Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody Murder Mystery): An Amelia Peabody Murder Mystery [Paperback]

Amelia Peabody muscles her way straight into your mind and then into your slightly perturbed heart. Armed with her surprisingly rigid parasol she makes it her duty to prod and seduce everyone in sight around to her way of thinking. From Evelyn, the swooning waif to sexy dark Radcliffe Emerson, the critical archeaologist Amelia takes them all by storm (with a fair amount of prodding) while simultaneously indulging her passion for pyramids, egyptology and mystery along the way.

Don't expect a completely impreganable plot. By about 50 pages from the end I was pretty sure I knew "who done it", but the whole book is constructed in such a way that you don't really care. Throw in plenty of romance and a very important pavement, and there's a recipe for complete escapism. Up until the final line I was completely hooked - I couldn't put it down and spent five hours solid reading. On the day I finished it I ordered the next four.

This book is by no means her first or her last - there are now 12 more in the Amelia Peabody mysteries (and more coming), as well as the Vicky Bliss mysteries and the Jaqueline Kirkby mysteries (all worth reading). But well before giving birth to the wonderous creation that is Amelia Peabody, Peter's was writing one gothic novel romance/mystery after another under the name Barbara Michaels. In between all these releases (I think she's about 35-40 fiction books to her two names) she found time to write her non-fiction egyptology books as well!

Elizabeth Peter's knows what she's talking about - she has a PhD in Egyptology and while the Peabody books weren't written to stretch the intellect they have the power to entertain over and over. The facts and details aren't laboured over but smoothly adhere to the action. Enjoy!

I bought "Crocodile on the Sandbank" almost on a whim after a friend recommended it to me. I then promptly left it to gather dust on my bookshelf for six months, before picking it up again recently to finally sit down and read it.

I am quite furious with myself for those six months I spent ignoring it. "Crocodile on the Sandbank" is a wonderful story, filled with vibrant, likable characters. Amelia Peabody, the protagonist, is strong-minded, outspoken, and something of a Victorian superheroine: she rescues forlorn waifs from the streets of Rome, she speaks four languages, and she can archeologise just as well as any man! Surprisingly, the presence of a character so obviously written to be liked by readers does not become tiresome, largely, I suspect, because Amelia isn't just talk: she is tremendously loyal to her friends, as well as being brave, compassionate, and genuinely unafraid to put herself in danger to help those in need.

Admittedly the novel is a little too "nice" and inoffensive: the heroes are as clearly-defined as if they were wearing white hats throughout, and the villains practically twirl black moustaches in the most dastardly manner imaginable. I found myself at certain points in the novel raising a cynical eyebrow at the characters' (especially Amelia's) attitude to premarital sex. However, I admit that this can be put down both to a need to keep the story moving forward (I believe I would have killed myself in despair had every character Evelyn encountered reached for his or her smelling salts upon the discovery that she was not a virgin), as well as the fact that it is made quite clear from the start that Amelia is a little unusual for a Victorian lady.

If I have one major complaint with the novel as a whole, it's that the mystery wasn't quite mysterious enough for my liking, taking a backseat to the development of the relationships between the characters. While character development (obviously!) is no bad thing, I prefer mysteries to focus on the mystery at hand.

Actually, I lie; I have one final complaint. I'm not sure whether Peters or the publisher is to blame, but I disliked the insertion of a mini "biography" of Amelia at the beginning of the book, mainly because it gave away a key plot development! Admittedly this particular development hardly required a Mensa-level of intelligence to predict, but I still felt a little put out.

That being said, it is a wonderful first book in a series, and I look forward to reading its many sequels. Highly recommended to fans of Egypt, mysteries, archeology, the Victorians, or just good, old-fashioned adventure stories!

Wherever Amelia Peavody goes, she has two very useful assets: her moral principles (solid victorian upbringing) and her umbrella (great against the rain, the desert sun and any rascals that may attempt to hurt her or her friends).In fact, one of the funniest things about this character is how, by way of scrupulously and strictly following her ethical code --which is supposed to be shared by all her fellow countrymen--, she manages to be an extravagant outsider, almost a revolutionary. And the whodonit plot seems a showcase for this, since it actually provides perfect occasions for Amelia to assert her ideas and character. Another very funny thing about this character is her love life. The romantic part of this book follows the well known (and irresistible, if well done)hate-at-first-sight-that-turns-into-love formula. And I warn you....you will inevitably fall in love with Emmerson!