The Laughter of Dead Kings

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 show more 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. show less

I really enjoyed this installment in the Vicky Bliss series. From the author's introduction (where she explains away the inconsistencies of time with the "current now") to the concluding paragraphs where an explicit connection to the Amelia Peabody series is made and there is a shadowy appearance by Ms. Peters herself. It is all lots of fun (and of course there is a very satisfying conclusion to the Vickie-John romance. The mystery is a good one and I enjoyed reuniting with such characters as Schmidt.

When Night Train to Memphis was published in 1994, I eagerly awaited the next installment in the Vicky Bliss/John Smythe series. As year after year went by, I came to the sad conclusion that there would never be another novel.

You can imagine how delighted I was when I learned that there would be a new book in the series. I bought Laughter of Dead Kings the very day it came out. The sixth entry in this series was wonderful, albeit not as good as some of the other books in the series, particularly Street of the Five Moons and the lovely Trojan Gold. John and Vicky were wonderful, but Anton Z. Schmidt -- ah, the clever and debonair Schmidt -- was better than ever! I know John is supposed to be the love interest, but it's Schmidt who is my show more hero. I've fallen in love!

With so much suspense, cleverness, laughs, and twists and turns, Laughter of Dead Kings was definitely worth the wait! Thank you, Elizabeth Peters! show less

I've always loved the Vicky Bliss novels. Now I have no idea why. This one isn't well written and it lacks the sparkling banter of the others. Plus there's an egregious authorial self-insertion and overall it feels like something to make money. This series definitely ended at Night Train to Memphis for me. And probably at Trojan Gold.

It was nice to see Schmidt in action as best swordsman in Europe, and I liked Feisal and several of the other new characters. But I was disappointed that Vicky herself drove so little of the action -- really, only one little bit, late in the book; otherwise, she took a back seat. John was absent for much of the book, and their characteristic banter was also on mute much of the time they were together. So, really, the book was fan service -- and although I would have preferred another substantive entry, I'm a fan, so I appreciated the fan service.

... 2020/05/22 update: Fan service in particular for the connections to the Amelia Peabody series, and the "guest appearance" of the author herself.

There were tie-ins with the Amelia Peabody series that I did not recognize as they happened. The plot was incoherent as usual. Still fun, but mawkish. The substantive bits of Egyptology and archaeology that were thrown in were welcome. This book, written shortly before Peters's death, represents Peters's realization that her fans just like her works set in Egypt the best.

The Laughter of Dead Kings was the first book I’ve read in the Vicky Bliss series and while I thought a few parts of it were rather predictable, I enjoyed the story very much.

Many books in a series such as this one have difficulty including the mention of previous novels, the retelling of each incident becomes monotones or obnoxious to the point where you think, “Here we go again. Can we just get on with THIS story? That’s what I’m here for.” Such is not the case with this book. I understood that the characters had histories with each other, but the book stood well on its own and the mention of previous adventures had a very natural flow within the action of the “present time” so that I felt myself wanting to know more show more about the past without being taken fully out of the plot I was currently settled in to. In fact, the only thing that threw me was that everyone seemed to be constantly eating, which was more a point of amusement than anything else. Use these many meals as a way to keep track of the passage of time and you’ll get too caught up in counting and trying to keep track. Just go with it. In the end, that’s what makes a good adventure anyway; the ability to get caught up in the journey. show less