I also finished The Ape Who Guards The Balance, and it was also a B+. Good, but not one of my favourite Amelias.

The plot itself is good, no problem with that: it's pretty much standard Amelia (we do see Sethos again here, though, which is fun!). It's darker (the horrible murders!!), but ok. My problem is that the "Ramses pining for Nefret" is getting to be a bit too much, too drawn out. I love the two of them, and I think they'll be great together, but enough already!! I hope the next book is the one where something finally gets resolved.

Another thing I'm a bit sick of is all the foreshadowing. Especially when sometimes the "horrible event" which is foreshadowed isn't all that horrible, so you've got all bothered by something which doesn't live up to its billing. The horrible thing that does happen, however, comes out of the blue.

In a way, this one reminds me of the 4th Harry Potter. The characters are growing up, and in some ways their charmed existence is not so charmed any more.