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Book Review By David Loftus
The Deeds of the Disturber by Elizabeth Peters

The fifth Amelia Peabody mystery takes place solely in England -- and mostly in London. A night watchman has been found dead, apparently of fright, in front of a mummy display at the British Museum. A little later an administrator in the museum's Egyptological section is found with his throat cut. Adding to the mystery are regular public appearances of a mysterious figure in an ancient Egyptian mask and leopard skin cloak, warning that the planned unwrapping of a mummy must not take place. The narrative quality of this book takes a step up from the preceding four for humor and entertainment -- especially since an exotic prostitute from Emerson's past turns up and raises jealousy issues for Amelia, and the couple are also saddled with the care of her brother's two children for several months; our heroes also pay visits to Madame Tussaud's and an opium den -- but the ending was a bit of a pat letdown for me. Peters continues to sprinkle interesting knowledge about ancient Egypt in her books, the Shakespearean references and VERY subtle allusions to Sherlock Holmes are a welcome touch, and it was a cute decision to make the dead museum guard's name Albert Gore.


Plot & Themes
Tone of story - Dry-cynical - very upbeat -
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
Misc. Murder Plotlets -
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70%
Kind of investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Age: - 20's-30's

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Motive of antagonist - power
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
City? Yes
City: - London - Dirty, dangerous (like New York) - wealthy - rude people
Misc setting - prison - fancy mansion

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Explicit sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references
Unusual forms of death - poisoning - perforation--bullets - perforation--swords/knives
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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