Audiobook Review: The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peters

The Painted Queen
Author: Elizabeth Peters & Joan Hess
Narrator: Barbara Rosenblat
Series: Amelia Peabody (Book 20)
Publication: HarperAudio (July 25, 2017)
Length: 13 hours and 18 minutes

Description: Egypt, 1912—Amelia Peabody and her dashing archeologist husband, Radcliffe Emerson, are once again in danger as they search for a priceless, stolen bust of legendary Queen Nefertiti and Amelia finds herself the target of assassins in this long-awaited, eagerly anticipated final installment of Elizabeth Peters’ bestselling, beloved mystery series.

Arriving in Cairo for another thrilling excavation season, Amelia is relaxing in a well-earned bubble bath in her elegant hotel suite in Cairo, when a man with knife protruding from his back staggers into the bath chamber and utters a single word—"Murder"—before collapsing on the tiled floor, dead. Among the few possessions he carried was a sheet of paper with Amelia’s name and room number, and a curious piece of pasteboard the size of a calling card bearing one word: "Judas." Most peculiarly, the stranger was wearing a gold-rimmed monocle in his left eye.

It quickly becomes apparent that someone saved Amelia from a would-be assassin—someone who is keeping a careful eye on the intrepid Englishwoman. Discovering a terse note clearly meant for Emerson—Where were you?"—pushed under their door, there can be only one answer: the brilliant master of disguise, Sethos.

But neither assassins nor the Genius of Crime will deter Amelia as she and Emerson head to the excavation site at Amarna, where they will witness the discovery of one of the most precious Egyptian artifacts: the iconic Nefertiti bust. In 1345 B.C. the sculptor Thutmose crafted the piece in tribute to the great beauty of this queen who was also the chief consort of Pharaoh Akhenaten and stepmother to King Tutankhamun.

For Amelia, this excavation season will prove to be unforgettable. Throughout her journey, a parade of men in monocles will die under suspicious circumstances, fascinating new relics will be unearthed, a diabolical mystery will be solved, and a brilliant criminal will offer his final challenge . . . and perhaps be unmasked at last.

My Thoughts: This episode was begun by Peters before her death and finished by her friend and fellow author Joan Hess. 

It's 1912 and the Peabody/Emerson clan has two problems to solve. One has to do with an exquisite bust of Nefertiti and the many forged copies of it floating around Cairo. The other problem has to do with semi-incompetent assassins with monocles who are chasing after Amelia and Ramses.

The missing bust problem brings in potential German goals of disrupting the Egyptian government so that Egypt can be conquered by Germany. There are drugs and drugged archaeologists and a hirsute missionary who is trying to convince the Copts to start a revolution. Ramses and David spend a lot of time in Cairo trying to chase down the original Nefertiti and running afoul of the German embassy.

Meanwhile, Amelia is supposed to be under close supervision to thwart any more assassination attempts while they are digging at Amarna, but she's her usual intrepid and headstrong self and gets into and out of many dangerous situations. 

This was an other excellent episode in an engaging historical mystery series. 

I bought this one at Chirp August 12, 2023. You can buy your copy here.