Devon’s review of The Laughter of Dead Kings (Vicky Bliss, No. 6) by Elizabeth Peters
Mystery released by William Morrow 26 Aug 08

Recently, I wrote of my excitement upon discovering this book had been published. Finally, after fourteen years, I would find out what had become of my beloved Vicky and John. This series of slightly slapstick adventures, set in the world of art and antiquities, had been a favorite comfort read since I was a tween. I lucked into it at work, intercepting the new release cart as it came down from Technical Services. Hoorah! I eagerly sat down to this entertaining, convoluted, and rather stale novel.

Was I disappointed? A little bit, but not really. It reminded me of getting together with an old friend. It’s great to see them, and you wish them all the best, but you don’t really have all that much in common anymore and the conversation feels really forced. So much of The Laughter of Dead Kings felt so familiar. The turns of phrase, the small actions…when you’ve read the prior books as often as I have, you can tell when it’s been said and done before.

The caper, which involved the theft of the most famous mummy in the world, could have been interesting. We are reunited with American Art Historian, Vicky Bliss, and her love, John Smythe, a former art thief trying to go straight. When John is implicated in the heist of the celebrated Egyptian Pharaoh, it is up to John, Vicky, and Vicky’s employer, Herr Doktor Professor Anton Schmidt, to track down the mummy and find the real criminals.

Everyone’s acting like their old selves, if only a shadow of them. Vicky seems angry and brittle, rather than witty and charming. Perhaps she’s getting sick of John’s crap, because he was pretty damn annoying. John was always morally ambiguous, and sometimes a douche, but also charming and amusing. He was redeemed by his constant rescues of Vicky, and their awesome chemistry. In this installment, he kept disappearing and being all withholding and sketchy for no good reason. Like Vicky, he lacked his previous charisma, seeming querulous instead.

Feisal, John’s old school chum from Night Train to Memphis, was featured, along with a number of new characters. None were particularly memorable. In fact, when a character re-appears late in the story, I had to leaf back to remind myself who he was. The show belonged to Schmidt, finally getting some respect. The aging Santa look alike is laughed at by Vicky and John, but constantly proves himself to be ten times more with it than everyone else in the book.

The book was disappointing, but not terrible. There were a number of very funny moments, and I loved the ending, despite not particularly liking John or Vicky throughout the book. It just felt like it had a lot of padding, and all the padding was recycled from other books. The Laughter of Dead Kings did not attain “definite re-read” status the way other Vicky Bliss books have, but I’ll read it again, to see if I change my mind. Vicky Bliss/Elizabeth Peters fans should read this for closure, but if you haven’t, start with The Street of the Five Moons.

Grade: C+

The Summary:
Who stole one of Egypt’s most priceless treasures? That is the question that haunts the authorities after a distinguished British gentleman with an upper-crust accent cons his way past a security guard and escapes into the desert carrying a world-famous, one-of-a-kind historic relic. But the Egyptian authorities and Interpol believe they know the identity of the culprit. The brazen crime bears all the earmarks of the work of one “Sir John Smythe,” the suave and dangerously charming international art thief who is, in fact, John Tregarth, the longtime significant other of Vicky Bliss. But John swears he is retired—not to mention innocent—and he vows to clear his name by hunting down the true criminal.

Vicky’s faith in her man’s integrity leaves her no choice but to take a hiatus from her position at a leading Munich museum and set out for the Middle East. Vicky’s employer, the eminent Herr Doktor Anton Z. Schmidt, rotund gourmand and insatiable adventurer, decides to join the entourage.

But dark days and myriad dangers await them in this land of intriguing antiquity. Each uncovered clue seems to raise even more questions for the intrepid Vicky—the most troubling being, Where is John going during his increasingly frequent and unexplained absences? And the stakes are elevated considerably when a ransom note arrives accompanied by a grisly memento intended to speed up negotiations—because now it appears that murder most foul has been added to the equation.

Read an excerpt.