Reviews

The Camelot Caper by Elizabeth Peters

tracey_stewart's review against another edition

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4.0

"Caper" was an excellent choice for the title: that's exactly what this is: an adventure with a romantic edge, danger around every corner but handled with a light touch, a tale of an unsuspecting female dropped into the midst of intrigue that would have served Alfred Hitchcock well. The writing is quick and clear, smart and fun and funny; the characters are fun and different, with enough depth to make this very enjoyable; the story is fun and improbable and attention-grabbing, and deals intelligently with the Arthurian elements. As always, the author's deep knowledge of archaeology and its surrounds forms a solid base for a frothy story. The short version: the book is great lightweight fun.

tsenko2's review against another edition

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3.0

As delighted as I was to have a prequel about John Tregarth, I don’t feel that it’s up to the usual standard of a Peters book. I actually found the female lead unlikable and her behavior inexplicable. The love interest didn’t give me the slightest buzz. I believe this book was written early in her career before Peters hit her stride as an incredible author.

chelle493's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious slow-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

2.0

I don't know if it's because I listened to the audio version instead of reading, but I could not keep up with this book. The scenes cut so jarringly without any hint that you were now in a different scene. The main character's romance was completely flat and I didn't care about it at all. The plot made no sense. 

allisonami's review against another edition

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Following a poor little girl around who know one will believe because she's a hysterical girl and things just sort of happen to her. Immensely frustrating.

itabar's review against another edition

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It got too silly. Couldn't finish. Maybe I'll try to read it (vs. listen). A huge disappointment since I've liked or loved other EP books. Maybe I was in the wrong mood.

allisoncc's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

eserafina42's review against another edition

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3.0

Definitely not one of my favorites, even if it does have Vicky Bliss's John in a supporting role.

racheljoy7's review against another edition

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4.0

What a sweet little mystery story!

The story follows Jessica and David who are strangers when they meet on a dark and lonely night, in a dark and lonely little inn, in a dark and lonely little village in the English countryside. It's all very edge-of-your-seat stuff as they are chased by villains and then end up chasing them from town to town in search of some mystery or treasure or something.

And of course they inevitably fall in love ;).

sllingky's review against another edition

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3.0

I'm a HUGE fan of the Amelia Peabody series, so I picked this one up hoping to dive into the Vicky Bliss series with as much excitement. Meh. As a story goes from a structure perspective, this one is poor. The plot feels like a wild goose chase with no purpose, almost stumbling along just to get fill pages without much of a reason. The characters are annoying at best and seem to try too hard to be smart and witty. That was not my experience with Amelia Peabody. With that in mind, the perspectives expressed in the book felt very dated to me, and I'm okay with that most of the time (because no author can write for future sensibilities and we have to accept that); but in this case, the dated aspects felt smug. I'm going to give the first real Vicky Bliss book (Borrower of the Night) a shot after this read, but I am already planning to go into it very wary of what I will find.

sjgochenour's review against another edition

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3.0

ahahaha. Not consistent with later Vicky Bliss except in marvelous, marvelous characterization of John. I am saddened I did not make the connection before. Also: David Randall IS a charming hero who isn’t also a cad (see: the aforementioned John Tregarth.) so. I stand corrected.