Audiobook Review: The Last Camel Died at Noon by Elizabeth Peters

The Last Camel Died at Noon
Author: Elizabeth Peters
Narrator: Susan O'Malley
Series: Amelia Peabody (Book 6)
Publication: Blackstone Audio (February 26, 2004)
Length: 13 hours and 5 minutes

Description: The last camel is dead, and Egyptologist Amelia Peabody, her dashing husband, Emerson, and precocious son, Ramses, are in dire straits on the sun-scorched desert sands. Months before, back in cool, green England, Viscount Blacktower had approached them to find his son and his son's new bride, who have been missing in war-torn Sudan for over a decade. An enigmatic message scrawled on papyrus and a cryptic map had been delivered to Blacktower, awakening his hope that the couple was still alive.

Neither Amelia nor Emerson believes the message is authentic, but the treasure map proves an irresistible temptation. Now, deep in Nubia's vast wasteland, they discover too late how much treachery is afoot (and on camelback)...and survival depends on Amelia's solving a mystery as old as ancient Egypt and as timeless as greed and revenge.

My Thoughts: Deliberately written to sound like the works of H. Rider Haggard, this Amelia Peabody adventure was filled with over-the-top melodrama and adventure. 

This year's dig is planned for the Sudan but before they can get started, Amela, Emerson, and Ramses are off following a dubious map to locate an explorer and his wife who have been missing for twelve years. However, the map also hints at an archaeological treasure: the remnants of a long dead culture.

From almost dying of thirst in the desert to finding themselves in the middle of a Royal coup, Amelia, Emerson, and Ramses have all they can handle. And despite Emerson's pleas, Amelia gets involved with the aristocracy and even helps out a pair of young lovers. 

I enjoyed the now-ten-year-old Ramses part in this story and only wish the Amelia would spend more time listening to what he has to say. However, that would shorten the story and I enjoyed every action-packed minute of this audiobook narrated by Susan O'Malley.

I got this one via Audible Plus. You can buy your copy here.