Children of the Storm by Elizabeth Peters

This installment in the series had some very unexpected and delightful humorous moments. I believe Peters’ writing has improved over the course of these stories. The characters are so entertaining and stay consistent over time. I’ve especially enjoyed the growing softening of the master criminal, Sethos, as he is influenced by time in the Emerson family.

This longer story was complicated, but I was able to stay with it. The criminals were women from earlier installments, except for one, and she was despicable. She was disguised as a special needs boy, and he and his servant, Francois, were uncomfortably evil. They were determined to steal the massive treasure that had been discovered in one of Cyrus’ digs. His disappointment and subsequent plan to turn it  over to M. Lacau was a central point in the plot. 

I felt like Peters spent a lot of words filling out the familial scenes to give us an idea of how this next generation would operate. Ramses and Nefret’s twins get the last word in this book, and they are hilarious. Obviously, history is about to repeat itself in the form of two precocious children.

I read the ending of this in Las Vegas as we were attending a Rod Stewart concert. The action and darkness here on the streets can be unsettling. It was a relief to get into my most comfy and clean bed here in the Flamingo Hotel, and sail away into the safety of this story! Len is sleeping, so I took my pillow and comforter to a crack in the drapes so I could read the ending before we depart! It, like most of the stories, ended with a violent and dramatic culmination of the heroes overcoming the criminals in force. Very satisfying ending!