Theft of an Idol

Theft of an Idol (#1,125) is the third entry in Dana Stabenow's brilliant series set in the Egypt of Cleopatra's time.  The mysteries just keep getting better!

Tetisheri is now established as The Eye of Cleopatra, her personal agent.  Her identity as such is revealed only to those who need to know it.  On this particular day, the whole court is assembled at the Odeon in Alexandria, eagerly awaiting the appearance of a famous actress, Herminia.  When she fails to appear, the show goes on with an understudy taking her place.  The crowd is disappointed, but still entertained.  On the way out, Cleopatra speaks briefly to Tetisheri.  She is charged with finding Herminia and reporting back to the Queen.

Tetisheri investigates with the handsome Appollodorus at her side, but no one really seems to know much about Herminia.  Is that deliberate?  Sheri begins to suspect that there is much more behind the disappearance than a favorite entertainer going missing.  When the bodies begin to pile up, and she is targeted for death herself, she is still in the dark.  Tetisheri's first experience of wielding the power of the Queen leaves her shaken, but she is finally rewarded with an answer to the mystery at the heart of it all.

I could hardly put this book down!  This series is best read from the beginning, Death of an Eye and Disappearance of a Scribe.  I can't wait to go to Egypt and see these places for myself.

Hester

Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter has always been one of my favorites, so when I read that Laurie Lico Albanese's new novel Hester (#1,124) was positing a potential inspiration for his Hester Prynne, I couldn't wait to read it.  Overall, I thought Ms. Albanese's book fulfilled her promise.

Isobel Gamble is a Scottish immigrant, married to a ne'er-do-well apothecary forced to flee to the New World due to debts.  She encounters Nathaniel Hathorne by the docks in Salem upon landing.  Both are struck by that first glimpse.  What could these two possibly have in common?  

Well, Isobel bewitches Nat with her red hair and blue-green eyes.  Not surprising, as she is descended from witches and has the blessing (or curse) of synesthesia, the ability to see, hear, or taste things imbued with unique colors.  Isobel's needle, when she is not mindful, produces scarlet As, blue Bs, yellow Cs and so forth.  Her mother long ago cautioned her to hide her ability, or she will be persecuted for it.

Nat, on the other hand, is the great great grandson of the only judge in the Salem Witchcraft Trials who refused to repent his role in the proceedings.  Nat is at a loose end, having graduated college, but unable to find any well-paying employment.  He writes, but his work so far has not been well received.

The obvious answer then is sexual attraction.  But just as Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne are doomed in The Scarlet Letter, so are Isobel Gamble and Nat Hathorne in Hester.  No good can come of it, except Margaret, Isobel's own Pearl.

I just had to keep reading to see what would happen next here.  If you are a Hawthorne fan, you should definitely add Hester to your reading list for a different perspective on him.  What an interesting origin story for the Scarlet Letter itself!

Two Wars and a Wedding

I won a copy of Lauren Willig's latest novel Two Wars and a Wedding (#1,123) in a GoodReads giveaway.  I entered the giveaway because I'm a fan of her work, so I was delighted to win it.

Her heroine, Betsy Hayes, is a strong-minded Smith graduate who acts impulsively and wants what she wants.  She's not always likeable, but as her backstory is spun out over the course of two parallel conflicts, she grows on you.  The narrative toggles between Betsy's involvement as a nurse in the Greek uprising against their Turkish overlords in the late 1890s and her determination to spare her best friend from Smith, Ava Saltonstall, the same brutal introduction to life by taking her place as a nurse in the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Although she is a wealthy heiress, things do not always go as Betsy plans: she is admitted to the American School in Athens because she wants to be an archaeologist, but the Professor in charge won't allow women on the dig sites.  When she's distracted by the social scene in Athens, her head is turned by a handsome Frenchman involved in the digs at Delphi.  Her friend Ava joins the Athenian socialites who are taking a First Aid Course, in case they should be needed at the front, where trouble is brewing with the Turks, so Betsy plays along.  Betsy fails the test but insists on having Queen Olga recommend her for the Red Cross, despite Ava's protests that she is unprepared to render actual aid.  But Betsy, being Betsy, goes ahead and comes out at the end a much sadder and not-necessarily-wiser woman.  Hence, her desire to protect Ava from making the same mistake by volunteering to go to Cuba with the troops.

