The Snake, the Crocodile and the Dog

This seventh volume of the adventures of Victorian Egyptologist Amelia Peabody Emerson is very much a serial installment. It is hard to imagine enjoying it much without having read several of the earlier books, especially The Crocodile on the Sandbank, Lion in the Valley, and The Last Camel Died at Noon. In fact, this text frequently deploys the advertising footnote: dropping the title of a previous novel into the bottom margin of the page in order to explicate an allusion to earlier adventures. The feature reminds me of nothing so much as 1960s and 70s Marvel comic books, with the continuity cross-references jammed into the corners of panels. The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog also continues author Peters' metafictional jockeying of show more material from H. Rider Haggard. This time, she introduces Leo Vincey--a character whose name is lifted from the protagonist of Haggard's She.

The occasional line drawings introduced in The Last Camel Died at Noon do not persist in The Snake, but there are still several maps to help the reader understand the path of the expedition. The maps are clear, but it's hard to refer to them, because they are inserted individually in the course of the text, and there is no table or index to note their locations. On a related issue, the "Editor's Note" at the beginning refers quite inaccurately to a glossary appendix on "page 339," evidently failing to account for the revised pagination of the paperback edition I read.

I was a little worried by the addition of yet another dependent to the Emerson household at the end of the previous book, and I wondered how an exciting pace could be maintained in the face of such elaborate parental concerns. Peters thankfully managed to have the Emersons leave the children in England for the 1898 archaeological expedition to Egypt in The Snake, and the occasional letters from young Ramses provide excellent comic relief, as well as a clever supplementary plot-line. The relief is necessary, in my view, because of the circumstance of Radcliffe Emerson's traumatic amnesia, which gives this story more tension and sadness than were typical of the earlier volumes. The resolution of the plot involves multiple "reveals," the later of which certainly caught me off-guard. But there's also an intimation of a significant plot point undetected by the narrating sleuth Amelia herself. I'm sure it will be fulfilled in later stories. show less

I very much enjoyed this installment of the further adventures of Amelia Peabody. Amelia and Emerson are on their own in Egypt (sans Ramses) and, as usual, someone is trying to harm them. Now an old married couple, Amelia longs for the early days of their courtship. All I can say is, be careful for what you wish for - you just might get it! Lo and behold, Emerson is kidnapped and when he is finally found he has amnesia and has no memory of ever meeting Amelia - much less marrying her! As Amelia copes with this new (but very much like the old) Emerson, they try to determine who is after them and why. Much humor (Ramses letters to his parents are hilarious) and I very much enjoyed the character of Cyrus Vandergelt, their American friend.

(Originally reviewed at thelibraryladies.com.)

And we’re back for my first Amelia Peabody review of the year! After coming out on the top of my favorite reads list from 2016, I had high expectations for this book and this series. But, most comforting of all, even this far into the series, I had very few worries that I would not enjoy this book as much as I have the many that have come before it. Trust has been built, and I can now look forward to each next book in this series with very little trepidation.

“The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog” opens with Amelia and Evelyn pining for the adventure and romance of the past. Neither is unhappy with their life, full as each is by family and profession, but both Amelia and Evelyn spend show more moments reminiscing for the romantic passions they remember pre-children. And from these honest and natural feelings, comes very unwanted results, at least for Amelia. After returning to Egypt for another season, Amelia is looking forward to a rare opportunity to work alone with Emerson, as Ramses has chosen to remain in England for…school (to moon over Nefret, more likely). But these simple plans are suddenly foiled when Emerson is kidnapped and, while escaping the experience with his life, loses his memories in the process, including the fact that he was ever married to a woman named Amelia Peabody.

Generally, I am very suspicious of the whole amnesia plot tactic. This probably stems from being burned in early childhood by the egregious and completely unacceptable use of an amnesia story being thrown into my beloved “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” and essentially triggering the beginning of the end for the series as a whole. But I won’t go on another rant about that, though it’s is difficult to resist. However, here, Peters uses it as simply another foil to Amelia’s ever-lasting quest to simply get through an archeological season without murder and mystery.

Having read the series up to this point over the last few years, it was interesting being thrown back in time, essentially, to the character that Emerson was pre-Amelia. I have to say, I’m not sure he deserved her, based on his behavior here! I haven’t re-read the original story, but I have to think that this version of the character was fairly true to how he was written then, and in one word, he’s kind of an ass. I have gotten accustomed to his gruffness and easy piques of anger always being balanced by his love and respect for Amelia. But without her influence or his desire to appease her sense of rightness, these quirks suddenly start overcoming the more appealing parts of his character. However, Amelia remains steadfast to winning him back throughout it all, even if we, the readers, want to smack him up the backside of the head (though she does employ similar tactics in her “wooing”).

