Lion in the Valley - Elizabeth Peters Returning to Egypt to excavate the pyramids at Dahshoor, Amelia Peabody, Radcliffe Emerson, and their 8-year-old son Walter Peabody Emerson, a.k.a. Ramses the walking/talking encyclopedia. Right now Ramses is my favorite character. He is just so infuriatingly clever, logical and verbose. He can talk a blue streak and keep right on going unless he is interrupted (usually in exasperation by Amelia). Once again the Master Criminal is at the heart of this mystery. I particularly liked the addition of Mr. Nemo and Enid to the mix. I liked when Nemo asked Amelia why Ramses needed a babysitter. Ha! (He would find out soon enough.) I love the banter between Amelia and Emerson. It shows the wealth of affection between them and their competitiveness. I always laugh when one or the other says "I was just going to say that".

I started this series on book 18 and went to 14, 17, 6 and 10 before deciding to start at the beginning. It was wonderful to find out how Amelia and Emerson met and how Ramses joined the excavations. This is a series that doesn't need to be read in order but it certainly helps on the personal level to keep the events in sequence. Next up [b:The Deeds of the Disturber|32139|The Deeds of the Disturber (Amelia Peabody, #5)|Elizabeth Peters|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1168345819s/32139.jpg|2176252].