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racheljoy7's review against another edition
4.0
I really like Vicky Bliss. She's intelligent, sexy, adventurous, impulsive, and funny.
I highly recommend Elizabeth Peters already because of my love for her other character, Amelia Peabody, and now I have another reason to love this author.
I highly recommend Elizabeth Peters already because of my love for her other character, Amelia Peabody, and now I have another reason to love this author.
tmdavis's review against another edition
4.0
This book was way better than the first in the series. In this book, Vicky meets John Smythe (pronounced Smith), a jewel thief, who becomes a running character throughout the series.
I read one of this series years and years ago (I have no idea which one it was) but I remember the book having an element of mystery and romance to it (but way more focused on mystery). When I read the first book, it did not even remotely feel like what I remembered because John was not a character in that book at all. I kept thinking that she had a romantic interest and that it wasn't with the guy who was interested in her in the first book--but I couldn't put a name to the character. Come to find out, he wasn't in the book at all.
However, John Smythe is introduced in this book and he provides romance and comedy to the mystery. Vicky Bliss goes to Rome to discover who made a close to perfect reproduction of a piece of jewelry her museum owns (so close you might not be able to tell the difference between the real and the fake) found sewn into the pocket of a dead man.
An easy, fun, and light read, and interesting as it was written in 1978 so some of the references were a little outdated but that just added to its charm for me.
Will definitely read another in this series.
I read one of this series years and years ago (I have no idea which one it was) but I remember the book having an element of mystery and romance to it (but way more focused on mystery). When I read the first book, it did not even remotely feel like what I remembered because John was not a character in that book at all. I kept thinking that she had a romantic interest and that it wasn't with the guy who was interested in her in the first book--but I couldn't put a name to the character. Come to find out, he wasn't in the book at all.
However, John Smythe is introduced in this book and he provides romance and comedy to the mystery. Vicky Bliss goes to Rome to discover who made a close to perfect reproduction of a piece of jewelry her museum owns (so close you might not be able to tell the difference between the real and the fake) found sewn into the pocket of a dead man.
An easy, fun, and light read, and interesting as it was written in 1978 so some of the references were a little outdated but that just added to its charm for me.
Will definitely read another in this series.
sjgochenour's review against another edition
4.0
ROME! In these troubled pandemic times, it's hard not to wish oneself into 70s Rome. This book is silly and charming and as much about how Elizabeth Peters loves Italy -- Italian antiquities, Italian gardens, Italian food, the Italian language -- as anything else. Fountains! Cypresses! Marble!
Sir John Smythe makes his debut, and a charming rascal he is. Caesar the dog is equally charming but rather less rascally.
I want to go sit in an art gallery. Curses.
(spoilers ahead)
Things that don't hold up so well -- everything about how Helena, Pietro's mistress, is treated, is uncomfortable. She's mocked for being fat and stupid, and her greed is used to set her up as being a murder victim the reader won't miss too much, while her murderer is excused almost at once for being young and beautiful and talented and male.
Also the stereotypes of Italian people do not land well in the year of our lord 2020.
Sir John Smythe makes his debut, and a charming rascal he is. Caesar the dog is equally charming but rather less rascally.
I want to go sit in an art gallery. Curses.
(spoilers ahead)
Things that don't hold up so well -- everything about how Helena, Pietro's mistress, is treated, is uncomfortable. She's mocked for being fat and stupid, and her greed is used to set her up as being a murder victim the reader won't miss too much, while her murderer is excused almost at once for being young and beautiful and talented and male.
Also the stereotypes of Italian people do not land well in the year of our lord 2020.
luosymekawa's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
tyrshand's review against another edition
5.0
This second book was another great listen in a mystery series that doesn't take itself too seriously. :) Excellent narrator, too.
jessalynn_librarian's review against another edition
4.0
A fun follow-up to Borrower of the Night, and an enjoyable audio version. The focus is really more on the characters than it is on the mystery, and everything is slightly wacky and over-the-top. Just what I'm looking for in my fluff reading.
inger70's review against another edition
3.0
Not enjoying Vicki Bliss quite as much as Amelia Peabody, but she's growing on me.
anovelreader's review against another edition
4.0
Street of the Five Moons is technically the second book in [a:Elizabeth Peters|16549|Elizabeth Peters|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1232144920p2/16549.jpg]’s Vicky Bliss series, but I wouldn’t recommend the first unless you finish the series an uber fan. I was (somewhat bizarrely) gifted the fifth book in this adult series at my fourth grade birthday party. Despite its inappropriateness, I was allowed to keep it and devoured the book, starting what would become a life-long love affair with anti-heroes, enemies-to-lovers scenarios, and angsty romances. (I cannot rule out that it heavily contributed to me chosing a career involving frequent overseas travel/stints living abroad.)
