The Mummy Case

An Amelia Peabody Mystery

By: Elizabeth Peters

Narrated by: Susan O’Malley

The irascible husband of Victorian Egyptologist Amelia Peabody demonstrates again why he has been nicknamed "Father of Curses." Denied permission to dig at the pyramids of Dahshoor, Emerson is awarded instead the "pyramids" of Mazghunah: countless mounds of rubble in the midst of nowhere. Nothing in this barren spot seems worthy of interest - until an antiquities dealer is murdered in his Cairo shop.

When a sinister Egyptian spotted at the crime scene turns up in Mazghunah, Amelia can't resist following his trail. There's a mysterious scrap of papyrus and a missing mummy case to investigate, while she keeps at least one eye on their precocious son Ramses and his Egyptian cat. But the digging turns truly dangerous when Amelia and Emerson look for answers in an ancient tomb - one that could become their grave.

©1985 Elizabeth Peters (P)1999 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Between Amelia Peabody and Indiana Jones, it's Amelia - in wit and daring - a landslide." ( New York Times Book Review)
"[Elizabeth Peters] scores again with a riotously witty, tense, and cunningly constructed tale." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Amelia Peabody Emerson, archaeologist extraodinaire, and arguably the most potent female force to hit Egypt since Cleopatra, is digging again!" ( Philadelphia Inquirer)

Enjoyed it but

I really enjoyed the first book much better. There was something wrong with the audio as the voice would change every now and then. It was an okay listen and did have a surprise ending.

Not a fan of the kid

I liked the first book in the series a lot. The second book was pretty good. This one was not very good. Ramses, Amelia’s son, is an irritating, unbelievable, and unsympathetic character. The narration in this book was not very well done either. There were numerous places where the tone of voice would suddenly change for a sentence and then go back - obviously some sentences were re-read at a later date and dubbed into the book in various place, but not done very well. It’s my last Peabody book.

ponderous slow

this book took to long to get to the point. it plods along and the climax is uneventful

Light entertainment

Entertaining, subtle humor but was very slow in places. Definately a book that you can put down and come back to. The child character was supremely annoying and made the book unbelievable, however, overall I enjoyed it but would I not recommend as a great "have to read".

Strange inserts in narration

I loved the story, but the narration had several places that sounded "pasted in", as if the dialogue had to change after the fact to fit some politically correct editing. The voice of the pasted in parts was lower and more mature, so it seemed it was recorded years later. I couldn't tell any difference in the story line, but the change in narration was a little irritating.