The Seventh Sinner

 by Elizabeth Peters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jaqueline Kirby is introduced in this novel and she is somewhat of a cipher. She is kept in the background and all the other characters are better drawn.

Santi Cosma e Damiano

This is one the first of Peters published books in the mystery genre and it was a little uneven. Kirby working in Rome meets a group of young students who hang to gather as a group and they refer to themselves as the seven sinners. They are all studying various subjects such as art, architecture and history. They meet after work for drinks and other activities. The least of the group is a messy, slightly crazy young man who gets tagged the seventh of the group. These young people would rather he found somewhere else to be but he hangs on until one day when the group is experiencing some catacombs he is murdered. He leaves a dying message in the sand by his now motionless hand. It is seven.

While there are others in the catacombs it is most likely that the murderer is one of the student group. The police are working at it and Jacqueline herself feels that what she must do is protect the one girl who actually saw the message. The girl seems awfully prone to near fatal accidents and Kirby recognizes these incidents for attempts on her life.


I  liked the location, the history and the interesting trips into catacombs, old churches as a search for a murderer spreads out .

Since the clue left at the murder site is a seven, we get to learn about seven saints, seven churches, seven hills of Rome and more.

None of the students seems to have reason to kill anyone, much less this particular person, as odd as he was. Kirby encourages the exploration of Roman artifacts and location because sooner or later the culprit will reveal himself.

The liberal use of google images really added to the enjoyment of the book. I was able to look up so many of the structures and locations that I had a mini trip of my own. As I was doing this I did get a yearning to see the areas for my self. Someday maybe.

The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog

by Elizabeth Peters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amelia Peabody's life is presently seeming to follow the story line of an ancient Egyptian fairy tale about a prince who was doomed to die by the crocodile , the snake or the dog. A young princess from another kingdom fell in love with him, married him, learned of the prophecy and determined that she would save him from his fate. The ending of the fairytale has been lost to the dusts of the desert, but Amelia plans to work on this tale and then finds she is living it.

She and Emerson, having left the children in England begin to find themselves in danger almost from the moment they arrive at Shepheards Hotel. There are a few attempts at kidnapping both of them before one is successfully accomplished and Emerson is spirited away after having been subdued by a cudgel to the head. Thus the adventure begins and  it is filled with excitement, treachery, betrayal murder and more.

Amarna

This time the duo are working at Amarna when the great Pharaoh Akhenaten lived with his beautiful wife Nefertiti.  The tomb of Nefertiti is what they are looking for but they are also trying to keep secret the ancient oasis where they  escaped from on their last dig.

Peabody armed with her parasol and pistol are a match for any villain. I began reading this series and then began listening to  it as narrated by Barbara Rosenblat who does such a wonderful job that all the characters come alive. She does a marvelous job of capturing the essence of both Peabody and Emerson that these characters take on additional dimension that eluded me in the written versions.  I was never a person who really enjoyed audio versions but this experience with Barbara Rosenblat has made me a true fan.