| In the middle of the dreary English
winter, Amelia and Radcliffe are opining for Egypt. The
inevitable result of their marriage, namely their son Walter Peabody
Emerson or "Ramses", had resulted in their
confinement to England until he became old enough to withstand the
rigors of Archaeological digging. (Elizabeth Peters discusses Ramses in her introduction to the Armchair
Detective Edition of this book.)
Then, on a stormy night, Lady
Baskerville bursts into their sitting room to declare that
"Radcliffe" was the only person she trusts to take over
the excavations that she and her late (very recently late..) husband
were conducting in the Valley of the Kings.
The Lady Baskerville is very
beautiful and very persuasive, and seems to have known "Radcliffe"
at some former time. Amelia, fighting back her instinct to
eject the Lady immediately, bravely suggests that Emerson should
take up the position while she stays home with Ramses. But
Emerson, knowing that he would be miserable without
"Peabody", states he won't go without her.
Packing Ramses off to stay with
Evelyn and Walter Emerson, they embark on the next steamer to
Alexandria.
Once in Luxor, the trouble
begins. Bodies are falling all about them and Emerson and
Amelia are forced to solve the mysteries of the murders so that they
can have a little peace and quiet to excavate the tomb.
Abdullah and the skilled excavation
crew of Egyptians trained by Emerson return in this book, and will
feature in most of the succeeding volumes.
Ramses is introduced in this book,
along with the English servants who pop up in later volumes.
This book also introduces three
recurring characters - Cyrus Vandergelt, Bastet the cat, and Kevin
O'Connell, reporter for The Daily Yell.
Three recurring themes are confirmed
for the series of books - matchmaking and young lovers, antiquities
theft and murder, and the competition between Emerson and Amelia to
solve the mystery.
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