The Curse of the Pharaohs - Elizabeth Peters

The Curse of the Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this less than the first book in the series, partly because a lot of it was so similar to that book. An archaeological dig is in peril due to local superstitions about a curse, exacerbated by disappearances, ghostly sightings and deaths. If I hadn't just read the first book last month, I might have liked it better.

I also missed some of the cast from the first book. Walter and Evelyn were absent, and there were no new characters who balanced the intensity of Amelia and Emerson (which is needed, I think) or that I really cared about. There was lots of shouting and arguing, all very humorously, but I wished there was more about the excavation and less of the people. I was actually thankful when Amelia used her parasol on one of the characters!

Now to the mystery. Amelia is sure she knows who is behind all the dead bodies, but we don't get many clues along the way, and don't know what she's thinking until all is revealed. There were enough possible culprits that I really had no idea who it was until the end, but I didn't feel like I had enough information to figure it out, so the mystery was a bit lacking. It was more like a suspense novel with an abundance of 'calm in the face of calamity' and witty conversation along the way.

All that said, I still found Amelia and Emerson entertaining, even if they are a bit over the top. And the 19th Century Egyptian archaeology setting is fun. I think I just need to wait longer between installments so that I don't mind the recycled elements. That, and expect the mystery to be solved for me by mysterious logic and intuition behind the scenes because it's more about Amelia being right than the mystery itself.