Kay's Bookshelf

The characters seemed to me flatter than they used to be in the previous books. Amelia is acting spinsterish, kicking with her parasol, dreaming of conspiracies and criticizing her son (she does love him but he sees him as a sort of a walking catastrophe). Emerson oscillates between bellowing and alluding to physical intimacy with his wife. At least Ramses is a very interesting small boy, way smarter than he should be at that age, speaking many languages including Coptic and sharing his parents’ love for archeology.

I found the mystery part also weak, especially the part where they realize that the mummy they once found, a mask they stole from a shop in Cairo and a random mummy case went together. No really, what were the odds of that happening and how can anyone be certain that a mask is precisely the one belonging to one particular mummy anyway? With only taking one glance at it? Seems a bit exaggerated to me, especially as there was no known previous connection to them whatsoever. Also, the idea of a crazed religious fanatic capable of anything for destroying a certain item seems a bit implausible to me (but I may be wrong).

This book is a sequel to:
Crocodile on the Seabank
The Curse of the Pharaohs

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Popularity: 1% [?]

The characters are quite believable in my eyes, and I found the two main ones especially enjoyable (as the other two spend more time looking at one another or worrying about one another than anything else). They are both no-nonsense people, ready to stand up for what they believe in and always ready to argue. Their love story is a bit sudden, meaning they are not interested in one another -> they kiss while in peril -> they want to get married, just like that. I would have liked perhaps a bit slower pace, like they should have had meaningful conversations together, whatever, anything to get them a bit close to make their attraction to each other a bit more believable. At least there are a few subtle hints scattered here and there but that’s about it.

The title comes from an ancient love poem: “The love of my beloved is on yonder side / A width of water is between us / And a crocodile waiteth on the sandbank.” (where the crocodile symbolizes all the perils a young love has to endure).

A likable enough book but to tell the truth I liked the other one a bit more. Worth a read though, especially if you’re into Egiptology, mystery or love stories. Just think about it, a book with that many sequels cannot be bad, can it?

This book is a prequel to:
The Curse of the Pharaohs
The Mummy Case

Amazon Affiliate. If you click an Amazon link and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Emerson is a very dynamic character, short-tempered but with a heart of gold. However it is quite funny to see how everyone in Egypt fears him (especially the wrong doers), calling him Father of the Curses and rarely daring to stand up to him. He loves theatrical effects and acting in disguise. He’s also very passionate when it comes to his work and a very careful archaeologist. Amelia is a strong willed woman, also in love with her work, and very courageous. She’s the only one who dares to stand up to her husband, knowing him to be the “more bark than bite” kind. The two are very much in love and make a wonderful couple, even though they spend about half of their time arguing about one thing or another.

This is sort of an Agatha Christie-like book, as we have a bunch of characters in the same household, each with his own secrets and schemes, which sometimes can seem enough to become murder reasons. We have not one but two detectives, both trying to put things together and find out who killed those people and why. The writing style is fast-paced and entertaining, so if you’re into mystery books you really should give this one a try.

The book is a sequel to:
Crocodile on the Seabank

The book is a prequel to:
The Mummy Case

Amazon Affiliate. If you click an Amazon link and buy something, I receive a small percentage of the purchase price.

Popularity: 2% [?]