Crocodile on the Sandbank

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Independent spinster Amelia Peabody and her friend Evelyn Barton-Forbes came to Egypt to view the antiquities - but when they are stalked by a mummy Amelia suspects it may be a non-supernatural ghost from Evelyn's checkered past.

The unstoppable Amelia Peabody impulsively rescues Evelyn Barton-Forbes, abandoned and ruined by a faithless lover, from a street in Italy. She then hires the disgraced heiress as a companion on a trip to Egypt, and they become close friends. Floating down the Nile, the women meet two archaeologist brothers: handsome Walter Emerson and short-tempered Radcliffe Emerson. When they join the Emersons at their dig site, the group is stalked by a mummy. Yeah, a MUMMY.

Zoinks!

Of course, Amelia is too sensible to succumb to superstition for long, but she suspects the human behind the mummy poses a tangible threat to Evelyn's safety. With a firm grip on her parasol and her wits, Amelia attempts to solve the mystery. All the while Evelyn and Walter are falling in love, star-crossed by noble Evelyn's sense of her own dishonor as well as the persistent attentions of her cousin, Lord Lucas Ellesmere. Amelia keeps herself busy bossing everyone around and getting into heated arguments with Radcliffe (who is her equal in every way, a love interest along Mr. Rochester lines) about archaeology.

I have a soft sport the affable Lucas, who cheerfully goes out of his way to offend everyone. Even prickly Amelia has to struggle to maintain a steady dislike of him. He's a more interesting character than both Walter and Evelyn combined - the latter two play the fated lovers role with a hysterical intensity (but true sincerity) that makes Amelia scoff inwardly more than once (as much as she genuinely likes them both).

The solution to the mystery seemed obvious at once, though it's such an outrageously weird scheme that Amelia quickly points out that only a European mind packed with Gothic novels could have come up with it. Overall, a fun adventure and historical cozy mystery. It's the first in the Amelia Peabody series, which I will definitely keep reading!

Amelia is the clear forerunner of Alexis Tarabotti from Gail Carriger's The Parasol Protectorate: tough, smart, and outspoken. (And both end up in Egypt!) Elizabeth Peters is the pen name of Barbara Mertz, who died in August of this year. She wrote 70 books, all starring wonderful female characters, and was an Egyptologist herself.

For other great cozy mysteries, try the Lord Peter Wimsey series by Dorothy Sayers, starting with Whose Body? You might also check out the Victorian historical mystery And Only to Deceive (Lady Emily series) by Tasha Alexander.

Quotable:
“I disapprove of matrimony as a matter of principle.... Why should any independent, intelligent female choose to subject herself to the whims and tyrannies of a husband? I assure you, I have yet to meet a man as sensible as myself!” - says Amelia

“There are too many people in the world as it is, but the supply of ancient manuscripts is severely limited.” - according to Radcliffe Emerson, Amelia's grumpy soulmate

Riveted

Riveted by Meljean Brook
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Airship engineer Annika is searching the world for her exiled sister, but when she discovers that cyborg scientist David Kentewess plans to survey Iceland, she fears he could put everyone in her hidden village of women in danger.

The book starts out very slowly and because the intial action takes place on an airship in flight we barely glimpse the dangerous world of the Iron Seas series, instead learning about it second-hand. (Maybe I'm just not all that jazzed by that staple of steampunk: airships. Clipper ships, on the other hand....) The Mongolian Horde controls much of the world through mind control, and the rest of the world is patrolled by megalodons, zombies, repressive governments, and airships. There's a lot going on.

David and Annika are remarkably clear-headed as they experience the initial stirrings of attraction to each other. I found Annika's sometimes awkward bluntness endearing. David is shy about his half-mechanical nature (he lost an eye, and several limbs to a terrible disaster in his childhood) but he's not crippled or obsessively self-doubting. They're very sensible, politically-correct modern protagonists and seem just a tiny bit dull because of it. (There's also a bit of not-so-subtle preaching that felt like an authorial intrusion.) There is a sense of comfort in their relationship, however, especially in their unconditional acceptance of each other. It's a love story for grownups.

Then we finally get off the damn airship and move into Iceland. There the action gets more interesting as the plot picks up and starts to follow in the venerable footsteps of Jules Verne. Enter some wickedly cool mechanical "trolls" that make Annika into a kind of ultra-Ripley. I won't say much about the plot, because it happens so late in the story it feels spoilery to me. Four words to pique your curiosity: mechanical whale, volcano, and megalomaniac.

Nice suit.

In closing, I really wish those robot dogs had worked out. They would have been awesome addition to the story, especially since Iceland is crawling with feral dogs. It seems like the dogs were a Chekhov's gun that never went off. I like a little more landscape and world-building details in my steampunk. Brook takes her time building the characters instead, so if that's what you look for in a love story, this is the book for you.

If you love Riveted, go back and try The Iron Duke, the first in the series, for a better look at Brook's complex steampunk world. You could also check out Bec McMaster's steampunk vampire fantasy Kiss of Steel (London Steampunk #1), or Kate Cross' Heart of Brass (Clockwork Assassins #1), which has assassins and brain-washing aplenty. If you adore fantasy steampunk romance and you haven't yet read Soulless, what are you waiting for?! Get it yesterday! (And while you're at it, pick up the entire Parasol Protectorate series!)