A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters

 Not long after arriving in St. George, Len found the nearest Deseret Industries store and I joined him. They had a great used book selection, and this one looked interesting. It was a $1.00 paperback, so I jumped on it.

I'm so glad I did! It's the middle of the Amelia Peabody series, but I didn't feel hampered by jumping in the middle. Amelia Peabody is a great character--stern, hilarious, in love with her archeologist husband, and prim English lady, as well as an accomplished archeologist in her own right. 

I enjoyed the interactions of Amelia and her mercurial husband, Emerson and their constant battles with each other and the other characters. It's refreshing and fun writing with nothing too heavy or gruesome or in bad taste. The mystery aspects of the story were interesting, but not --for me--the center of the story. The setting and the people of the Middle East are fascinating aspects of the story as well. It's set in the 1920s, so many of the attitudes and even racism are context-appropriate. But Amelia is a modern heroine with great strengths and champions women and certain impoverished "lower class" people beautifully.

I liked this so well that I ordered the first two in the series, so I can go back to the beginning. Unfortunately, I didn't notice that Amazon is shipping them to Rapid City. AAARRRGGHH. So, I ordered two more, earlier ones, and had them shipped here. I'll read them all mixed up, but that's okay. I will keep laughing!