The Painted Queen (Amelia Peabody) Paperback – 6 April 2018

At first whent I started to read the book I felt it wasn't the same as the other Amelia Peabody books but within the first few pages Amelia, Emerson et al were at their rumbustous best. The book was up to the wonderful standards of Elizabeth Peters (so sadly missed). I was bereft at the thought of never reading another Amelia Peabody adventure. Elizabeth Peters was not only amazing fun in her writing, with a wicked imagination, but such an intellect and font of knowledge. Joan Hess has done a wonderful job and the writing is seamless. I totally loved the adventure (I didnt want the book to finish!). I will read it again and again as I have done with all the others.

A reasonable book but not as good as the rest of the series. Elizabeth died and the book was put together and finished by someone else

Yes there are differences but the important characteristics are still there. Amelia's voice is as distinct as ever. Joan Hess has done a magnificent job in keeping our beloved heroine true to form. The other essential characters and the family interaction are here also. It slots in well into the bank of previous novels. I enjoyed the premise re the famous Nefertiti bust and the reappearance of Sethos. If, like me, you have been sad to lose contact with such a wonderful fictional character as Amelia Peabody then buy this and sit back and enjoy. Joan Hess has done a superb job of a very difficult task.

A fair try that doesnt quite hit the spot.It is a hugely enjoyable story written with considerable verve and an obvious love for the subject.The problems are two fold, characters have become slightly cartoon like or just dont act as they should and some plot points just dont stand up.David would not knock back the whiskey and soda with such gusto, Amelia, whilst headstrong, would not act as willfully as she does and she would NOT make offensive remarks about the facial hair of a Bedouin woman, that was bizarre. There are many other examples.The big plot howler for me was the leaving of the principle McGuffin with a wrong-'un on the understanding that it would still be there when the Emersons' got back. Utter tosh, it wouldn't happen. It did allow the plot to develop, but very clumsily and it could have been done in a way that better blended with the narrative.It has been fun revisiting the characters, but I have found myself wincing rather often.

I've been missing Amelias adventures in Egypt and this revived my interest. A pacy story which keeps you guessing until the end. Emerson is exasperated as usual while Nefret and Ramesses are at odd. A good plot and you couldn't tell it had been finished by another author. The only shame it's not a continuation novel but an insert into the series.

I am so sorry to say that this book is a load of tosh. The authors lay on the absurdity of Amelia's self-aggrandisement and the ridiculousness of the plot far too thickly. I am disappointed. I had hoped that Joan Hess' co-authorship would, in fact, have lessened this trend. The humour has gone and reading the story has become unbearable. For example, Nefret turns up half way through the book: "How deadful for you, Aunt Amelia!" she cried out. "Only someone with your fortitude could have survived such calamitous doings. I am sorry that I allowed myself to put you in peril from the Godwins." Tears began to streak her rosy cheeks. "Can you ever forgive me?" At this point, I put the book aside in disgust. I will not be picking it up again. Do not waste your time. It will be better to end the Amelia Peabody series with the previous book and leave it at that.

It's very sad to know that this will be the last outing for the Emmerson family, whom I've grown to know and love over the past several years. Joan Hess is to be commended greatly for having taken on the task of completing the book, despite her own health problems. It seems churlish to complain about any of the writing which does embody strongly the spirit of Elizabeth Peters, but my only quibble is that the characters' dialogue, especially between Ramses and David, is rather stilted and does not 'flow' naturally as it does in other books. But as I say, that is a minor fault. Otherwise, a very enjoyable read.

I wasnt sure if I would enjoy this book written by another author but I throughly enjoyed it , the odd phrase I felt was slightly wrong it did not distract from the story . Also a beautiful write up by Selima Ikram who clearly knew Elizabeth Peters personally Im going to read all the books again now with this one in the right order x