The Painted Queen by Elizabeth PetersMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
You probably know this already, but it’s worth stating again. When Elizabeth Peters died before completing The Painted Queen, her family asked author Joan Hess to finish it. Hess was not just a fan but her friend, and must have recognized that this would be a thankless task—yet she gave three years of her life to ensure its completion.
The result has divided Amelia Peabody fans, with a good proportion of them questioning Hess’s portrayal of Amelia’s character. One example that pops up quite regularly is her knowledge of hypnotism. Here’s the thing. As readers, we seem to have a proprietorial regard for characters. They are ours. We know them better than anyone. Woe betide any author—especially an interloper—who gets them wrong. I personally felt that the hypnotism was bang on character, and provided a spark of comedy that was lacking elsewhere. I also loved the contrivance of the five brothers out for revenge.
For me, the novel’s biggest flaw was its interminable planning sessions. The family in its various permutations sits around talking about what they intend to do next…rather than getting on and doing it. Much of the book is needlessly padded out this way, and the resulting dialogue feels forced and stilted. Regarding the plot, I’m still unsure to what purpose one of the archaeologists was being drugged, and the tension between Nefret and Ramses, which we’re teased with throughout (even at the very end), is never explained (or, if it is, it’s so brief that I missed it). These issues should have been ironed out in the editorial stages. Had they been, this would have been a much better book.
It’s easy to lose sight of the fact that this was a labour of love written primarily to bring her friend’s final novel to fruition, and I applaud her for doing so.
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