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bookhero6's review against another edition
4.0
Elizabeth Peters is always a good read.
A little history. A little archaeology. A little murder mystery. And they stand up to time. A lot of little contemporary mysteries become very dated very quickly, but I think this one was written in 1979 and it could have been written yesterday. There is nothing about it that gives it away as tied to a particular time.
Because there will always be art/history/archaeology grad students hanging out over coffee in Rome, arguing.
A little history. A little archaeology. A little murder mystery. And they stand up to time. A lot of little contemporary mysteries become very dated very quickly, but I think this one was written in 1979 and it could have been written yesterday. There is nothing about it that gives it away as tied to a particular time.
Because there will always be art/history/archaeology grad students hanging out over coffee in Rome, arguing.
duchessofreadin's review against another edition
5.0
Follow Jacqueline as she tries to solve the mystery of the murder of one student, and the attempted murder of another.
What should have been a fun summer in Rome has turned into a terrifying experience for one young lady. What should have been a summer of learning and history, has taken a turn of which friends can you trust.
What should have been a fun summer in Rome has turned into a terrifying experience for one young lady. What should have been a summer of learning and history, has taken a turn of which friends can you trust.
ssejig's review against another edition
3.0
The first of the Kirby mysteries. Jacqueline Kirby, librarian extraordinaire, is in Rome. She bumps into a young man and woman and is soon introduced to their circle of friends. Then, one of that circle is killed and Jacqueline is off on her first murder...
catsbah's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad mystery. I love her writing vocabulary. I didn't guess the ending, which is always makes it more fun.
holtfan's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
This is another odd one from Elizabeth Peters. Her style feels bare-bones and scenes shuffle about without much padding. But it kept things intense and interesting. It is hard to tell who the heroine is supposed to be--Jean, who has the adventures, or Jacqueline Kirby, the mom-librarian who stumbles into her life. I see that the series goes on to follow Jacqueline, but Jean still feels like the main character.
Some clever little twists in here that I enjoyed. Nothing serious, but low-key and entertaining. A little hard to follow all the characters as an audio book.
This is another odd one from Elizabeth Peters. Her style feels bare-bones and scenes shuffle about without much padding. But it kept things intense and interesting. It is hard to tell who the heroine is supposed to be--Jean, who has the adventures, or Jacqueline Kirby, the mom-librarian who stumbles into her life. I see that the series goes on to follow Jacqueline, but Jean still feels like the main character.
Some clever little twists in here that I enjoyed. Nothing serious, but low-key and entertaining. A little hard to follow all the characters as an audio book.
catherine_t's review against another edition
3.0
Jacqueline Kirby meets Jean and Michael at the university library in Rome. Jean and Michael are students studying in the city on grants; Michael is an art student, while Jean is studying art history. They introduce her to the rest of their group, named the Seven Sinners by Andy Scoville, an archaeology student and son of famous archaeologist Sam Scoville. During a tour of some of the city's famous catacombs, a young man, Albert, is killed. Jean discovers him as he lies dying; Albert leaves her a clue to his killer's identity--or is it? Then Jean begins to have some very peculiar accidents. Jacqueline takes it upon herself to find out what's going on.
I've read some of Peters' Amelia Peabody books and enjoyed them, so I thought I'd give one of her Jacqueline Kirby books a try. I found it sadly dated (it was published in the early 1970s). Apart from that, it's a fairly standard amateur-sleuth mystery, except that its point-of-view isn't that of the sleuth (in this case Jacqueline) but of the witness and would-be victim, Jean. Jean is cast as a sort of Watson to Jacqueline's Holmes, in order to keep the reader utterly in the dark. The plot is fairly laid out; I'll admit to having my suspicions as to the killer's identity about two-thirds of the way through, but I wasn't sure until the reveal at the end, which is always good.
I might read another of the series, but I can't say that I'll seek it out.
I've read some of Peters' Amelia Peabody books and enjoyed them, so I thought I'd give one of her Jacqueline Kirby books a try. I found it sadly dated (it was published in the early 1970s). Apart from that, it's a fairly standard amateur-sleuth mystery, except that its point-of-view isn't that of the sleuth (in this case Jacqueline) but of the witness and would-be victim, Jean. Jean is cast as a sort of Watson to Jacqueline's Holmes, in order to keep the reader utterly in the dark. The plot is fairly laid out; I'll admit to having my suspicions as to the killer's identity about two-thirds of the way through, but I wasn't sure until the reveal at the end, which is always good.
I might read another of the series, but I can't say that I'll seek it out.
estellabelle92's review against another edition
3.0
Having loved Amelia Peabody and with the recent passing of her creator, a friend recommended I try Jacqueline Kirby. Although one of her earlier works I could see her style developing. I will definitely return for the next installment.
honeycomb_system's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
3.0
lauraellis's review against another edition
3.0
The detective in this novel is Jacqueline Kirby, an American librarian abroad in Rome, who meets a group of young scholars on fellowships to study art and archeology. She befriends them, and then is present when a hanger-on is murdered in the crypts below a church, and then mysterious “accidents” start happening to one of the students, Jean. The book follows the student, Jean, and we see JK through her eyes, and thus miss some of the detecting. The clues are all laid out, if you can put them together. It was an enjoyable, but not compelling, read. It was written in 1972, set contemporaneously, and I [did enjoy] the perspective and the mindset.
2020 note: If you are thinking about reading this book and have not read the author’s far superior Amelia Peabody Emerson series, put this book down and run, don’t walk, to the nearest available copy of Crocodile on the Sandbank.
2020 note: If you are thinking about reading this book and have not read the author’s far superior Amelia Peabody Emerson series, put this book down and run, don’t walk, to the nearest available copy of Crocodile on the Sandbank.