2006 Audie® Award Winner - Mystery (Fiction)
New York Times bestselling master of suspense, Elizabeth Peters, brings an exotic world of adventure, intrigue, and danger to vivid life, in a tale as powerful as ancient Egypt.
The Emersons have returned to the Valley of the Kings in 1922 and Amelia Peabody and her family look forward to delving once more into the age-old mysteries buried in Egypt's ever-shifting sands. But a widow's strange story -- and even stranger request -- is about to plunge them into a storm of secrets, treachery, and murder.
The woman, a well-known author, has come bearing an ill-gotten treasure -- a golden likeness of a forgotten king -- which she claims is cursed. She insists it has taken the life of her husband and unless it is returned to the tomb from which it was stolen, more people will die.
Amelia and her clan resolve to uncover the secrets of the statue's origins, setting off on a trail that twists and turns in directions they never anticipated -- and, perhaps, toward an old nemesis with unscrupulous new designs. But each step toward the truth seems to reveal another peril, suggesting to the intrepid Amelia that the curse is more than mere superstition. And its next victim might well be a beloved family member ... or Amelia Peabody herself.
A novel filled with riveting suspense, pulse-pounding action, and the vibrant life of a fascinating place and time, The Serpent on the Crown is the jewel in the crown of a grand master, the remarkable Elizabeth Peters.
Performed by Barbara Rosenblat
Listening to Barbara Rosenblat is always a treat, but when she's performing an Amelia Peabody mystery (Elizabeth Peters's engrossing tales of the Egyptologist and her singularly brilliant brood), the treat becomes a feast. The Peabody-Emersons are in Egypt for the excavation season, and they're soon up to their Victorian manners and mores in murder. With an alleged curse upon a precious gold statue, an ersatz exorcism, and some very villainous villains, archaeological exploration has rarely been more entertaining. Elizabeth Peters's writing sparkles, and thanks to Barbara Rosenblat's bravura performance, every character is identifiable, every nuance is appropriate, and every subtlety speaks volumes. From Peabody's first pronouncement to Emerson's last "Harumph," Rosenblat reaffirms her position as one of the industry's shining stars. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award 2006 Audie Award Winner (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine
