Crocodile on the Sandbank

I was disappointed in Crocodile on the Sandbank. I expected more of author Elizabeth Peters than I got out of this book. The relationships felt formulaic to me, and there was more romance than I like in my mysteries. Much too much. This 1975 book is the first in the 19-volume Amelia Peabody series. It is in this book that Amelia meets future husband Radcliffe Emerson, an Egyptologist. Maybe there's less romantic drama in the following books, but I'm not motivated to find out. This book has interesting plot/characters/setting; I just can't get past all the swooning.

from the back of the book:

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. Strange visitations, suspicious accidents, and a botched kidnapping convince Amelia that there is a plot afoot to harm Evelyn. Now Amelia finds herself up against an unknown enemy - and perilous forces that threaten to make her first Egyptian trip also her last...