GENRE: MYSTERY
TITLE: The Hippopotamus Pool
AUTHOR: Elizabeth Peters
PUBLICATION INFORMATION: 1996, Warner Books, 384 pages
SETTING: Egypt in the year 1900
MAIN CHARACTERS: Amelia Peabody and Radcliff Emerson, her husband.
OTHER
CHARACTERS: Ramses Emerson, their 12 year old son. Nefret, their 15
year old ward. Miss Marmaduke, the governess. David, an Egyptian boy
befriended by the family. Walter and Evelyn Emerson, Peabody’s brother
and sister in-law.
PLOT SUMMARY: Although this novel takes
place in Egypt, most of the characters are British. Peabody, a rare
woman in Victorian times, is an adventurous, independent Egyptologist
who, together with her husband, gets into one Indian Jones-type
situation after another. A strange man offers to tell them where Queen
Tetisheri’s tomb is located, an amazing find. But he is killed before
he can tell them. In their quest to find the tomb, Peabody and Emerson
encounter thieves, kidnappers and murderers.
APPEAL: This
mystery novel will appeal to those who enjoy Victorian English
characters and an exotic Egyptian setting. People who enjoy reading
about strong female characters, especially in an era where women were
supposed to be the “weaker sex,” may enjoy this book. Peter’s writing
style and character portrayals can be quite humorous. The action level
is high. There are multiple encounters with kidnappers and people who
want to hurt and/or murder. But the novel contains very little graphic
violence or sex.
SIMILAR AUTHORS: Elizabeth Peters also writes
under the pseudonym Barbara Michaels, writing romantic suspense novels.
She also has published books on Egyptology under her real name, Barbara
Mertz. Sharon McCrumb, H. Rider Haggard, Catherine Lanigan (Joan
Wilder), Dashiell Hammett, Carolyn Hart
REFERENCES:
Moyer, J.A., & Stover, K.M. (2010). The Readers' advisory handbook. Chicago : American Library Association.
Novelist- http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=noh&tg=UI&an=502012&site=novelist-live
Saricks, J.G. (2009). The Readers' advisory guide to genre fiction: 2nd ed. Chicago: American Library Association.
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