Ape Who Guards the Balance

by Elizabeth Peters Narrated by Barbara Rosenblat

Overview

Against the romantic backdrop of Edwardian Egypt, the irresistible Amelia Peabody and her charmingly unconventional family prove themselves to be formidable foes of villainy. In The Ape Who Guards the Balance Amelia must muster all of her considerable skills of detection to unravel a snarled web of stolen archeological treasures, murderous cults, and fallen women. The Peabody-Emerson family has set sail for Egypt and the 1907 archaeological season. But a mint-condition papyrus of the Book of the Dead falls into their hands, and the prospects for the 1907 archaeological season turn deadly. This captivating best-seller showcases the talent that caused the Mystery Writers of America to name Elizabeth Peters a Grand Master. With Barbara Rosenblat's dazzling narration, you will find yourself held pleasurably in the balance of this exotic mystery. An interview with Elizabeth Peters concludes this audio production.

Editorial Reviews

USA Today

A new Amelia Peabody mystery is like visiting old friends.

San Francisco Examiner

Peters' witty writing and her cast of outrageous characters move the story along at a brisk pace.

Washington Post

Amelia Peabody is Indiana Jones, Sherlock Holmes, and Miss Marple all in one.

Peter Theroux

If the reader is tempted to draw another obvious comparison between Amelia Peabody and Indiana Jones, it's Amelia -- in wit and daring -- by a landslide.
— NY Times Book Review

Chicago Sun-Times

Hilarious...fascinating.

Baltimore Sun

The sparkle and suspense never lessen.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

In April of this year, Peters, who has been writing mysteries for 30 years, was honored as a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America. This captivating novel, her 10th Amelia Peabody tale (following Seeing a Large Cat, 1997), validates her peers' high regard. Prospects for the 1907 excavation season in Egypt seem lackluster for the Emersons, since Professor Emerson, Amelia's beloved husband, can't abide the fools who administrate such activities--and makes no secret of that fact. But the family, including their adult son, Ramses, and his foster siblings, Nefret and David, departs for Egypt nevertheless after incidents in London point to the resurfacing of their old nemesis, known as the Master Criminal. The younger generation buys an ancient papyrus from an antiquities dealer and sets in motion a sinister chain of events. Two horrendous murders draw all of the Emersons further into the fray, and at times it seems as if the Master Criminal and his minions will at last best Amelia. But by drawing on the skills of all, the Emerson contingent once again brings villains to justice. The plot is complicated and involving, but the maturing of Ramses, Nefret and David offers particular pleasure and gives the book depth and poignance. Rich in characterization, incident and humor, this latest adventure of Amelia Peabody is a grand, galloping adventure with a heart as big as the Great Pyramid itself. Author tour. (Aug.)

School Library Journal

YA--Fans will gravitate to this new addition to this popular murder-archaeology series. From the streets of London to the Egyptian desert, the Peabody-Emerson family is in danger. This complex story set in 1907 opens with an attempt to kidnap Amelia. Grisly murder, villains in disguise, and intrigue follow the family to excavation sites in Egypt, and neither the characters nor readers initially understand why. Teens will be pleased that the children introduced in earlier volumes have greater roles in this story. Son Ramses, his friend David, and Amelia's and Emerson's adopted daughter, Nefret, are mature young people who obey and disobey their parents when it suits them. All is related through Amelia's first-person, witty narration. This one is sure to be as popular as Peters's earlier books.--Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA

Kirkus Reviews

Tenth in this long-running, long-winded series ("Seeing a Large Cat", 1997, etc.) finds Egyptologists Professor and Amelia Emerson, their clever, stoic son Ramses, adopted daughter Nefret, and Ramses' friend David, lovingly accepted as a member of the family, preparing to return to Egypt after a stay in London marred by a crude attempt to kidnap Amelia, engineered, in Ramses' view, by their old, elusive enemy Sethos. The Professor's officially assigned task this 1906 season is to clean out some previously opened, not very important tombs, while rival Theodore Davis has been given the exploration of what is probably a royal burial site. Soon after the family returns to Luxor, Ramses and Davis, in native disguise, go on the prowl for news of Sethos, purchasing along the way a fine papyrus scroll from one Yassuf Mahmud, then getting attacked in the process and rescued by prostitute Layla. The discovery, days later, of Mahmud's mutilated body floating in the Nile is just the beginning of a series of grotesque happenings, all sandwiched between dinner parties and a visit from Emerson's brother Walter, with wife Evelyn and their daughter Lia, who's madly in love with David, as Ramses is with Nefret (in tight-lipped silence, of course). The body count rises and so does Emerson's fury at Davis' careless handling of his very important find. There are further attacks on Amelia and fleeting appearances by Sethos. By the time the major source of evil is uncovered, it's just one more unconvincing twist in the tangled plot. The author's mixture much as before: a fun trip for readers with an interest in Egyptology; for others, a confusing, fussily written, long, long trek.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169505443
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	04/18/2005
Series:	Amelia Peabody Series , #10
Edition description:	Unabridged

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