New York Times Bestseller From New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Peters comes one of her most baffling and intriguing mysteries in her phenomenally popular Amelia Peabody series. August 1910. Banned from the Valley of the Kings, Amelia Peabody and husband Emerson are persuaded to follow would-be archaeologist Major George Morley on an expedition to Palestine. Somewhere in this province of the corrupt, crumbling Ottoman Empire—the Holy Land of three religions—Morley is determined to unearth the legendary Ark of the Covenant. At the request of British Intelligence, Emerson will be keeping an eye on the seemingly inept Morley, believed to be an agent of the Kaiser sent to stir up trouble in this politically volatile land. Amelia hopes to prevent a catastrophically unprofessional excavation from destroying priceless historical finds and sparking an armed protest by infuriated Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Meanwhile, Amelia's headstrong son, Ramses, working on a dig at Samaria, encounters an unusual party of travelers and makes a startling discovery—information that he must pass along to his parents in Jerusalem...if he can get there alive. “Between Amelia Peabody and Indiana Jones, it’s Amelia—in wit and daring—by a landslide.” — New York Times Book Review   “Deeply satisfying . . . a funny and involving work. The joy of the Amelia books has always been their elegant sense of humor; once again Peters manages to satirize romantic thrillers while producing some of the finest in the genre. Rating: A-.” - Entertainment Weekly “No one is better at juggling torches while dancing on a high wire than Elizabeth Peters.” - Chicago Tribune “Once again, MWA Grandmaster Peters uses vivid settings, sharp characterizations, and deft dialogue to transport the reader to another time and place.” - Publishers Weekly Praise for Elizabeth Peters: “Amelia Peabody, the bossy archaeologist in Elizabeth Peters’s romantic adventures set in Egypt at the end of the last century, makes a perfect companion for a cruise up the Nile.”―New York Times - New York Times Praise for A River in the Sky: “Peters’s wily cast of characters keeps the reader coming back for more.” - San Francisco Chronicle August 1910. Banned from the Valley of the Kings, Amelia Peabody and  her husband, Emerson, are persuaded to follow would-be archaeologist Major George Morley on an expedition to Palestine. Somewhere in this province of the corrupt, crumbling Ottoman Empire — the Holy Land of three religions — Morley is determined to unearth the legendary Ark of the Covenant. At the request of British Intelligence, Emerson will be keeping an eye on the seemingly inept Morley, believed to be an agent of the Kaiser, sent to stir up trouble in this politically volatile land. Amelia hopes to prevent a catastrophically unprofessional excavation from destroying priceless historical finds and sparking an armed protest by infuriated Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Meanwhile, Amelia’s headstrong son, Ramses, working on a dig at Samaria, encounters an unusual party of travelers and makes a startling discovery — information that he must pass along to his parents in Jerusalem—if he can get there alive. Elizabeth Peters earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago’s famed Oriental Institute. During her fifty-year career, she wrote more than seventy novels and three nonfiction books on Egypt. She received numerous writing awards and, in 2012, was given the first Amelia Peabody Award, created in her honor. She died in 2013, leaving a partially completed manuscript of The Painted Queen .