Book Log #54: Borrower of the Night, by Elizabeth Peters

In preparation to read the shiny new The Laughter of Dead Kings from Elizabeth Peters, I re-read the original Vicky Bliss this week, Borrower of the Night.

This is the book that introduces Vicky as well as Schmidt, her longstanding boss. However, it's also the odd duck out from the rest of the series, since there's no sign yet of Vicky's future love interest, the infamous John. It's the most dated of the books as well--though this isn't a surprise, given that this installment first came out way back in 1973.

Now, that said? There's quite a bit of win to be found in here. The overall lighthearted tone of the story is signature Vicky, and common to many Elizabeth Peters novels of the era. While the males in the plot interact with Vicky in stereotypical sorts of ways--which is of course one of the main laments of her life, due to her being tall, blonde, and gorgeous--they're never too overbearing about it. And, it's fun to see Vicky cheerfully skewer all of the stereotypical notions of what a "heroine" ought to be like, anyway.

Generally not as nifty as the books later in the series, but a nice opening volley nonetheless. Three stars.

Book Log #55: Street of the Five Moons, by Elizabeth Peters

Ah yeah, now we're talkin'. With the second installment, Street of the Five Moons, the Vicky Bliss series starts getting its feet under it--in no small part due to Vicky's infamous love interest John Smythe coming on camera.

Those of you who are fans of these books know what I'm talking about; those of you who aren't, if you like the chemistry between Laura Holt and Remington Steele in the old series, Vicky and John will feel very, very familiar. John is dashing, incorrigible, absolutely infuriating, and he charms my socks right off while he's busily charming Vicky against her better judgment.

There may be places more classically romantic than Rome in which this novel could have been set, but I'm hard pressed to think of any of them. It's a wonderful backdrop against which to stage breakings and enterings, priceless (and stolen) art objects, nighttime chases, kidnappings, crisscrossed communications, and the obligatory wounding of the aforementioned handsome, dashing, and infuriating hero. This is classic Elizabeth Peters, and fun from the first word to the last. Four stars.

Book Log #56: Silhouette in Scarlet, by Elizabeth Peters

The third Vicky Bliss novel, Silhouette in Scarlet, brings our heroine to Sweden, armed with a mysterious message from her one-time lover John. Once she arrives, Vicky is pulled right into John's latest swindle: an attempt to search a rich recluse's property for a cache of buried treasure. Naturally, things go awry. John is crossed and double-crossed; persons are revealed to be not at all what they seem; Vicky gets to drink in the sights of a charming locale even as the scheme closes in around her, and her affections are courted from multiple directions.

For me, though, this is the weakest book of the series--not because of any real fault of the writing, but simply because it's too short. There isn't much complexity to the plot, compared to the two succeeding novels; this one is more along the lighthearted, farcical lines of Borrower of the Night. That said, there are some nice sparks of chemistry between Vicky and John, and our thieving hero does get to make a suitably dramatic exit. Three stars.