In SotFM, a dead body turns up with a reproduction of one of the Munich National Museum’s prized jewelry pieces, spurring Dr. Victoria Bliss — a tall, blond art historian — to travel to Rome to investigate an international art forgery scheme. In Rome, Vicky meets what will be her primary love interest for the rest of the series, an art thief who goes by Sir John Smythe.
After escaping a kidnapping with John’s help, Vicky knowingly wanders into the thief’s den by accepting an invitation to Count Caravaggio’s country villa in Tivoli to further investigate the scheme. At the villa with John, the Count, his mistress, and younger son, she tries to piece together the mystery and identify the mastermind.
The mystery is nothing special, but the characters, including the secondary ones, are outstanding. Vicky, our narrator, is snarky and self-deprecating. She is also wildly impetuous, which gets her into all sorts of trouble, but she tends to handle it well. Vicky’s independence is all the more impressive given that this series started in ’73 (SoTFM was published in ’78).
John is a Peter Wimsey/Francis Crawford of Lymond type. In other words, he is a brilliant and multitalented protagonist. He is also an art thief whose motivations remain murky for most of the series. Peters introduces John in an earlier one-off mystery/romance, [b:The Camelot Caper|66525|The Camelot Caper (Vicky Bliss, #0.5)|Elizabeth Peters|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421339827l/66525._SY75_.jpg|165016], which I also recommend (no Vicky here).
The repartee — particularly between John and Vicky — is unparalleled. Their exchanges reference Shakespeare, John Donne, New Yorker cartoons, and Clementine. SotFM only offers us a glimmer of this repartee but is a great stepping stone to later books in the series ([b:Trojan Gold|66504|Trojan Gold (Vicky Bliss, #4)|Elizabeth Peters|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1297727918l/66504._SY75_.jpg|1861953] and [b:Night Train to Memphis|29456|Night Train to Memphis (Vicky Bliss, #5)|Elizabeth Peters|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386920627l/29456._SY75_.jpg|29910]) where the romance and banter really start to shine.
In SotFM, a dead body turns up with a reproduction of one of the Munich National Museum’s prized jewelry pieces, spurring Dr. Victoria Bliss — a tall, blond art historian — to travel to Rome to investigate an international art forgery scheme. In Rome, Vicky meets what will be her primary love interest for the rest of the series, an art thief who goes by Sir John Smythe.
After escaping a kidnapping with John’s help, Vicky knowingly wanders into the thief’s den by accepting an invitation to Count Caravaggio’s country villa in Tivoli to further investigate the scheme. At the villa with John, the Count, his mistress, and younger son, she tries to piece together the mystery and identify the mastermind.
The mystery is nothing special, but the characters, including the secondary ones, are outstanding. Vicky, our narrator, is snarky and self-deprecating. She is also wildly impetuous, which gets her into all sorts of trouble, but she tends to handle it well. Vicky’s independence is all the more impressive given that this series started in ’73 (SoTFM was published in ’78).
John is a Peter Wimsey/Francis Crawford of Lymond type. In other words, he is a brilliant and multitalented protagonist. He is also an art thief whose motivations remain murky for most of the series. Peters introduces John in an earlier one-off mystery/romance, [b:The Camelot Caper|66525|The Camelot Caper (Vicky Bliss, #0.5)|Elizabeth Peters|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421339827l/66525._SY75_.jpg|165016], which I also recommend (no Vicky here).
The repartee — particularly between John and Vicky — is unparalleled. Their exchanges reference Shakespeare, John Donne, New Yorker cartoons, and Clementine. SotFM only offers us a glimmer of this repartee but is a great stepping stone to later books in the series ([b:Trojan Gold|66504|Trojan Gold (Vicky Bliss, #4)|Elizabeth Peters|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1297727918l/66504._SY75_.jpg|1861953] and [b:Night Train to Memphis|29456|Night Train to Memphis (Vicky Bliss, #5)|Elizabeth Peters|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386920627l/29456._SY75_.jpg|29910]) where the romance and banter really start to shine.
chloebear21's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25