You like her detective novels. You really, really like them.
Agatha Christie inspired generations of novelists, and more recent ones have often been compared to the renowned writer. One such bestselling author is Barbara Mertz, though the name may not sound too familiar…
That’s because she wrote under not one, but two different pen names over the span of decades. In Britain, she was perhaps best known as Elizabeth Peters, who brought to life a whopping 38 crime novels, per The Guardian. Nineteen of these centered on a beloved heroine known as Amelia Peabody, as fans well know.
Each book in the series is a stand-alone mystery which can be read without previous knowledge, Goodreads reports. However, the characters age throughout the series, and events in previous books — including spoilers concerning some of the main characters — are referenced in later books.
Here’s Goodreads’ synopsis in part of book 1, Crocodile on the Sandbank: “Amelia Peabody, that indomitable product of the Victorian age, embarks on her debut Egyptian adventure armed with unshakable self-confidence, a journal to record her thoughts, and, of course, a sturdy umbrella. On her way to Cairo, Amelia rescues young Evelyn Barton-Forbes, who has been abandoned by her scoundrel lover. Together the two women sail up the Nile to an archeological site run by the Emerson brothers-the irascible but dashing Radcliffe and the amiable Walter. Soon their little party is increased by one — one mummy that is, and a singularly lively example of the species.”
Mertz, who died in 2013 at age 85, also wrote as Barbara Michaels as well as her own name. Born and brought up in Illinois, she earned her Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago.
Mertz was named Grand Master at the inaugural Anthony Awards in 1986 and Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America at the Edgar Awards in 1998. She lived in a historic farmhouse in Frederick, western Maryland until her death.