in the early 70s so a few references are slightly out of date, but nothing to disturb the rhythym of the story.

In The Seventh Sinner Elizabeth Peters masterfully "does her thing," as one of the characters in the story might put it. Her "thing," of course, is to turn archeology and history into subjects not only comprehensible but even palatable and intriguing for readers who might nod off in fact-filled lectures and who would shudder if confronted with real bones, let alone a grisly murder.

This book will be interesting for Peters' readers. A reissue, it may come as a surprising revelation for those who know Peters primarily from the Amelia Peabody books featuring the adventuting 19th century Egyptologist. The players in The Seventh Sinner are another type of cast entirely from those in the Peabody series.

This book features a group of graduate and post-graduatde students working at Rome's famed Institute of Art and Archeology. Some readers may be distracted by details of dress, hairstyle, and "hip" speech which place the story firmly in the early 1970's, but such distreactions are in the end overridden by the strength of the story and in particular by the witty and literate repartee of the characters. As one character remarks, they are "a bright group," if a little naive.

The characters definitely make the book a worthwhile read. And while the story unfolds through the observations of one of the students, only a very inexperienced reader or a book jacke blurb writer could perceive Jean Stuttman as the real central character. She happens to be the right sex and the right age (early 20's) with the right ambitions (professions and romantic) to put into the standard romantic suspense novel of the early 1970's.

But the central character is mullti-faceted, often enigmatic, middle-aged Jacqueline Kirby, sometime mild-mannered librarian, sometime mom, sometime detective, and never predictable anything. She doesn't want to talk about her kids and defies all attempts to be stereotyped; nevertheless, she becomes the center pole for this artistic, ambitious g! roup who become embroiled in both a modern murder and an ancient mystery in the tombs and churches of the early Christian era which underlie the streets and structures of modern Rome.

Of perirheral interest in the book is Dr. Scoville, Senior, father of two members of the student group. He could be the prototype for that later developed and more famous fictional archeologist. He is brilliant, handsome, sexy, and world famous for his daring exploits in pursuit of archeological treasures. Sound familiar, movie fans?

In this story, though, the dashing archeologist is a minor player. Jacqueline Kirby is the librarian who sleuths out the answers and convinces the equally dashing Italian police official she is right. Her people sense is as good as her book sense, too. In that way she differs from Amelia Peabody; she thinks things through before charging in. For those readers who like her as much as this reviewer, it is good to know ther are more Peters books reaturing the librarian with the big purse.

The Seventh Sinner deserves a first read by those not yet acquainted with Peters' full range of work, and it will be a welcome refresher for those who know it well.

Yes, Elizabeth Peters writes about a world other than Amelia Peabody (not that Peabody isn't wonderful). This book, written in 1972, introduces Jacqueline Kirby, a middle aged librarian with more than a few eccentricities. It's set in Rome, where Kirby befriends a group of graduate fellows. One of the students dies suspiciously in the catacombs. What follows is a mixed of locked room mystery (one of the seven students must have done the deed) and lots of early Christian archeology/history.

Overall, the book has a bit of a dated tone. It reminded me of the Disney interpretations of Mary Stewart's mysteries. There's nothing wrong with the tone, it's just a bit different. Also, I've read later books in this series and Kirby evolves into a much wittier sleuth in later volumes. In other words, Peters hasn't quite found her wonderful, sarcastic wit in this book. Still, a solid cozy of a read.

The enjoyable first book of the all-too-short Jacqueline Kirby series is a nice (though slightly dated-feeling) romp through Rome, archaeology and early Christian saint-related material.

The book opens as Jean Suttman runs into Jacqueline Kirby -- literally. Jean and her friend Michael knock the acid-tongued, chameleon-clothed librarion over, and Jacqueline ends up coming along to a little meeting of the Seven Sinners. This group includes Jean, witty artist Michael, brainy priest Jose, slightly odd siblings Anne and Andy, serious-minded Ted, and plain seductress Dana. The only fly in their collective ointment is Albert, the son of Andy's father's friend -- Albert is physically and emotionally repulsive, and when he crashes a party with accusations that someone stole his research, no one really pays attention.

