The 1911 archaeological season brings more problems for the Peabody/Emerson family. It starts well with David and Lia's marriage. But when David is accused of forgery, it isn't only his reputation that is in danger. David has become involved in the Egyptian nationalism movement which puts him in danger from those trying to thwart that movement.

A young woman develops a crush on Ramses which isn't unusual but her murdered body being found in a shaft in the area where the Emersons are excavating is. The young woman's brother is determined to bring Ramses to justice despite the fact that the death has been judged an accident and Ramses had done nothing to encourage the woman.

In fact, Ramses and Nefret are finally becoming involved now that Nefret has realized that she is in love with him. However, the day after they spend their first night together, a procurer brings a woman and young child to the Emersons claiming that the child is Ramses's daughter. Nefret impulsively runs away and marries another archaeologist who has been hanging around her. Ramses and his parents know that he is not the child's father but, rather, that the child is Cousin Percy's.

Cousin Percy hasn't changed much since their first encounter. He's still unprincipled and sly and a blatant British chauvinist. He has also been courting Nefret despite her constant refusals.

This was a more emotionally intense episode than earlier books in the series. I liked that we got more of the story from Ramses' point of view even though I still enjoy Amelia's unique viewpoint. ( )

Amelia Peabody y su familia regresan a Egipto para verse de nuevo envueltos en mil y un problemas. Esta vez, su joven amigo David es acusado de vender antigüedades falsas. Cuando están buscando al culpable, aparece el cadáver de una americana en unas excavaciones y una niña con misteriosos antecedentes amenaza con provocar una crisis familiar. La arqueóloga no se echará atrás, empleando siempre sus poderes de deducción, pero alguien la tiene en el punto de mira...

Due to certain things that I had deduced from various sources, I knew that this book would have some morally touchy elements. I thought that I could stand it, for once. But after reading the prequel to this one (Guardian of the Horizon) I was less than impressed... ( )

Synopsis: ' It is 1911 and Amelia and husband Emerson receive a mysterious accusation of antiquities forgery leveled against family friend David, who is just about to marry Amelia's niece Lia. More intrigue and mystery build up when the Emersons return to Egypt: bullets aimed at Amelia, the discovery of a young American's corpse at their excavation site, and the appearance of a small girl of mysterious parentage.'
Review: There are lots of twists in the plot. David and Lia are finally wed, but they are off to a rough start not only because of David's ethnicity, but because of the charges leveled against him. Percy's daughter leads Nefret to abandon Ramses. This particular story deals with lots of feelings and the beginnings of World War I.
Review: Well fine. I am glad that Percy has been eliminated. Nefret behaved stupidly. Really ready for what happens next. ( )

In which Ramses and Nefret make me believe in love for the briefest of moments and then tear out my heart and shatter it into tiny pieces and stomp on it.

I'm also going to call out Peters for the following passage, because what the fuck:

... I caught Emerson - he had put himself deliberately in my path - and he caught Nefret, who pulled him under the mistletoe and kissed him soundly. I had to put a stop to the kissing after a while.

Is that... meant to imply that Nefret was making out with her adoptive father in a way that made Amelia uncomfortable? Because that's SUPER GROSS AND WEIRD. And then it's never mentioned again. I am DISTURBED.
( )