A review by plantbirdwoman
Night Train to Memphis by Elizabeth Peters

4.0

This was a fun read from beginning to end, with just the right mix of romance, mystery, and suspense as only Elizabeth Peters does it.

Dr. Vicky Bliss of Munich is persuaded by some mysterious security types to head down to Egypt and take an all-expense paid cruise on the Nile. Her mission will be to identify an evildoer - or perhaps evildoers - who may be planning to make away with priceless Egyptian antiquaties. Upon arriving on board the boat she will be traveling on, she discovers that three of the other passengers are her lover John, his mother, and his new bride! At once, the reader suspects that all is not as it seems, although Vicky appears to accept the new state of affairs at face value.

The cruise seems fairly lighthearted until a young man dies rather mysteriously and then another man, a newly appointed official in the business of overseeing Egyptian antiquaties, is murdered, supposedly by a bomb. Then strange things start happening on the boat and the cruise is interrupted. Where will it all lead? Meantime, the only "evildoer" Vicky has been able to identify is John!

This was the fifth in the Vicky Bliss series and I think it is my favorite of the lot. I had recently read number 6 out of order, so I have now completed this series unless Peters decides to add another installment. I have enjoyed the adventures of the intrepid trio Vicky, John and Schmidt, and in this entry a fourth "musketeer" was added - Feisal, John's old Egyptian buddy from Oxford days. Feisal returned in the sixth book. Now, having read this one, I have a greater appreciation of his character.

Will the "Fearless Foursome's" adventures continue in yet another book? One can only hope.