Lord of the Silent

Elizabeth Peters
aka Barbara Mertz

The Emersons are in England during the early stages of World War I. London is being bombed by strange silver aircraft from Germany. The government is trying to recruit Ramses to join the English underground as a spy. All the Emersons are against this suggestion. Instead, Amelia, Emerson, Ramses, and Nefret, along with Sennia, return to Egypt for archeology instead.

Yet before they have been there any time at all, Ramses is attacked by one of the men who had worked with him the year before. He and Nefret go to Luxor to examine previous diggings, although in reality they are sent away by Amelia and Emerson to keep him safe. The two of them decide to turn this trip into a real honeymoon. In Cairo, the older Emersons investigate. Luxor is no safer for different reasons. Soon all four Emersons are sure there is a Master Criminal on the loose. Who is trying to impersonate Sethos?

The Lord of the Silent is wonderful for carrying through the Emersons' story. The mystery, though, is almost lost. Yes, they stumble across dead bodies (when don't they?). Yet even more than halfway through the book, I was trying to figure out what was supposed to be going on. It doesn't come together until almost the end. Then the reader looks back and sees how everything DOES tie together!

I enjoyed the book despite the lost mystery. With Ramses and Nefret married, the four of them are now redefining their relationship. The early Amelia Peabody novels (starting with The Crocodile on the Sandbank) were all solely from Amelia's viewpoint. Then as Ramses got older, his viewpoint was added on occasion. By this novel we have added Nefret's narration so the book is about half Amelia's and half Nefret's viewpoint. It makes the family relationships even more interesting. This one stands alone because it refers back to past incidences when needed. But it is stronger if read after the rest of the series, especially the last two, Falcon at the Portal and He Shall Thunder in the Sky.

Crocodile on the Sandbank
The Curse of the Pharaohs
The Mummy Case
Lion in the Valley
The Deeds of the Disturber
The Last Camel Died at Noon
The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog
The Hippopotamus Pool
Seeing a Large Cat
The Ape Who Guards the Balance
The Falcon at the Portal
He Shall Thunder in the Sky
The Lord of the Silent
The Golden One
Children of the Storm
Guardian of the Horizon
The Serpent on the Crown
Tomb of the Golden Bird
A River in the Sky

Naked Once More by Elizabeth Peters