Until Jean finds him in the Temple of Mithra, with his throat cut. Albert manages to trace a number seven before he dies, and soon mysterious "accidents" begin to follow Jean. She and Jacqueline must unravel the mystery -- who would want an insignificant slob like Albert dead?

I will warn you in advance, this book is quite different in tone from "Murders of Richard III" (which I didn't like very much) and from "Die for Love" and "Naked Once More." Though it's not as serious as the second, or as funny as the third and fourth, it nevertheless possesses a dry wit and lopsided view of humanity in general.

Peters manages to keep the various characters' personalities separate and distinct. She also shows skill at making them act like real people. All of the characters have good points and bad points; some are kind, some are not. There's even an entertaining scene where they compare their own weaknesses to the seven deadly sins.

The writing style is unspectacular compared to her other books, but nicely evocative. This book doesn't really contain any potentially objectionable content, beyond a few mild comments about legs, and a scene where Dana's bikini top is stolen. Be forewarned, though this is a Jacqueline Kirby mystery, most of the book is from Jean's perspective rather than Jacqueline's. Jacqueline is still an enchantingly acerbic, brainy, and amusing presence, lighting up all the scenes.

Overall, a nice little romp through Rome. Read and enjoy, especially if you're fond of the amazing J. Kirby.

I have been putting off reading the other two mystery series written by Elizabeth Peters as I enjoy the Amelia Peabody series so much that I thought I would be disappointed. And, surprisingly, I was not disappointed at all in this, the first of the Jacqueline Kirby mysteries, first published in 1972. Kirby is not an instanly likeable character but she grew on me as the book continued. The mystery is classic Peters in that it involves some rather arcane references which always end up tying into the mystery somehow. I was able to figure out how the main clue to the criminal works into the plot but was not able to figure out who that criminal was as Peters keeps a vital piece of information from the reader until the denouement. This is a quite enjoyable mystery, quicker to read than the Amelia Peabody mysteries, and I look forward to buying and reading the second in the series.

When I first read this book, I had a hard time getting into it. Don't let that put you off!!! Definitely one of her best!

The story centers on a group of graduate students studying art and history in Rome. Two of the group met middle aged librarian Jacqueline Kirby and introduce her to their group, the Seven Sinners. A hanger on of the group is found murdered, found by a member of the group and possibly also murdered by a member of the group. One of the group, Jean, begins to have a series of accidents that soon become more violent and appear less and less accidental. Jacqueline Kirby decides to investigate this matter and, of course, manages to uncover both murderer and motive.

This book was written in 1972 and does show it's age a bit, hence the 4 rather than 5 stars. Even though this is the first Jacqueline Kirby details about her are left vague. We learn there are grown children but nothing about a Mr. Kirby.

The book is enjoyable and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

The first Jacqueline Kirby novel, The Seventh Sinner, finds Jacqueline in Rome. She mets seven graduate students all studying various disciplines. At a party, another student bursts in and accuses someone of stealing his treasure. The next day, Jean (one of the students), finds the boy near death. It is up to Jake to find the killer and save Jean.

Jacqueline is a different character than Barbara Peters' other two heroines, Vicky Bliss and Amelia Peabody. Kirby is an older woman with grown children and is usually presented from other characters' point of view. It is an interesting take on a series, and one that is enjoyable. However, I find it hard to relate to Jackqueline as much as I do to Vicky or Amelia- she seems more removed.

I recommend this series- give it a try!

This, the first of the Jacqueline Kirby books, does a wonderful job introducing Ms. Kirby. Just as grown children leave home to start a new phase in their life, so does their middle-aged parents. Jacqueline does a fine job disregarding the past to open up a new and exciting phase in her life which includes helping a group of young graduate students solve a murder. Her intelligence and past experience leaves her prepared for every eventuality! A delightful romp!