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Hippopotamus Pool, The by Elizabeth Peters
Reader Reviews A fizzer, January 16, 2003 Reviewer: kallan This book started off so well . . . and then died. Peters so indulges herself by packing "The Hippopotamus Pool" full of almost every character of significance who has previously appeared, and then some new ones, that the focus is too diffused for proper plot development, let alone character development. And what does Peters do with the characters? Walter and Evelyn are wrecked; Cyrus and Kevin have nothing to do; after showing signs of improvement Ramses has gone downhill again; and Nefret has to be one of the most singularly boring characters I have ever come across. Sir Edward (how can a younger son have that title?) and Miss Marmaduke are afterthoughts, and David was pretty well unnecessary. Amelia is back to insufferable, so thank heavens Emerson was his usual self in this book. Whenever the plot of "The Hippopotamus Pool" showed signs of picking up, things would go flat again. The Emersons are contacted by a mysterious stranger . . . and nothing happens. They travel to Luxor . . . and nothing happens. They discover the tomb . . . and nothing happens. Between her (I think increasingly odd) determination to have no discovery made by the Emersons impact on the real history of Egyptology and her desire to flesh out what is less and less a mystery series than a family saga, Peters in this book loses the sense of direction and fun that characterised previous books in this series. And as for the ending . . . No-one could possibly have figured it out, and that violates the unofficial contract between mystery writer and mystery reader. So why the two stars? The journey did have its good points. It wasn't till I'd finished that I realised I felt cheated by this book. And what...is the Hippopotamus Pool anyway? Am I missing something?
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