“There was some damage. I couldn’t swear to it under oath, but he might have been strangled. Or,” Nefret added sourly, “he might have had his head bashed in - impossible to tell whether the breaks were post- or pre-mortem - or been fed poison, or stabbed or shot.”

I took her hand and patted it. “Shall we stop at the Savoy for a nice cup of tea?”

The preceding example of ghastliness juxtaposed with etiquette is a perfect example of why the Amelia Peabody mysteries have been popular for more than 25 years. We’ve all come to know and love the unflappable Amelia, her husband Emerson aka “Father of Curses,” and the other members of their large, unorthodox clan of family and friends. You can always depend on Amelia to deliver a charming but suspenseful mystery featuring Egyptian lore, acts of derring-do and a little bit of nookie between the adoring Peabody-Emerson couple. I was mildly disappointed by the previous novel, The Golden One, but Children of the Storm puts the series back on solid ground.

The year 1919 finds the Peabody-Emersons rejoicing that the Great War has finally ended. They eagerly welcome their extended family to Egypt for a holiday visit that will allow them to display the archeological treasures that their best friend Cyrus Vandergelt has recently unearthed. But all is not as it should be. Several pieces of priceless Egyptian jewelry disappear and the suspected thief is found dead. Amelia’s son, Ramses, foils an attempted kidnapping and seduction by a mysterious female. One of their best workmen suddenly becomes a religious fanatic. And the family repeatedly crosses paths with a strange, mentally-deficient young man and his over-zealous bodyguard. Taken separately, the events are annoying but not alarming. But gradually Amelia and company begin to see a pattern that indicates a more serious threat. Little do they suspect that a long-dormant enemy is about to execute a vengeful plot that has been brewing for decades.

Children of the Storm reunites numerous characters from previous novels and adds a new generation as well. Ramses and Nefret are now the parents of two-year old twins, which allows the familiar players to interact in new ways; the gruff but doting Emerson dandles the toddlers on his knees while Ramses and Nefret wonder if they’ll ever have a chance to resume their love life. Former arch-enemy Sethos is now a member of the family, and if it’s a little disconcerting to see the Master Criminal de-fanged, he now has the opportunity to deal with issues of remorse and redemption that provide his character with greater depth.

Time and progress have also brought new elements to the series, and if you think Emerson driving a motorcar in The Golden One was a daunting prospect, wait until he and the other men of the family have the opportunity to see an aeroplane up close in this installment.

Unlike its poorly plotted predecessor, Children’s mystery plot builds slowly but steadily, marred only by several surprisingly dense actions on the part of Ramses and Nefret (when allegedly smart characters say “what harm could possibly happen to me in broad daylight with hundreds of people around?” you know they’re in big trouble). The last 75 pages of the novel are truly gripping. Two major characters lie in mortal danger, and while the reader knows that Elizabeth Peters isn’t going to let anything happen to them, it’s still difficult to put down the book until they’re safe and sound.

Elizabeth Peters always writes with wry humor but there is one throwaway pun towards the end of the book that had me laughing out loud at its sheer silliness. I love the fact that this venerable author can still surprise me. As for her intrepid heroine, one can only speculate that the recent war in Iraq would have been even shorter if the Coalition forces had Amelia Peabody on their side. Saddam Hussein wouldn’t have stood a chance against her parasol.

--Susan Scribner