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The Laughter of Dead Kings
A Vicky Bliss Murder Mystery - Book VI

by Elizabeth Peters



      Vicky Bliss is back, unchanged since her last adventure in 1995's Night Train to Memphis (also reviewed on this site).  Somebody has stolen an important Egyptian artifact, and her old friend Feisal is likely to get the blame.  Maybe it is the sort of thing Sir John Smythe might have done?  But he is adamant that he is not to blame.  This sends Vicky, John, Feisal and roly-poly boss Schmidt off on a chase across several countries, terminating in Egypt.  Once on the thief’s territory, they find that they need all their intelligence to try and outwit him, stop the pile of bodies getting any higher and retrieve the stolen item.

Vicky and her friends (and enemies) remain virtually unchanged from their first outing in the early 1970s, but the series has been updated for 2008.  Setting it in Egypt ensures there are many topical mentions of the current Middle East situation, so what you have is an intriguing blend of the old (a caper after the fashion of a 60s film) and the very new.  Like the last novel in the series it is also fairly long, and suffers from a considerable amount of repetition.  The characters spend a lot of time patting quips and insults back and forth, and much of the plot is predictable if you have read the other books in the series.  Vicky tells the story herself, which results in nothing being omitted; and although it makes the story seem immediate and sometimes suspenseful it can also make much of trivialities.  I miss the short lengths and pacy style of the first four novels, but if you are a fan after some quintessential later Elizabeth Peters you are sure to love it.

The Book

Robinson (Constable & Robinson)
October 2008
Hardback
1845297083 / 9781845297084
Mystery / Contemporary [Egypt and various other locations]
More at Amazon.com US || UK
Excerpt
NOTE: US edition is different

The Reviewer

Rachel A Hyde
Reviewed 2008
NOTE:
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