Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody #1)

It's an enjoyable book but nothing amazing. I would have rated it 3 stars if it wasn't for Barbara Rosenblat's narration of pure awesomeness. She captures the main character so perfectly and is such a good narrator that she makes everything seem much better that it is.

The story itself is okay, it's nothing amazing and the villain is blindingly obvious from the start, the only real mystery being why Amelia falls for the obvious red herring. But it's entertaining enough. Amelia is written as being a character from her time and place (no weirdly anachronistic sensibilities or ethics) with all that entails (including the inescapable classism and racism) which can be off-putting at times, but the excellent narration made her much more likeable than she would have been otherwise.

Ok, I was wrong. It was as bad as I had expected. What a pity.

Yawn.... boring. Truly boring. This was an adventure without the adventure and/or a romance without much romance. I was expecting more of a female Indiana Jones style book; but, I could hardly keep my eyes open. It must be the pandemic.

It's a very good thing I was born in these modern times, otherwise I would have turned out to be exactly like Amelia Peabody. Unmarried, outspoken, finding ways around the conventions of long skirts and subservient attitudes. We find her sassy self traveling to Egypt to see the archaeological sties and picking up friends along the way.

The high point of the book for me is the banter between Radcliffe and Peabody. The two of them make me laugh with their jabs and bickering. How dare a women know something about first aid? Or keep a level head? Radcliffe and his brother have met their match in dear Miss Peabody. I enjoyed their interactions so much that the weak points of the plot were easily overlooked.

Looking forward to seeing how the next few books hold up.

There is nothing I love more than an Amelia Peabody mystery. This is the first in the series.