Darlene's Book Nook: #Audiobook #Review: 4 out of 5 stars for Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters #ElizabethPeters @recordedbooks @Rosenblat

Thursday, June 28, 2018

#Audiobook #Review: 4 out of 5 stars for Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters #ElizabethPeters @recordedbooks @Rosenblat_Actor

TITLE: Crocodile on the Sandbank

SERIES: Amelia Peabody, Book #1

AUTHOR: Elizabeth Peters

NARRATOR: Barbara Rosenblat

PUBLISHER: Recorded Books

PUBLICATION DATE: July 29, 2004 (first published 1975)

FORMAT: Unabridged audiobook

LENGTH: 9 hrs and 51 mins

GENRE: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Northern Africa/Egypt

ISBN: 9781402577260

Amelia Peabody, 32-year-old Victorian gentlewoman, inherited two things from her father: a considerable fortune and an unbendable will. The first was indispensable in allowing her to indulge in her life's passion: Egyptology. Without the second, the mummy's curse would have made corpses of them all. Promptly upon her father's death, Amelia takes ship for Cairo. But her companion, Miss Pritchett, succumbs to typhoid in Rome -- weak minded female that she is. That's just when an unexpected distraction drops, more or less, at Amelia's feet. What happens next makes for a delicious mystery and pyramids of fun.

MY REVIEW:

This historical cozy mystery series has long been on my TBR list. I actually jumped into the series at Book #3 (The Mummy Case) because I read that each book stands alone, but I was so intrigued with the references to the past that I stopped listening a couple of hours in and then downloaded this first book in the series.

The setting of the story is 1884, and the main character is British Amelia Peabody who is a "spinster" by the standards of that era. She's 32 years old (egads!) and the youngest of six children. Her father was a scholar and antiquarian, and she is the only one in the family who shared his interests. When he passed away, he left his property to Amelia since her brothers were all merchants and she was the only one without an income. She wanted to visit all the places that her father studied, and she decided that she needed a travelling companion. After her first companion dies of typhoid, Amelia meets a woman named Evelyn after coming to her rescue. Off they go to Egypt! They meet two brothers who are on a archaeological dig, Radcliffe and Walter Emerson. While Evelyn and Walter appear to be smitten with one another, Amelia and Radcliffe are constantly at odds with each other. I love their banter! Things take a turn when Radcliffe becomes ill, and Amelia nurses him back to health.

Someone is trying to scare the quartet off from their dig: A mummy! The gang has to figure out who wants to scare them off and why.

I really enjoyed this historical cozy mystery, although my only complaint is that it was a little light on the "mystery" part! I have always had an interest in ancient civilizations, particularly Egypt, so the setting for me was perfect. Amelia is strong, capable, and no-nonsense and I love that she goes against the grain of other women from that era. I enjoyed how the relationships developed between the Emerson brothers and their female companions. There was a lot of sarcastic humor and even a little romance. I will definitely be continuing on with this series, and I'm looking forward to listening to the next book, The Curse of the Pharaohs.

Barbara Rosenblat is a new-to-me narrator, and she was perfect! She totally captured the complicated essence of Amelia, who is both fierce and caring. While some female narrators have trouble with the male vocalizations, Rosenblat did not. She made each character unique and was a pure joy to listen to! Here is a sample of the narration:

MY RATING: