“[T]he Emerson clan takes a fitting final bow as the curtain falls on a pioneering career.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Devoted Amelia Peabody fans will read this book with tears in their eyes as they bid farewell to these much-loved characters (and author).” — Library Journal

“Amelia has really pitched a tent in our hearts.” — Philadelphia Inquirer

“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

“Amelia is rather like Indiana Jones, Sherlock Holmes and Miss Marple all rolled into one.” — Washington Post Book World

“Peters’s wily cast of characters keeps the reader coming back for more.” — San Francisco Chronicle

“Grand adventure.” — Toronto Sun

“[A] jewel of a series.” — New York Times Book Review

“Deeply satisfying. . . . The joy of the Amelia books has always been their elegant sense of humor . . . Peters manages to satirize romantic thrillers while producing some of the finest in the genre.” — Entertainment Weekly

“Once again, MWA Grandmaster Peters uses vivid settings, sharp characterizations, and deft dialogue to transport the reader to another time and place.” — Publishers Weekly

“No one is better at juggling torches while dancing on a high wire than Elizabeth Peters.” — Chicago Tribune

“Deeply satisfying. . . . The joy of the Amelia books has always been their elegant sense of humor . . . Peters manages to satirize romantic thrillers while producing some of the finest in the genre.” — The New York Times Book Review

Arriving in Cairo for the 1912-1913 excavation season, Amelia Peabody is relaxing in a bath when a man with a knife protrud-ing from his back staggers into the chamber and utters one word—“Murder”—before dying. It becomes apparent that someone saved Amelia from a would-be assassin—someone who is keeping an eye on the intrepid Englishwoman.��

But nothing will deter Amelia as she and her husband, Emerson, head to Amarna, where a priceless treasure was recently discovered: the iconic Nefertiti bust, crafted in 1345 B.C. It is one of the most precious Egyptian artifacts ever found . . . and now, it seems, unaccountably missing.

For Amelia, this excavation season will be unforgettable as a parade of men in monocles die under suspicious circumstances, fascinating new relics are unearthed, a murderous quest for vengeance is thwarted, and a diabolical mystery is solved at last.