In Tampa, Betsy meets up with her Yale Prom date, Peter, who is there with many of his gung-ho Ivy League classmates like the famous Hold 'em Holt in the Rough Riders Cavalry.  Soon, it's a rush to the front and the chaos of war, led by men who failed to prepare or provision properly.  And no, she doesn't prevent Ava from joining the Red Cross.  Their paths cross as Betsy struggles to take care of the sick and wounded under her care.

I found the backgrounds of these two conflicts very interesting, as I don't know much about either.  I think an author has succeeded if he or she makes you want to read more about the people, places or events they write about.  I also appreciated the shout out to Gilbert & Sullivan.  As a former Savoyard, I had the pleasure of performing in The Gondoliers myself.  I also appreciated the nod to the late, great Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels/Barbara Mertz in the reference to the famous fictional archaeologist Amelia Peabody in the series which began with Crocodile on the Sandbank, still one of my all-time favorite books.  (I'll be re-reading her Red Lands, Black Lands written under her own name, Barbara Mertz, with her Egyptology credentials before I go there next year.)

So much to like about this book, and so much more to dig into.  I just had one minor quibble; I think the title of the book should have been Two Wars and Two Weddings.  You'll just have to read it for yourself to find out if you agree with me on that!

Thank You For Listening

Not one, but TWO of my librarian friends highly recommended Julia Whelan's Thank You For Listening (#1,122).  After reading it, I can certainly see why.  Although I am not a fan of audiobooks myself, many of my friends are, and this novel features an audiobook narrator as its main character.  Narrating books wasn't her first choice, but after a horrendous accident while shooting a movie, Sewanee Chester turned her Juilliard drama training to good use in audiobooks, where she's made a name for herself.  She just won't narrate Romance.

That is until one of her first authors requested in her will that Sewanee co-narrate her final novel with Brock McNight, the mysterious voice of many a bestselling steamy romance.  For Julia French, Sewanee is willing to consider it...

But a chance meeting at a Las Vegas Book Convention throws a monkeywrench into her carefully guarded plans, and her expectations upside-down.

Just a delightful, heart-breaking read with a HEA ending (if you're not into Romance, that's Happily Ever After).  I read it, but I understand on good authority that the audio version of the book is terrific as well!

The Second Worst Restaurant in France

I saw that The Second Worst Restaurant in France (#1,121) was written by Alexander McCall Smith, so I thought I'd give it a read before we go.  It's a Paul Stuart novel, a character who writes about food.  I find I either tend to love or to hate his series.  This one I couldn't decide on, so I guess that's mostly a negative on this book. 

Paul Stuart has a contract to write a food book, but he isn't getting much done at the Edinburgh apartment he semi-shares with Gloria.  He doesn't consider that their relationship is strong enough for her to merit the term "girlfriend" although she is a friend with benefits.  The last straw comes when she moves in her two Siamese cats.  Paul cannot stand them.  He's driven to write in cafe where Gloria misinterprets something she sees.  Enter Cousin Chloe.  She whooshes into Paul's life and offers him the perfect out - an invitation to stay with her in a house she's rented in rural France.  He accepts, and off he goes to the village which boasts "the second worst restaurant in France".

I really wish there was more about the restaurant, and a whole lot less of Paul's philosophy in this book.  What could be entertaining and lighthearted is weighed down by Paul's ponderous angst.  Needless to say, this will not be a series I will follow.  But, as the French say, "chacun a son gout".