Roy Acuff and his Smoky Mountain Boys and Girls - Night Train to Memphis (From "Cowboy Canteen" Columbia, 1943)
If not for Falcon At the Portal/He Shall Thunder in the Sky, it would be my favorite of all Elizabeth Peters’ novels. Everything about it is perfect.
Still very funny though at the same time--Schmidt, as always, adds much in the way of comic relief, and Suzi is pretty entertaining as well. This one featured Vicky on a Nile cruise, trying to find out who of the passengers is a crook and running across an old “friend.” Sadly, this returning friend is a bit of a jerk until about halfway through. But the novel is still an entertaining read. In Trojan GOld he was superfluous, in Night Train to Memphis, he was pivotal.
Still, I might give it another try, just in case my ill temper about it has mellowed since I first read it. Just a smashing little read!This might be my favorite Vicky Bliss. Yet in this story, she frequently was a wishy-washy damsel in distress relying on others to save her and getting furious at them for doing so. And right in the shadow of the Sphinx she sp'An assistant curator of Munich's National Museum, Vicky Bliss is no expert on Egypt, but she does have a PhD in solving crimes.
The only thing I didn't like about this book was how long it took to end after the denouement. A romance; certainly not a whodunit. And right in the shadow of the Sphinx she spots him.
This one is about 50% longer than earlier titles, as the writer moves through the market-induced book inflation of the later part of last century, and thus not so readable-in-a-day. Barbara Mertz is one of my favorite authors under both her pen names, Elizabeth Peters or Barbara Michaels. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
And sneaking the Peabody Emersons in is soooooo awesome, and leads to a lot of utterly fruitless chronology matching (which doesn’t work well because Vicky is thoroughly untethered in time. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, the dialog, the setting, and the plotting. I do wonder what, if anything, she'll do toward closure.this is one of those books that I read every time I need to feel better. And there's Feisal.
It is a good light-hearted read.
“I do hope you have some money. I adore it. I'm getting tired of hitting people.” And he was very present in this installment of Vicky Bliss. The police suspect that some professional thieves will be on board and hope that Vicky can assist in identifying them. Great sense of humour blended with action and adventure. Continuing my Bliss binge week, although it might be well to take a short break. Shades of Amelia Peabody and the Master Criminal.
by Grand Central Publishing Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Well read. . His German accent is delightful and his mixing of American sayings is very funny. The first book had an interesting plot but I hated all of the characters. And he was very present in this installment of Vicky Bliss. . Loved it! In fact, the ending is just so good, that now I wonder if that's partly why the sixth book disturbs me so much--it really does feel completely unnecessary. A better secondary character can't be found! There's action, love, and crime... what else do you need on a rainy day?What did I just read? This is a fun mystery story with lots of action. So it's kind of wacky plot-wise, the character stuff is great, and Elizabeth Peters is at her best when she's mocking something.