The Barnes & Noble ReviewSomebody'll have to come up with a new thesaurus. We're running out of synonyms to praise Elizabeth Peters with. Or, with which to praise Elizabeth Peters, if you're a stickler about such things. To make it clear: The Falcon at the Portal may just be the best Amelia Peabody yet. A trek to Egypt. Archaeological trip. Good times being had by all until a new family member of the Peabody brood is accused of peddling fraudulent artifacts. What is going on here? I watch every Discovery Channel and History Channel episode on Egypt. If I weren't so lazy, I'd also spend a lot of reading time on the subject. But nobody brings Egypt alive quite like Elizabeth Peters. Maybe it's the lively, scorpion-tongued way she retells the history of the region, managing to create a perfect mix of mood, melodrama, and a certain sardonic skepticism about the land she so clearly loves. In this novel, the accusation of fraud against the new in-law leads to all sorts of intrigue, both foreign and domestic, and gives Peters the opportunity to create a constantly shifting landscape that is, by turns, beautiful, ageless, and devastatingly cruel and treacherous. She also charts the struggle of Egypt to come to terms with this century, a fascinating subject in itself. With The Falcon at the Portal, Peters proves yet again that she is in the first rank of mystery storytellers. —Ed Gorman