A gorgeous multigenerational family saga beginning in Nantucket and characters from MOBY DICK mainly a chowder maven innkeeper and a sailor named Ishmael. Evangeline has been blessed or cursed with the ability to plant suggestions in people's heads letting her influence the thoughts of those around her. While she hungers for Ishmael who has signed onto a whaler which causes her to leave home later with her infant daughter. This search will continue as do the gifts handed down to the women of the family. Her daughter will grow up unmoored and her journey as well as her granddaughter's journey will eventually lead them full circle back to Nantucket. A beautifully written story of little white lies, the magic power of suggestion and family tension between stubborn women with an independent nature and a hunger for answers. While this story does pay homage to MOBY DICK, it highlights the women behind the whalers and even a whale to dive deeply into the struggles these women faced in the search for the truth of their history. Fans of THE PROSPECTORS by Ariel Djanikian and GREAT CIRCLE by Maggie Shipstead will enjoy this and you may also want to reread MOBY DICK. 4 stars
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The discovery of a hidden painting beneath a bargain leads Luke and his girlfriend Alexis back into the shady side of Nazi stolen art, questionable collectors and a variety of government agencies. As if the chase to recover the painting isn't enough the back story of Vincent Van Gogh's tragic life and untimely death alerting us to yet another mystery and the abundance of armchair travel nuggets about Amsterdam, small French towns and Paris will keep you entertained and intrigued. This art lesson becomes dangerous as the people involved are very violent and don't want to be found not to mention that we are not always sure who the good guys and who the bad guys are. The author is clearly well versed in the art world as he has spent years as an amateur art forger and like his other books, this has been well researched. A bit of Dan Brown ancient secrets and Daniel De Silva art historian mystery with the high stakes European chase and danger of a Robert Ludlum spy novel will please a variety of readers.
4 stars Olivia is on a luxury expedition cruise to Antarctica with her art broker boyfriend. There are a couple of majors snags right from the beginning - her boyfriend never gets on the ship leaving Olivia to handle the egos of the potential art buyers at the onboard auction , communication with the shore is sketchy or worse and she is on board with a killer and she seems to be the target. A tale of extreme travel and outdoor adventure in exotic locations combined with a twisty murder mystery is what Amy McCulloch excels at. There is a lot going on and all moving at a frantic pace guaranteed to get your heart rate up. The loose ends do get tied up at the end in an unlikely but tidy bow. Fans of her other adventure tales or the Alaska series by Paige Shelton will enjoy this. 3 1/2 stars
A young woman is in a self induced sleep which she has been in since the night of the double murder of her colleagues and friends four years prior. Is she the cold hearted killer or the victim of a sleepwalking nightmare? Anna is transferred to a special sleep clinic where specialist Ben Prince will attempt to revive her so she can stand trial. If he is successful it will means accolades for him but it will also mean heartache for Anna and her family. Is there someone else pulling the puppet strings? We follow the past through Anna's diary as well as from Dr. Prince. This twisty thriller is reminiscent of a Hitchcock masterpiece as seen in the small screen of the mind's eye. Unreliable narrators, hidden agendas and a criminal mind at work that will delight readers of THE SILENT PATIENT and THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW while giving us an opportunity to play armchair detective. 4 1/2 stars
A tale of loss, poetic justice and rebirth set on an island in Greece. Irini, along with her husband and young daughter live in paradise - an island with dense forest, pristine shorelines and abundant wildlife. Life is perfect until a wealthy developer sets fire to the island and lives are changed forever leaving Irini's husband and daughter badly burned. Later Irini comes across that developer hurt and makes the decision to leave him to die. No one in town would have second thoughts about her decision but guilt eats away at her. As her family slowly comes back to a second life so does the island and healing begins. This is a gut wrenching story of loss, grief and a deep connection to a place highlighted in poetic language casting no judgement yet showing the best and the worst of humanity.
Lefteri is very skilled at quiet stories of loss with deep characters and fans of THE BEEKEEPER OF ALEPPO will find much to love in this book. 4 stars |
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