Crocodile on the Sandbank

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Here’s an early photo of one of this book’s main characters, the archaeologist Radcliffe Emerson. Well, no…you’re right; it’s actually an early photo of the archaeologist Flinders Petrie. But I think I’ve got a point, don’t you? If you’re left in any doubt, take a look at the much later photograph at the bottom of this post. Isn’t that Emerson striding off over the sands, as he so often does throughout this novel? And could that possibly be his brother Walter following behind?
Amelia Peabody makes a fantastic protagonist. She’s comically forthright to a fault, yet retains sufficiently self-awareness to be able to admit to these flaws on occasion.
Elizabeth Peters conjures up characters that are as delightful as they are believable, and her knowledge of Egyptology—and of the period when this is set—is vast. It’s all the more remarkable, therefore, that she uses it to pepper up the story without ever allowing it to intrude.
But that’s just my own humble opinion…what do you think? Do let me know! Read for the Crime & Thrillers reading group that I attend at Canada Water Library, and also for my 2015 Goodreads reading challenge. Thank you to Alice King (the reading group’s organizer) for introducing me to this wonderful, wonderful series. I shall in time be reading more.



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