The Emersons head back to the Lost Oasis first visited in The Last Camel Died at Noon when a messenger arrives saying that Tarek and his young son are very ill and in need of medical attention. But planning a secret expedition is not an easy thing.

The Emersons need to fool rival archaeologists, the military, and assorted treasure hunters on their way to the hidden city. But there are just so many suspicious characters surrounding their expedition. Ramses rescues Daria who is the property of a big game hunter who wants to know where the treasure is. He falls for her but she has her own agenda.

When they arrive at the lost city, they learn that their guide has misled them. There has been a coup which has removed Tarek from his throne and Tarek has survived to go off and be with his faction. But neither side in the conflict has enough forces to defeat the other.

The usurper has plans for Nefret which involve her being taken from the Emersons and forced to work for him to cement his legitimacy. But the Emersons aren't going to let that happen. Nor are they going to let either side start a war which will kill many on both sides. They are going to use their heroic status and reputations to make things go their way.

When Amelia learns that Sethos has his hand in the events, she keeps this news from Emerson but finds a way for Sethos to help her with her plans.

This was another excellent adventure in the Amelia Peabody series. I also enjoyed the parts of the story that were from Manuscript H. ( )

When we left Egypt in the spring of 1907, I felt like a defeated general who has retreated to lick his wounds (if I may be permitted a somewhat inelegant but expressive metaphor). Our archaeological season had experienced the usual ups and downs - kidnapping, murderous attacks, and the like - to which I was well accustomed. But that year disasters of an unprecedented scope had befallen us.

I struggled to get through this one and often tuned out of the audiobook, finding that when I focused again I really hadn't missed anything and could still follow what was going on. It was strange and frustrating to go back in the series timeline and deal with a pre-Ramses/Nefret relationship, knowing everyone survives (granted the main characters always do, but it still removed that element of suspense), and pre-Sethos revelations. The entire book seemed like filler to a series that didn't need it. Narrator Barbara Rosenblat, as always, brought Amelia and the cast to life and injected a familiar depth and humor to the characters that makes me keep coming back to this series. She got me through this book, but overall the plot and character actions did not hold up to standard Elizabeth Peters. ( )

If I could give it less, I would. Technically, after it hit a certain point I began to skim. Is she really that desperate that she is scraping out the dregs of the plotline barrel to come up with this? Also, it crossed a moral barrier that I just couldn't approve of... Really! The reason these books were so good was because they were clever, funny, originally voiced AND clean. ( )

https://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2021/08/2021101-guardian-of-horizon-elizabeth.htm... ( )