The season at Dashour has been an
archaeological success, if not a quiet and orderly one. So they
board the boat for home.
 |
On the way back to Egypt,
Amelia notices news reports by their old friend Kevin
O'Connell on the sensational appearance of a fully robed
Egyptian Priest in the Mummy Room at the British
Museum. Emerson, who intends to work at the British
Museum while finishing his excavation reports, views the
news as a possible distraction from serious work and tries
to steer Amelia away from the story and the eventual
"investigation" of it. To no
avail. |
Amelia and Emerson arrive back in
England only to find that Amelia's brother
James Peabody has imposed upon Walter and Evelyn and is waiting to ask Amelia
to take his children, Percy and Violet, for the summer. Thus begins the worst
summer of Ramses life, for the children are regular little liars and
tattle tales. And you may have guessed that Ramses has a few
secret activities that he wishes to keep secret.
There is a murder at the museum and a
further appearance of the priest and the reporters start flocking to the gate of the Emerson residence to
see what the famous Egyptian Detectives have to say. Among the
reporters is Miss Minton, who has a startling resemblance to
Amelia. She is a plucky young thing who is challenging Kevin
O'Connell and his colleagues at their own game of sensational
journalism.
Amelia and Emerson get drawn further
into the web of mystery when one of a set of genuine pharonic shabti is delivered to
the door late at night. The object is from a private
collection of a dissolute aristocrat who has peculiar tastes in
literature and religion. So, of course, they propose to visit
the collection and have a look around.
The climax of the book takes place in
the dark basement of the manor hall where a "private"
ceremony is being held.
Amelia and Emerson are in the thick
of it, trapped in a dungeon room that is filling with water from the
Thames. But rescue comes from an unexpected source.
This book introduces the recurring
characters of Percy Peabody and Miss Minton.
The British
Edition of The Deed of the Disturber has a derivative
cover design and a similar internal jacket blurb. Here are the
details for that volume.
 |
The
Deeds of the Disturber by Elizabeth Peters
First British Edition
Published by Piatkus, 1988.
Cover Artist - James Steinberg
ISBN: 0-86188-784-0
Other Editions: United
States |
|
