The Copenhagen Connection

By: Elizabeth Peters

Narrated by: Grace Conlin

Elizabeth Jones, vacationing from her New York publishing job, is off to do touristy things in Denmark: gawk at the Little Mermaid, stroll in the Tivoli...look for a missing person? The plane ride itself had turned out to be Kismet, introducing Elizabeth to her idol, Nobel Prize-winning historian and famed eccentric Margaret Rosenberg and her long-suffering son, Christian. So when Margaret vanishes in Copenhagen, Elizabeth joins the irascible Christian in searching the city, from underground crypts to the graves of queens. What they encounter is a baffling ransom demand for a bathrobe, not money. And what they dig up will connect a modern disappearance with an ancient artifact and the oldest of motives for crime.

The Copenhagen Connection is an Elizabeth Peters classic, featuring her signature blend of ancient history and modern mayhem, red herrings, and the crème de la crème of amateur detectives.

©1982 Elizabeth Peters (P)1995 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"This is an entertaining tale, full of charm." (Library Journal)

You see where (romance) is going, enjoy the ride

From the time Elizabeth Jones and Christian Rosenberg (his eccentric sister's keeper) meet on the plane, sparks fly and you see where it's (their romance) is going but enjoy the ride. On her dream trip to Copenhagen, Elizabeth recognizes her idol, a famous author, Margaret Rosenberg, a Nobel Prize in Literature winner. Seeking closer inspection she manages to spill the contents of his coffee cup all over Margaret's seatmate's lap. The man is Christian, her brother, who keeps brilliant but wacky Margaret in line. When Margaret's secretary is injured at the airport in a luggage accident, Elizabeth is thrust into that role to fill in over Christian's objections. Soon Margaret disappears and Elizabeth and Christian try to follow, catching tantalizing glimpses of her. l The two don't know if Margaret is running under her own power, under someone else's control, or to prevent someone else from capturing and controlling her, but Margaret leads Christian and Elizabeth a merry chase, leaving unexpected clues that her brother has less success at interpreting than her devotee Elizabeth. It's a delicious romp where Elizabeth displays Amelia Peabody's cardinal characteristic of never complaining and being a good sport, even in dire circumstances, such as when they end up in a medieval torture chamber. The story is a real pleasure.

Farce humorous novel by Elizabeth Peters, best for long standing fans

I am writing this review in response to two of the other written reviews.

This non-series mystery and romantic caper by ELizabeth Peters is a madcap/screwball comedy which apparently (reading the other written reviews) is trying to a listener who is not a long standing fan of Peters and her other pseudonym, Barbara Michaels. Although this is not one of my top favorites among Peters/Michaels many works, I still enjoyed it very much (4 stars). The heroine, Elizabeth, is thrown in with the Rosenbergs, mother (Margaret) and son (Christian, who is the grumpy hero). Only Margaret, who goes on the lam, knows what the heck is going on, but Christian and Elizabeth muddle through with repeated clumsy mishaps when confronting the criminals. This is definitely one of the more confusing novels by Peters so I recommend it for listening by long standing fans and not for readers/listeners who are new to Peters. Lastly, this novel is not a travelogue for Copenhagen but does contain some Scandinavian history and archeology.

For listeners who are new to Peters, I recommend trying one of her other, more sedate novels or one of her series. See the bibliography in the Wikipedia entry for Elizabeth Peters.

Recommended for people who like madcap plays like Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" or Brandon Thomas's "Charley's Aunt" or madcap movies like "Bringing Up Baby" (Katherine Hepburn and Carey Grant). These are three of my favorites for light hearted screwball entertainment containing much confusion.

(I found the narration too loud and had to turn down the volume from my usual comfort level; odd considering I am slightly deaf.)

a fun listen

very nice to have a light mystery to keep me company while I'm at the gym.

Fun and playful

I enjoyed the mystery, particularly as each character has different suspicions about what is going on. Toward the end we get more of Margaret's perspective, which has until that point been filtered through her son's imperfect understanding of his mother. Her concerns make more sense and had me saying, well yes, that's reasonable.

There's also a lot of humor in that these criminals are generally greedy put not masterminds.

While I generally like Grace Conlin as a narrator, there are some words for which she has interesting pronunciations.

Seemed rushed

Not the usual Elizabeth Peters I'm used to. Both the story and the performance seemed rushed At times it seemed the narrator was shouting the words and there wasn't enough distinction between the voices of the two main characters,

Another fun adventure by Ms. Peters

This story follows the common theme of Ms. Peters of a young woman who goes on a trip and finds herself in an unexpected adventure. The other characters are quirky, menacing, and/or deceptive, which helps build the mystery. Though it lacks the humor and character development found in later books (especially in the Amelia Peabody books, but also in Legend in Green Velvet), it is a very enjoyable read. Ms. Conlon does an excellent job in narrating. It is different from Barbara Rosenblatt’s exceptional narration of the Peabody books, but it suits this story well.

The Queen’s Bathrobe

An old Elizabeth Peters book.1985?
I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
Different from her regular Peabody stories.

easy listening

Elizabeth Peters is easy to read and to listen to. The narrator was perfect

Nice light listen

Any additional comments?

The narrator was nice but fast. This was a good light listen - one you don't have to concentrate on too closely. Good happily-ever-after ending. Kinda formula for Ms. Peters, but always pleasant.

very good story.

I guess what I like best about Elizabeth Peters books is they are good stories and she has a great sense of humor. Her characters are always so well written that it's interesting to see what she will come up with next. Also, Grace Conlin does an amazingly good job on narration. Thank you so much.