A young American travels to England to meet with her long-lost relatives but is stalked by 2 mysterious men who want a ring of now apparent value.
I had forgotten how much fun early Peters novels could be. Her humor appeals to me and her depictions of famous English sites really appeals. I had forgotten that the characters are able to walk across Stonehenge under the full moon without the barriers that are in place today. Just thinking about it makes me envious.

re-read 10/5/2023 ( )

Elizabeth Peters has lots of fun with romantic suspense tropes in THE CAMELOT CAPER.

Jessica Tregarth has been invited to visit her grandfather in Cornwall. Since he and her father were estranged, she's never met him. She's excited to be traveling in Britain and really wants to see all the typical tourist attractions.

However, things don't go well for her. Someone tries to steal her luggage when she arrives, and she keeps seeing the same strangers following her. She believes they want the ugly heirloom that her grandfather asked her to bring with her when she visits him.

She makes her escape on a bus where the friendly passengers and driver helps her get away from the villains. However, they leave her in a small village and the young man who is supposed to drive her to London isn't there. Instead she meets David Randall who thinks she is part of an elaborate prank set up by his friends.

He does agree to take her to London even though he doesn't believe her story. That is, he doesn't believe it until her pursuers attack him. Then he's all in and the two find their way to Cornwall where they discover a complicated plot having to do with King Arthur.

The plot elements sound like the plot of a good Gothic novel which is handy since David writes them. It also features a classic case of insta-love and some nicely witty dialog.

It was a fun story to revisit many years after I read it for the first time. Grace Conlin does an excellent job with the narration. ( )

This is the worst Elizabeth Peters book I've ever listened to. Meant to be light, a "caper" indeed, but the romance made me cringe. Every one of Peters's Egyptian books that I have read was much better. The plot was more incoherent than even a typical Peters plot, while the humor and historical interest were mostly absent. ( )

Maybe this one should have been called John Tregarth #1 rather than Vicky Bliss 0.5, considering the fact that Vicky never shows up in this story. John, however, does, leading his erstwhile cousin, Jessica on a merry chase through Cornwall. At least the off the cuff statement Vicky makes in a much later book finally makes sense - about John building Camelot in the back pasture ... Meh. ( )

If you've ever read a romantic suspense title by Elizabeth Peters, you'll know what you're getting here. If you haven't, expect a lot of narrative banter, outstanding atmosphere and setting, outstanding if superficial characterisations, a vintage version of insta-love, and an insanely silly plot that is nevertheless well researched and intricately laid out. The villains are never a surprise, but their motives - at least for me - almost always are.

The Camelot Caper starts off in the midst of action, as Jess is on a random bus going to an unknown destination in England, escaping from men who are pursuing her for unknown reasons. No build up, just bang! Except then we're subjected to the flash back necessary to catch the reader up and I find that device dull, dull, dull. I dislike the hurry-up-and-wait feel of it, so while the book started off great, it immediately bogged down for me until page 35 or so, when everyone gets on the same page (so to speak), and the silly bits of the plot start to kick in. The scene on the bus might be one of Peters' best comic efforts I've yet read.

The rest is fast pace and fun and even though Peters' characters step in it at every opportunity, almost constantly putting themselves in peril, the writing at least made the constant beatings thrilling in a way not dissimilar to roller coasters designed for kids (Big Thunder Mountain at Disney World, for example). That might sound like I'm damning the book with faint praise, but Big Thunder Mountain is just my speed: fun without being terrifying and leaving me just a tiny bit exhilarated at the end. The Camelot Caper is definitely a "C" ticket ride, at least. ( )