The mystery itself is quite a tangled web with many villains re-appearing from past books. Probably the most challenging part of the story was trying to remember these characters and keep their histories straight in my head. There is typically a large cast of characters in these books, but we’re often meeting them for the first time and thus given time to acquaint ourselves. Here, while brief introductions are given, a lot is left to the reader to fill in gaps. I feel like the suspects would have been better rounded out had these histories and motivations been a bit better documented, for those of us who don’t have an encyclopedic memory of the series as a whole.

I also enjoyed the fact that the Nefret storyline wasn’t completely dropped in this book. Most of the previous books can be read as standalones, and that is true of this one as well, for the most part. But the adventures and outcomes of “The Last Camel Died at Noon” introduced lasting effects on the Emerson-Peabody family going forward. Not only do we have a new character whom we can only assume will be a major staple in the series in the future, but her sudden appearance and secret history would be largely commented on by society as a whole. On the more intimate character level, I loved Amelia’s struggles with adapting to being a mother figure for a daughter as well as a son, and her realization that their needs are very different. And on a larger story level, I appreciated the fact that the happenings of the previous book were paramount to the mystery we have here while still allowing the book to be read on its own. It is a tricky balance to maintain, but one that I feel Peters pulled off very effectively.

While the amnesia storyline was handled for the most part very well, this book does highlight a trend for my views on the series as a whole. I understand that perhaps the author was concerned that the happy and stable relationship between Amelia and Emerson might come across as tired, book after book, and she felt compelled to throw wrenches into the work. But the two books were this tactic was more prominently used (this story with the amnesia, and “Deeds of the Distruber” where there is much confusion and distrust between the two) were both on the lower end of my ratings. I still very much enjoyed them, but I, at least, don’t need relationship drama from this series to remain interested and when it’s present, it doesn’t add much to the series as a whole.

But, as I said, I still very much enjoyed it and am happily looking forward to the next! show less

Amelia Peabody and Radcliff Emerson, highly likeable sleuths, lead us on a merry chase in Egypt which includes twists and turns, a case of amnesia, and a variety of nefarious adversaries, all against the hauntingly beautiful backdrop of desert archaeological exploration. This is the first Elizabeth Peters book I've read, but I don't think it will be the last. I love the first person perspective and Ameila is a wonderful champion for women in a time gone by. There are references to previous escapades, but they don't interfere and in fact, make me want to read earlier stories to catch up on the details of how Amelia and Radcliff met. I would recommend this book for a good, quick read, with a dashing pace, a satisfying conclusion and show more dashes of charming British humor. show less

How do you add romantic interest to a series where the romantic leads have been married for the last five books? Give one of them amnesia, of course! There are the normal twists and turns involved in this latest adventure, but by far the most fun is watching Amelia "woo" Emerson again. I'm also enjoying how much Ramses gets under Amelia's skin - for precisely the same character traits that she also possesses!

In this seventh Amelia Peabody adventure, Amelia and Emerson travel to Egypt without Ramses who has chosen to stay at home because Nefret is remaining there. But Amelia and Emerson don't need Ramses to get in trouble.

It seems that there is a villain who doesn't believe that they do not know the way to the untold treasures they discovered in the Nubian desert and is willing to find the information any way he can. When attempts to kidnap Amelia are foiled, he switches his focus to Emerson.

Emerson is captured and Amelia must go to his rescue. With Abdullah's help, she finds him and mounts a rescue only to discover that Emerson has lost his memory. He can remember his early days in Egypt but all memory of Amelia and the life they have build show more together is gone.

As Amelia tries to bring back his memory and his love for her, she is assisted by Cyrus Vandergelt who, while helping her, is trying to further an agenda of his own.

The story is filled with action and adventure almost all narrated by the unique voice of Amelia who has her own interpretations of the actions of the other characters in the story. Long letters from Ramses detailing the activities back home in England bring his voice to the story too.

It took me a while to get used to Barbara Rosenblatt as the new narrator of this series. A first I thought that her voice was too "fruity" and too old. However, I did like the voices she chose for Emerson and Ramses and got used to her version of Amelia. show less

I've been reading the Amelia Peabody series in order, and this is my favorite so far. I'm not sure if it is the best written, or I am getting more attached to the characters the more I read! The books of this series would be adequate as stand-alone mysteries but are richest when read in order. Emerson's kidnapping and amnesia are wonderful plot twists! I can't wait to read the next installment. Highly recommended!