The Painted Queen

The Emersons are the target of five assassins out to avenge the death of their brother Geoffrey Godwin, Nefret's late husband. In The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peters  and Joan Hess, the Emersons are off to Amarna.

Amelia and family are searching for the bust of Nefertiti at an archaeological site being excavated by German archeologist Herr Morgenstern. Herr Morgenstern has left the site under mysterious circumstances, allegedly after Nefertiti has been discovered.

Not wanting to point the finger at Morgenstern, Ramses and David search through the suks of Cairo to find a master forger's workshop. Their hope is to find the bust in the workshop.

And oh yes there are five assassins seeking vengeance on Amelia and Ramses. The brothers - Absalom, Guy, Cromwell, Judas and Flintworthy are out to avenge their brother in the craziest ways possible. Judas bursts in Amelia bathroom but someone has stabbed him in the back first. Guy blows himself up with an attempt at dynamite, Cromwell loses his head. And so it goes. Just another day in Egypt.

Meanwhile the search for Herr Morgenstern continues. Amelia follows him out into the desert where he appears to be in the middle of another psychotic episode and about to have heat stroke. She herself is almost overcome, but stout Amelia that she is, she wrangles Morgenstern back to Amarna and to the tender mercies of Nefret.

In Cairo, Ramses and David discover several copies of Nefertiti.
Unsure what to do with the copies, they carefully package them into a truck and hire a mob to escort them to the train. Never a dull moment for the Emersons. Even Sethos, the Master Criminal, makes an appearance.
 
So sad to finish the last Amelia Peabody Emerson book by Elizabeth Peters. I will have to go back and read the others again, I guess.  

The Painted Queen

With tears in my eyes I bought the last Amelia Peabody Emerson adventure. Started by Elizabeth Peters and finished after her death by Joan Hess, The Painted Queen will be the end of the Pedbody/Emerson clan's adventures. I have always been a fan of the dynamic, no-nonsense Amelia and her blustery, but brilliant husband Radcliffe.

The spectacular descriptions place the reader right in the middle of such exotic locations as Tell el-Amarna, Giza, Luxor and the Valley of Kings. And there's always a mystery. Amelia or a member of her family has been kidnapped, threatened, targets of assassins and much more, but through it all they prevail.

And for people who say they do not like to read history, Elizabeth Peters doses them in such a way the readers don't even know they are learning about history.


I met Elizabeth Peters AKA Barbara Mertz while I was volunteering at the American Library Association Chicago event many, many years ago. I was manning the booth and a small unassuming woman was walking down the aisles, but there was a buzz about the room.

"Who is that," I asked.

"That's Barbara Mertz," my friend responded

"Who is she?" I asked

"Elizabeth Peters"

I had all I could do to hold myself back from rushing to hug her and gush over how much I loved her books. When she came to the booth and spent time chatting with us, I was so thrilled.

I have loving caressed The Painted Queen, but I am reluctant to begin reading it because I know it will be finished very quickly and there will be no more. I want to cherish this last book.