Review: The Painted Queen
Joan Hess has done an excellent job completing this manuscript. Amelia Peabody readers can rest assured this entry in the series was handled deftly and lovingly. For readers who prefer reading the series in chronological order rather than publishing order, I believe this story takes place between The Falcon at the Portal and He Shall Thunder in the Sky. In The Falcon at the Portal Nefret and Ramses discover they love each other, fight, and she is tricked into marrying the villain of the book, who is killed attempting to murder Amelia. This book isn’t just a place to tie up some loose ends that are only alluded to as having happened in Thunder (which it does very nicely by the way). It is tightly woven, with a well-done mystery. I confess I did guess the identities of the last two villains early on, but I suspect that was because as a writer myself I could find no other reason for their presence in the story, although their antics did make a nice distraction.
Amelia Peabody Mysteries In Chronological Order
Crocodile on the Sandbank (1884-1885)
Curse of the Pharaohs (1892-1893)
The Mummy Case (1894-1895)
Lion in the Valley (1895-1896)
Deeds of the Disturber (1896)
The Last Camel Died at Noon (1897-1898)
The Snake, the Crocodile, and the Dog (1898-1899)
The Hippopotamus Pool (1899-1900)
Seeing a Large Cat (1903-1904)
The Ape Who Guards the Balance (1906-1907)
Guardian of the Horizon (1907-1908)
A River in the Sky (1910)
The Falcon at the Portal (1911-1912)
The Painted Queen (1912-1913)
He Shall Thunder in the Sky (1914-1915)
Lord of the Silent (1915-1916)
The Golden One (1916-1917)
Children of the Storm (1919-1920)
Serpent on the Crown (1921-1922)
Tomb of the Golden Bird (1922-1923)
