“Passion among the pyramids. Forged antiquities. A country at war. A camel in the garden. A cameo by Lawrence of Arabia. Add in Peters’s trademark intelligent plotting, engaging characters, and stylish writing and we can hardly ask for anything more.” — Cincinnati Enquirer   One of the most beloved characters in mystery/suspense fiction, archeologist and Egyptologist Amelia Peabody bravely faces gravest peril in Cairo on the eve of World War One in New York Times bestselling Grandmaster Elizabeth Peters’s magnificent Egyptian adventure, He Shall Thunder in the Sky. The San Francisco Examiner calls these heart-racing exploits of Amelia and her courageous family, the Emersons, “pure delight.” But perhaps the New York Times Book Review states it best: “Between Amelia Peabody and Indiana Jones, it’s Amelia—in wit and daring—by a landslide.” He Shall Thunder in the Sky completes an internal quartet (which also includes Seeing a Large Cat , The Ape Who Guards the Balance , and The Falcon at the Portal ) within Elizabeth Peters's legendary series starring Amelia Peabody, the intrepid Edwardian Egyptologist, her husband, Emerson, and her extended family. The quartet comprises not only Amelia's diary of those years but also parts of a mysterious "Manuscript H," an omniscient viewpoint that allows a glimpse into the minds of Amelia's son--the dashing and brilliant Ramses--and her ward, Nefret Forth, as they mature into adults with their own secrets and agendas. The Falcon at the Portal left readers hanging impatiently in the enormous rift that book's events gouged between Ramses and Nefret, both madly in love but unrelentingly proud. The winter of 1914-15 finds the Peabody-Emerson family back in Cairo--now under British martial law, with the Suez Canal under constant threat of attack from the Ottoman Empire. The city's young Englishmen are rushing to enlist, except for Ramses, who is widely scorned for his pacifism. Yet Amelia and Emerson soon find out that Ramses is (literally) playing a mysterious and potentially explosive part in the conflict between Egyptian nationalists and the British authorities, for reasons both political and familial. Nefret, for her part, is still running a health clinic for the city's fallen women and trying to avoid the attentions of Percy, Amelia's odious nephew. In the meantime, the Emersons' excavations at Giza reveal an unexpected treasure so remarkable that the uneasy Amelia immediately senses the fine hand of Sethos, the Master Criminal (who through many previous books has alternately plagued her and protested his boundless affection for her), at work. The climax and denouement are entirely worth the price of admission--tying up a decade's worth of loose strings and explaining some nagging points so subtle that less observant readers might easily have missed them. It's Peters's great gift that in the grand scheme of things, no clues are wasted. Her plotting is wonderfully complex and intriguing, and it fits seamlessly into the detailed historical background she builds so carefully. It may have taken years for her to complete this four-part dance (she promises more Amelia Peabody mysteries in the future), but she's charmed us right out of our dancing slippers along the way. --Barrie Trinkle Excavating in Egypt on the eve of World War I, Amelia Peabody is in trouble with the British ex-pat community for her pacifist beliefs even as her nemesis--Sethos, the Master Criminal--reappears. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. It's hard not to like the characters we've watched evolve over the years in the Amelia Peabody series: genteel Amelia, who dresses the part of a lady but has a sword hidden in her umbrella; brave, blustering Emerson, aptly named "Father of Curses" by the Egyptians with whom he works on his archaeological digs; Ramses, their courageous, quick-witted son; and adopted children Nefret and David. In this episode, which takes place in 1915, the family's annual excavations in Egypt are overshadowed by the specter of world war. An invasion of Egypt by the Turks seems imminent, the climate is ripe for spies, and it isn't long before the Emerson clan is up to its eyebrows in intrigue. Then there's Emerson's discovery of a beautiful gold statue: Has the ardent archvillain Sethos returned with more tricks? Peters works in drama galore, plus the usual shots of wry humor and local color. There's also some unexpected closure when long-held secrets unravel and broken ties are mended--all of which will leave series fans wondering what's to come next. Stephanie Zvirin Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “Fans won’t be disappointed . . . . The history is solid and the plots appealing.” - Toronto Globe and Mail There are dark storm clouds gathering above a land of mystery and antiquity. And no one will escape the fury of the tempest to come. He Shall Thunde