The Mummy Case, by Elizabeth Peters

I promised myself when I read The Curse of the Pharohs that I wouldn't wait long before reading the next book in , by Elizabeth Peters's Amelia Peabody series. And I didn't: I started book # 3, The Mummy Case, almost immediately.

They first saw the mummy case carelessly propped against the Baroness' grand piano like some outré parlor ornament. It was a relatively insignificant mummy case, as such things go ... and no one suspected the mystery behind its enigmatic façade.

Once again, daring Victorian Egyptologist Amelia Peabody and her handsome, irascible husband Radcliffe Emerson embark on an adventurous archaeological dig in Egypt...and as usual, they unearth a mystery as intriguing as an ancient tomb... and far more dangerous.

Joined by their precocious young son Ramses and his Egyptian cat Bastet, the fearless Amelia and Radcliffe pit themselves squarely against a hand of murderers to unlock the secret behind...THE MUMMY CASE

Another very strong entry in the series. A B+.

What I always love about this series is present here: Amelia and Emerson's interactions, a fascinating case, lots and lots of early archeology. But this book introduces an extra, which is seeing Ramses in Egypt. He'd already stolen every scene he was in in The Curse of the Pharaohs, and he keeps doing it in this one, only there are many more of them. Seeing Ramses explore new grounds and hearing his precocious observations was one of the high points of the book.

The only thing I didn't like much was the way Amelia kept shushing him, never allowing him to speak and impart vital clues. That was funny the first few times, but by the end of the book, it was already becoming tedious.

I can't wait to start Lion in the Valley now, especially because I seem to remember there's quite a bit more of Sethos in that one. The ending of this one was a good introduction, but I want more!