Laughter of Dead Kings by Elizabeth Peters

Everyone who has read the Vicky Bliss books always wondered if, and what, the connection was between Sir John Tregarth and the Emerson clan of the Amelia Peabody Emerson books. Before Laughter of Dead Kings came out, there were many rumors that this book would answer all the questions.

The adventure started out with the theft of King Tutankhamen from his tomb in the Valley of the Kings. Feisel, from Night Train to Memphis, contacted Sir John because who else would ever think of stealing Tut? Well, obviously, Sir John would never do such a dirty deed to his friend, So Vicky and Sir John decided that they would have to investigate the crime to help Feisel and clear Sir John's name. Of course, Schmidt got involved. At first, Schmidt was going to spy on Sir John for Schmidt's new amour, Suzi, who believed that Sir John was guilty. Schmidt joined forces with Sir John and Vicky, and before you know it, the trio was on the scene in Egypt to find Tut. There's lot so action, twists, and turns before the mystery was solved, and the entire ride was great fun! It was fun to look for hints about the Emersons in the book, and a few things showed up. First was the compound that the Emersons lived in while on their archaeology trips, the home after the river boat. Then a character that can only be Elizabeth Peters herself showed up. The author admitted to buying some manuscripts from the Tregarths and of stealing others from the family estate's attics.

What I loved about the book was the ending. We do find out that Sir John is connected to the Emerson family, through the youngest granddaughter. As Sir John said, although Ramses was an only son, with three children, those children bred like rabbits. And we get the ending we all wanted since Vicky met John: the marriage proposal. I was left with a warm glow. It's sad that we won't have any more Vicky Bliss or Amelia Peabody Emerson books. I suppose we will all just have to continue the adventures in our imagination.