Welcome to this month's fiction and mystery book
reviews. Fiction is the art of storytelling, where the imagination soars,
the intellect is broadened, and the heart yearns for more. We try to review the best
mystery books, amusing works, and other novels that you might not find covered in your local
newspaper or the Sunday New York Times. We hope you enjoy our fiction and mystery book reviews, too!
The quiet, unassuming wife of a middle-aged anesthetist has discovered that her husband
is having an affair. It happens one day when she finds the unmistakeable evidence of a recent tryst
in the glove box of her husband's car as she was driving it home from the supermarket. Her
mind reeling from the implications, she accidentally hits and kills an old woman crossing an
isolated intersection. Only half-aware of what she's done, she drives home, parks the car
in the garage and waits for the return of her husband. Their marriage hadn't been working
for many years, but it was truly over now. He leaves her to live with his lover, alone in their
old house. Meanwhile, she's gotten away with her crime. Guilt-ridden about the woman she's killed,
she ends up seeking out the woman's grieving husband. She gradually works her way into his
world, convincing him she's his Ruth come back to be with him.
Its a dark tale of a woman whose life, as empty and full of pretense as one could imagine,
has been totally shattered by the loss of her marriage and the guilt from the accident.
Told through her thoughts mixed with a stream of notes from the grieving husband to his
lost love, the whirlpool that drags her down takes us right along with it. The simple
tragedy of her life is inexorably sweeping her on a path she could never foresee, much
less change. Perfect for settling in for a good read on a cold, dark night.
This is a mystical tale of a boy born in the 14th century near the beginning of the Rennaisance in Florence
Italy who posesses an innate beauty and seems to age very slowly. His parents are forced
to abandon him and he spends his early childhood as a beggar and street thief where he acquires
the nickname Luca Bastardo. He and his two mates eke out a meager existence until he
is kidnapped and foced to work in a brothel where he is constantly beaten and threatened
with death. But Luca is allowed occasional forays into the city where he comes into contact with
the legends of the time, from Leonardo di Vinci to the de Medici Brothers.
Its a combination of a historical novel and a bit of a thriller, as Luca fights battles with
soldiers and other villains as he seeks his parents and the origins of his apparent immortality.
While often dark, "Immortal" certainly has a soul and paints a vivid picture of life in
Florence of that era. We cheer and cry for Luca as he plots his escape from the brothel,
is befriended by a Jewish man whose life he saves, and as he eventually matures into manhood
and takes a wife. Certainly one of the best novels so far this year.
Another entry in the recent stream of historical novels comes in the form of this
Victorian-era mystery. Irish barrister Patrick Fitzgerald is a cinfidant of the Queen,
thanks to his prior service in quashing a plot to murder her. The Queen is distrought
because her husband, Prince Phillip, is gravely ill. Patick is unsure what to do,
and is suddenly cast in the middle of a mystery one day when he and his young
protege' Dr. Georgianna Armistad are riding in a Queen's coach when it is attacked
and overturned. The question is were Patrick and Georgianna the intended target,
or was it yet another attempt on the life of the Queen?
A carefully-crafted plot and an adept hand at scenery make this one of the most
enjoyable mysteries I've seen this year. One could expect no less from the
author who gave us the stories of Jane Austin as a young detective.
Selling Out by Justina Robson
Pyr
Paperback
ISBN# 978-1-59102-597-9
Suggested Retail Price: $15.00 or as low as $5.71 from Amazon.com!
Here's a treat for the Fantasy/Sci-Fi fans. Its the second book in the Quantam
Gravity series by Justina Robson. Our cyborg secret agent hero Lila Black is back
with a new mission, following her former partner, rock-musician Zal on his latest
tour and who has apparently gone over to the dark side. With little more than
her symbiote - the elven necromancer Tath - to help her, Lila is fighting intergalactic
politics and all sorts of magical beings as she tries to find her true self and help
her boyfriend at the same time. A bit of a wild ride for fans of the genre.
Poor Rolly Waters is one of those people who never really caught on in life. He's
still trying to make it as a guitar player with a rock-and-roll band, but he also
works as a private eye part time to pay the bills. One night, after playing a gig
for a booming Internet company in a mansion near the ocean in San Diego, he discovers
a dead body floating in the pool. He flees the scene and it looks like he made a
clean getaway. But the next day an old school chum who's latched on with the same
Internet company hires him to find "a key". Only this is a special kind of electronic
key that unlocks the company's crown jewels that are safely locked away in their computer.
There's a steady stream of people who threaten Rolly, and a knock-out of a girl that
he just can't figure out. It makes for a fast-paced thriller, and a fun read, even
if the pay-off wasn't a complete surprise.
More Mystery Book Reviews
Rainbo Reviews' fiction and mystery book reviews are published monthly. Back issues of our fiction and mystery book reviews are available from the Rainbo Book Reviews Archive.
Be sure to visit us again next month when we'll
present more great mystery book reviews! Our mystery
and general fiction books reviews are written by our Editor, Richard L. Trethewey.
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