A Vicky Bliss mystery. It took me a while to get into because I thought I was going to be reading an Amelia Peabody mystery. I had even more trouble because the Bliss mystery was so modernized it hardly felt like part of her series (maybe I missed some transition books that would have carried me along). Nonetheless, the book has touches of Ms. Peters sense of humour so it was an enjoyable read. ( )

Fun to read but not her best book. An interesting twist on John's ancestors. Somehow this isn't quite the Vicky Bliss I remember from the book where she first made an appearance.

The jacket cover says that this is the last Vicky Bliss. I am very sorry to see the story end. But what an ending! Aside from the "romantic" last two pages or so, it was wonderful. I could have done without all the modern "improvements" (cell phones, email and the like). It really wasn't necessary. It also seemed a little rushed for some reason. And the dialogue wasn't as quirky as it was in previous novels. But alas, I'd still read another, if there were more to read. ( )

The new Vicky Bliss novel. It's been a long wait, but it's worth it.

King Tut's mummy has been stolen from his tomb. Vicky's lover "Sir John Smythe" is the obvious suspect, but he's reformed--hasn't he? Now Vicky and John must find the mummy and clear his name. Friends and adversaries old and new help and impede their search. But which is which? And what is John hiding?

This has everything one could want in an Elizabeth Peters novel, including some subtle in-jokes and a few surprising revelations. ( )

Vicky Bliss is hauled off on another search for the missing sarcophogus of King Tut, who has been stolen from his tomb. The book brings the stories of Vicky Bliss and Amelia Peabody together at the end. A fine ending to a long series.

This was one of those books where time stops for a little while and nothing in the world matters as much as King Tut's stolen mummy and the fact that John has been accused of stealing it! Peters' writing hasn't grown stale, and her characters are just as fresh and fun as ever. I really recommend this sixth book in the Vicky Bliss series. For me, it was a keeper.

Fun but not among Peters' best. ( )

This is the first book I've read in Elizabeth Peters' Vicky Bliss series, so I felt a bit like I was coming in at the middle of a conversation. Once I got into the story I enjoyed it immensely. I thoroughly recommend it to fans of Amelia Peabody. Ms. Peters has a wonderful sense of humor that never fails to put a smile on my face and suspense that keeps me engaged and reluctant to put the book down. ( )

Disappointing, to put it kindly. Vicky Bliss deserves better. The bright spots are Peter's dry humor, and a cameo appearance by the author herself. Overall, my impression is that over the course of an excellent career as an author, Peters has actually developed a novel-writing template in Word. In order to release a new novel, her publisher enters the name of 3 characters we haven't seen before, hits the refresh button, and sends the results to the printer. In other words, Peters has gotten predicitble. If you need a Peters fix, I'd suggest going back to one of her earlier works. This novel will leave you unsatisfied. ( )

John has turned over a new leaf and his and Vicky's relationship is going well, despite their living in two separate countries. Until the mummy of King Tut is stolen and John is framed.. or so he says. Jetting between Germany, England, Italy and Egypt, Vicky, John, Schmitt and some other friends are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.
I enjoyed this a lot with a few reservations - these being mainly the self-insert by the author and the additional revelations about John's family. Other than those it was as fun as the Vicky Bliss books are.

Fun, fast-paced mystery. ( )

The 6th book in the Vicky Bliss series, this book is a long time coming. I had long since given up hope that we would see another Vicky book, but here it is. John is still on the good side of the law, or so Vicky hopes. Then, Feisal shows up with the story that King Tut's corpse is missing. All signs point to John, who swears innocence. So, Vicky and John set out to clear his name. ( )

Elizabeth Peters is one of the pseudonyms of Barbara Mertz, whose other synonym is Barbara Michaels. Mertz has a PhD in Egyptology, which expliais her fascination with country in many of her books. As Michaels, she writes Gothics. As Elizabeth Peters, she writes 3 series and various stand alones, all of which have in common strong women characters and an equally strong sense of humor. Peters is most known for the Amelia Peabody series, about a family of British archaeologists working in Egypt in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The series is very popular and she has written volumes in that series almost to the exclusion of her other two series and stand alones. One of the other series is the Jacqueline Kirby series about a librarian who becomes a romance writer, and the other is the Vicky Bliss series about an art historian working in a museum in Munich, Germany. I'm quite fond of all three series, and have been missing Jacqueline (she gives us librarians a good name) and Vicky. Now, after a hiatus of several years, this book brings back Vicky Bliss.

