Both my wife and I have been great fans of Peters' Amelia Peabody series of stories. So I was looking forward to dipping into one of the novels in this series but found myself less than engaged.It's not the problem of the story. Vicky Bliss, an assistant curator in the Munich National Museum is enlisted as a fill-in lecturer on a Nile cruise because of her crime-solving capabilities. There has been a murder and inklings of a heist of Egyptian antiquities. On the boat she encounters her own partner in adventure, here known as John Tregarth, but who has worked under various aliases as an art thief. He and Vicki have apparently survived numerous scrapes and developed a love interest. This explains the deep shock she experiences when John is accompanied by his mother and his new bride, Mary.More murders and narrow escapes follow in this mystery as Vicky discovers that the object is nothing less than the theft of the tomb of Tetisheri in its entirety. Some she thinks fowl turn out to be fair, and others who seem fair, end up fowl. One of the fairest ends up the most sinister of all, and Vicky discovers how she has misjudged John. Action moves from the river cruise to a desperate flight across the desert to reach Luxor and Cairo. Vicky's boss, Schmidt turns up and shows himself unexpectedly resourceful. [The night train to Memphis reflects an unexpected country music motif that runs through the mystery, as well as an actual train trip that was part of the climactic chase]. Yet John, Vicky, and their guide Feisal are up against criminals capable of bringing them to a harrowing end.While I enjoyed the story, I found the central characters unattractive. Vicky strikes me as both highly capable and yet self-absorbed. John is more the figure one encounters in an espionage novel--living in a land of shades of gray, sometimes caring, sometimes ruthless, and ever the thief. The character I most enjoyed was Schmidt, who anyone would love to have as a friend. Vicky and John stood in sharp contrast, for me, to the admirable and interesting characters of Amelia and Emerson and Ramses in the Amelia Peabody stories.I should mention that I was starting with number five in the series and I wondered whether this was part of the problem and whether I might have warmed up to these characters more had I followed them from the beginning, which I found important in the Amelia Peabody series. Peters' story telling ability and the settings of her stories might incline me to pick up the first novel in the series to give these characters one more chance. Who knows, if I get back to number five, this novel, I might have a different take.
This was a fun read from beginning to end, with just the right mix of romance, mystery, and suspense as only Elizabeth Peters does it.Dr. Vicky Bliss of Munich is persuaded by some mysterious security types to head down to Egypt and take an all-expense paid cruise on the Nile. Her mission will be to identify an evildoer - or perhaps evildoers - who may be planning to make away with priceless Egyptian antiquaties. Upon arriving on board the boat she will be traveling on, she discovers that three of the other passengers are her lover John, his mother, and his new bride! At once, the reader suspects that all is not as it seems, although Vicky appears to accept the new state of affairs at face value.The cruise seems fairly lighthearted until a young man dies rather mysteriously and then another man, a newly appointed official in the business of overseeing Egyptian antiquaties, is murdered, supposedly by a bomb. Then strange things start happening on the boat and the cruise is interrupted. Where will it all lead? Meantime, the only "evildoer" Vicky has been able to identify is John!This was the fifth in the Vicky Bliss series and I think it is my favorite of the lot. I had recently read number 6 out of order, so I have now completed this series unless Peters decides to add another installment. I have enjoyed the adventures of the intrepid trio Vicky, John and Schmidt, and in this entry a fourth "musketeer" was added - Feisal, John's old Egyptian buddy from Oxford days. Feisal returned in the sixth book. Now, having read this one, I have a greater appreciation of his character.Will the "Fearless Foursome's" adventures continue in yet another book? One can only hope.
Do You like book Night Train To Memphis (1995)?
This book was pure gold (erm…). I mean, the other ones I enjoyed. But this one! Schmidt! The pure awesomeness that is Schmidt blew me away. I laughed myself silly in parts. And did anyone else catch the Busman’s Honeymoon reference? [Dec. 2008]-----I haven’t read The Laughter of Dead Kings yet, but I’ve read the rest of the books in the Vicky Bliss series and this one is definitely, emphatically my favorite. Peters manages to take all the tropes she’s set up in the rest of the books and stand them on their heads. Plus, Schmidt is amazing. [Nov. 2009]----I like rereading Vicky occasionally, and this one is definitely my favorite. Peters manages to turn several of her tropes from the previous books on their heads, in a very satisfying way. [Nov. 2011]
—Maureen E
I wasn't thrilled with this book (really I want to give it 2.5 stars) but I think that's partly my fault. This is the 5th Vicky Bliss book but the first one I've read so there were all kinds of recurring characters that I wasn't familiar with and references to previous books that were beyond me. This is the first non-Amelia book I've read by Peters. The mystery was pretty well written but I didn't always like the main characters. Vicky is not as lovable as Amelia Peabody and her relationship with Sir John was not as endearing as the friendly banter between Amelia and Emerson. Also I would say that the Amelia books are probably rated PG and Vicky Bliss is more PG13. Not that I'm easily offended but it was just not what I expected. Amelia will not be replaced in my heart any time soon.
—Audrey Dailey
This author, particularly this book, helps satisfy, perhaps just a smidgen, the desire that I've had to travel to see the most famous sites of the world, and revisit the idea of furthering my education to get a master's degree in art history; I waffle between that and literature, or writing (even bigger scarier idea).So, I delved into yet another Elizabeth Peters' book this time in my armchair travel that I took down the Nile in a luxurious ship, I could be found running through the backstreets of Cairo in Islam lady disguise, brandishing a little automatic hidden under my skirts in a billionaires mansion in Luxor and bouncing in a shockless jeep amongst the wadis and cliffs of that desert country with a handsome Egyptian and the ever elusive John Smythe, if indeed that is his real name, whilst allowing myself a romantic notion or two. This author's mysteries usually involve art theft, and always include fist fights, kidnapping, and a guaranteed bad girl (to rock the notion that the bad guy is always a guy), all of which add up to a most enjoyable read for me. I don't know that I recommend her books to anyone but myself. They are indeed my guilty pleasure.
—Bonnie
