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A review by leenichole
The Deeds of the Disturber by Elizabeth Peters
3.0
Look, I'll be straight with you. I love this series, but this is my least favorite book in it so far. I should probably rate it lower, but I'm giving it three stars out of longstanding Emerson family solidarity.
This is what it has that I liked:
1) Ramses Emerson, my favorite character in the series. Someday, that boy will actually be allowed to finish a sentence.
2) Gargery the butler. That's it. That's the sentence.
This is what it had that I didn't like:
1) Marital suspicion and jealousy as plot devices. The villain's ability to maintain secrecy relies heavily on the fact that the main characters don't trust each other. It's lazy storytelling, and it doesn't even try to be convincing.
2) Horrid children being horrid. Amelia's niece and nephew come to stay for awhile in this one and it's the worst. I daresay that writing children is not a strong suit of Elizabeth Peters.' You're seriously telling me that a six-year-old is just going to say "Nasty! Dead!" over and over instead of speaking in sentences? Nah, fam.
3) A very convoluted plot involving sex magic, dead bodies, and a very poorly explained motive for anybody to be murdered. I still don't really understand what this book was about.
And it's not even set in Egypt!
I didn't like it very much. BUT I do like the series overall, so I'm going to keep on keeping on.
This is what it has that I liked:
1) Ramses Emerson, my favorite character in the series. Someday, that boy will actually be allowed to finish a sentence.
2) Gargery the butler. That's it. That's the sentence.
This is what it had that I didn't like:
1) Marital suspicion and jealousy as plot devices. The villain's ability to maintain secrecy relies heavily on the fact that the main characters don't trust each other. It's lazy storytelling, and it doesn't even try to be convincing.
2) Horrid children being horrid. Amelia's niece and nephew come to stay for awhile in this one and it's the worst. I daresay that writing children is not a strong suit of Elizabeth Peters.' You're seriously telling me that a six-year-old is just going to say "Nasty! Dead!" over and over instead of speaking in sentences? Nah, fam.
3) A very convoluted plot involving sex magic, dead bodies, and a very poorly explained motive for anybody to be murdered. I still don't really understand what this book was about.
And it's not even set in Egypt!
I didn't like it very much. BUT I do like the series overall, so I'm going to keep on keeping on.