Vicky has been involved with a reformed thief, now dealer in antiquities, John. The two of them, along with her wonderful boss Herr Schmidt, have had a variety of adventures. In this volume, the mummy of King Tut has been stolen and too many people think John must have done it. They are forced to find the mummy to clear his name. Vicky, John, and Schmidt are all terrific characters, and the plot is the usual Peters complexity with a strong sense of the ridiculous.

It's nice to have Vicky back! Recommended. ( )

The new Vicky Bliss novel. It's been a long wait, but it's worth it.

King Tut's mummy has been stolen from his tomb. Vicky's lover "Sir John Smythe" is the obvious suspect, but he's reformed--hasn't he? Now Vicky and John must find the mummy and clear his name. Friends and adversaries old and new help and impede their search. But which is which? And what is John hiding?

This has everything one could want in an Elizabeth Peters novel, including some subtle in-jokes and a few surprising revelations. ( )

When a priceless ancient Egyptian artifact is stolen from under the noses of the authorities in the Valley of the Kings, it bears all the earmarks of a crime perpetrated by international art thief and conman 'Sir John Smythe' - the upper-crust accent, the sheer audacity. But John (who happens to be the long-term boyfriend of our heroine) swears up and down that he had nothing to do with the crime. So he and Vicky Bliss, clever and intrepid art historian, once again make their way to Egypt to discover the true criminal and to clear John's name and to help their friend Feisal.

So how did it go? It was a really quick, engrossing read. I often felt that the actual mystery took a bit of a backseat. It seemed like the villain had the upper hand throughout most of the story, and that resolution was more blundered into than reasoned out. I also felt like there was an awful lot of time spent eating or drinking... but that's almost inevitable when Schmidt enters the picture. And I do enjoy Vicky's focus on real needs (food, clothes, baths) rather than the typical I can run 24 hours on no food, no sleep, etc. and not even need a bathroom! that is seen in so many thriller/mysteries. So I'm not really complaining. It's not as strong as others in the series, but it was still a whole lot of fun.

In the interest of full disclosure, let me confess right now that I'm (not-so-secretly) in love with John Smythe. He's a dashing art thief, and in those prior books the one thing that still stands out is his charm.Vicky and John's relationship has its rocky bits, but it certainly feels real and affectionate to me. I also adore Vicky's boss Schmidt as a character. Everytime he's mentioned he reminds me of a more bungling Hercule Poirot or possibly Indy's friend Remy from the Young Indiana Jones TV show...just not Belgian. I don't know, maybe it's the magnifying glass he loves to take with him everywhere. And in this book, Anton Z. Schmidt finally comes into his own in the coolest possible way. Yay!

I suppose it's a bit obvious that I've grown to love the characters in the Vicky Bliss novels, and I'm happy to see everything work out so well. This may not be my favorite or the best worked out of the Vicky Bliss novels, but it certainly didn't disappoint me. Elizabeth Peters once again delivers an intriguing mystery, addresses certain issues facing museums in an interesting way, and lets the reader spend time with her wonderfully zany characters (including a bit of a bow to the Amelia Peabody series).

Definitely a good read, I'd recommend it - just not as a place to start the series. That would be Borrower of the Night.

Also posted at my blog. ( )

Bliss indeed! Another Vicky Bliss/John Tregarth (aka Sir John Smythe) book -- This one was as fun as Street of the Five Moons and others in the series. The book ties up lots of loose ends, but I still hope it isn't the last one.

Recently I was rereading The Camelot Caper, and was delighted to notice that John Tregarth, and his mother, Guinevere (Jen Tregarth), are featured. If you want to know what John was up to early on, you'll enjoy reading this one, too. ( )

I can't believe I waited fourteen years to read this book. I normally like Peters, under this name and Barbara Michaels, but this book was disappointing. It desperately needed editing. It was too drawn out, and too boring. ( )

A sparkling addition (and finale?) to the Vicky Bliss series. It suffers only by comparison to the divine "Night Train to Memphis" and "Trojan Gold", the two previous books; I suppose the series couldn't maintain that emotional pitch indefinitely. Also, this book seems comparatively short, and doesn't have as much time to develop the plot and involve the reader's sympathies.

I was thrilled to be among Vicky, John, Schmidt (particularly Schmidt) and Feisal again; some other old friends make an appearance as well. As always, Schmidt gets all the best scenes.

Fans of the Amelia Peabody mysteries will be delighted by some references to the series, as well as the promised revelation of the connection between two of Peters' best-loved characters.

Bliss of the finest kind. ( )