The Painted Queen (Amelia Peabody, #20)

The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had mixed feelings about the book knowing that it is the last and that Joan Hess actually wrote it, as Elizabeth Peters passed away before writing it. That said Hess did an excellent job copying Elizabeth Peters style and speaking in Amelia Peabody's voice.

Frankly I spent a bit of time being annoyed due to the fact that Elizabeth Peters starting writing the books out of order. So we are supposed to forget that we know that Sethos is Emerson's half brother, we are suppose to forget that the baby Nefret miscarried was actually Ramses' and we are supposed to forget that Nefret and Ramses are married in a former book. And since it has been awhile since the last book I had trouble fitting this one into a time line. Especially as I was sure that the big reveal about Sethos relationship to the family occurred before Nefret married Geoffery Goodwin due to a misunderstanding with Ramses.

Mysteries men with monocles are trying to kill Amelia and Ramses. Nefret reveals that she thinks they are Geoffery Goodwin's relatives seeking revenge for his death. Their names are Judas, Cromwell, Absalom, Guy and Flitworthy (although Flitworthy actually changed his name). Needless to say none of them including their Mother meet with success in killing Amelia and Ramses and all meet with endings fitting with their names.

Sethos is kept busy rescuing Amelia from the assassins and helping Ramses and David retrieve the bust of Queen Nefertiti and the numerous copies a forger made of it. And Amelia unravels the cause of Herr Morgenstern's strange behavior and uncovers a plot to use the Coptic Christians in Egypt to foment rebellion.

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