The Falcon at the Portal

Elizabeth Peters
aka Barbara Mertz

If you haven't gotten involved with Amelia Peabody Emerson and her family, do not read this book yet. Go back to the first one like The Crocodile on the Sandbank or perhaps The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog. This one is excellent if you are involved with the family already. If not, you will not appreciate this novel.

OK, so it's supposed to be a mystery, and it is. Someone is selling forged Egyptian artifacts and blaming the Emerson's adopted son, David. They need to find the culprit before David and Lia return from their honeymoon. The mystery is pretty good, too.

But the real story in this one is the family relations. As the children become young adults and old friends die, the dynamics have changed. Ramses and Nefret are as involved in solving the mystery as Amelia is. Ramses and Nefret both have romance issues as well. Nefret keeps turning down marriage proposals. Ramses is pursued by a young American who is in Cairo with her brother and his friend. Before this book was done I had to put it down more than once because I was upset with the characters. When it was finished I knew it was a good thing I did not know them in person or someone would have been in deep trouble with me before the book was done, never mind with the rest of the Emerson clan.

This is an excellent (if frustrating) addition to the Emerson family saga. Do not read it on its own. Too much hinges on past novels.

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