In The Seventh Sinner Elizabeth Peters masterfully "does her thing," as one of the characters in the story might put it. Her "thing," of course, is to turn archeology and history into subjects not only comprehensible but even palatable and intriguing for readers who might nod off in fact-filled lectures and who would shudder if confronted with real bones, let alone a grisly murder.
This book will be interesting for Peters' readers. A reissue, it may come as a surprising revelation for those who know Peters primarily from the Amelia Peabody books featuring the adventuting 19th century Egyptologist. The players in The Seventh Sinner are another type of cast entirely from those in the Peabody series.
This book features a group of graduate and post-graduatde students working at Rome's famed Institute of Art and Archeology. Some readers may be distracted by details of dress, hairstyle, and "hip" speech which place the story firmly in the early 1970's, but such distreactions are in the end overridden by the strength of the story and in particular by the witty and literate repartee of the characters. As one character remarks, they are "a bright group," if a little naive.
The characters definitely make the book a worthwhile read. And while the story unfolds through the observations of one of the students, only a very inexperienced reader or a book jacke blurb writer could perceive Jean Stuttman as the real central character. She happens to be the right sex and the right age (early 20's) with the right ambitions (professions and romantic) to put into the standard romantic suspense novel of the early 1970's.
But the central character is mullti-faceted, often enigmatic, middle-aged Jacqueline Kirby, sometime mild-mannered librarian, sometime mom, sometime detective, and never predictable anything. She doesn't want to talk about her kids and defies all attempts to be stereotyped; nevertheless, she becomes the center pole for this artistic, ambitious g! roup who become embroiled in both a modern murder and an ancient mystery in the tombs and churches of the early Christian era which underlie the streets and structures of modern Rome.
Of perirheral interest in the book is Dr. Scoville, Senior, father of two members of the student group. He could be the prototype for that later developed and more famous fictional archeologist. He is brilliant, handsome, sexy, and world famous for his daring exploits in pursuit of archeological treasures. Sound familiar, movie fans?
In this story, though, the dashing archeologist is a minor player. Jacqueline Kirby is the librarian who sleuths out the answers and convinces the equally dashing Italian police official she is right. Her people sense is as good as her book sense, too. In that way she differs from Amelia Peabody; she thinks things through before charging in. For those readers who like her as much as this reviewer, it is good to know ther are more Peters books reaturing the librarian with the big purse.
The Seventh Sinner deserves a first read by those not yet acquainted with Peters' full range of work, and it will be a welcome refresher for those who know it well.
