Robert Langdon, Harvard symbologist,
is called to Switzerland to aid the director of CERN (Conseil Européen
pour la Recherche Nucléaire) in tracing a murderer connected
with the ancient brotherhood of the Illuminati. The murder victim, CERN
physicist Leonardo Vetra, lay naked, and, gruesomely, one of his eyes
has been plucked out. Across his chest, the Illuminati ambigram (an
ambigram is a word rendered to read the same both forward and back)
has been branded onto his flesh.
Within hours of landing in Switzerland, Robert finds himself in the
middle of a terrifying scheme centered around stolen antimatter, an
incredibly potent, yet unstable, source of energy recently discovered
by the murdered scientist, and his daughter and colleague, Vittoria...and
the Illuminati, a secret society dedicated to preserving the advancement
of science, and just as dedicated to condemning the Catholic church.
Following a maze of clues, Robert and Vittoria race through Rome in
search of the antimatter, which is lying dormant somewhere within Vatican
City, its interior timing device counting down to the 12th hour, when
it will awaken and detonate, taking the whole of the city, its priceless
treasures, and all the people within it.
Science vs. Religion, or so it seems.
Patricia
Highsmith wrote a number of books throughout her life including a children’s
book, a how-to writing manual and numerous mysteries and short stories.
But of all the books she wrote she is most famous for the Tom Ripley
series. Though highly read before the most recent *film version of The
Talented Mr. Ripley debuted in 1999, the series certainly
gained a larger audience with its screen presence.
Rather than review each book individually, I am giving an overview of
the five books that comprise the series for several reasons. First of
all, it is very much to the reader’s benefit if the books are
read in order. Within the text there are often references to events
that happened earlier and you will miss certain background information
on the main characters if read out of order. Secondly, though art is
featured in all of the books in some way or other, there is one book
in particular - Ripley Under Ground - where it plays out as
the major backdrop to the plot but because of this I am including the
whole series.
The main character to the series is Tom Ripley. In the first book The
Talented Mr. Ripley, we follow Tom through a very formative time
in his life. Actually, it is the basis for all the books following.
You see Tom is someone who, for various reasons, gets himself into “situations”
in which he can see no way out other than murder. In the first book
his murders are either of a passionate nature or because he feels caged,
with no escape. In later books he kills because of his past secrets
that tend to verify Sir Walter Scott’s famous words “Oh
what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive…”
Tom is a young man in the first book and we follow his life through
the series. It is interesting to note that Patricia Highsmith did not
pen the second book until 1970 some fifteen years after The
Talented Mr. Ripley was first published and the final book,
Ripley Under Water was not published until 1991.
The fascinating thing about the Ripley series is that although the main
character is a calculating killer, he is not someone that you hate or
even dislike. On the contrary with his beautiful villa, Belle Ombre,
situated in the small town of Villeperce, France, his lovely wife French
wife Heloise, his interest in gardening, wine and art he seems almost
humble in comparison to his surroundings. He doesn’t like to kill
and in most cases is trying to do everything possible to change the
inevitable. These books are filled with dark secrets but they’re
played out in beautiful , serene settings. You almost feel as if you
are on vacation or maybe a guest at Belle Ombre.
There are twists and turns throughout the plots and much of the enjoyment
comes from getting to know Tom Ripley a little bit better through each
story. I highly recommend this series and the most recent movie too.
Although I should warn you that if you see the movie with Matt Damon,
it is his face that will pop into your mind as your making your way
through the rest of the series…but that's not a bad thing.
*The
Talented Mr. Ripley was previously released in film version as
Plein Soleil (1960) and Ripley's Game was released as An American
Friend in(1977).
A
man lying dean in an ancient Roman alley. On his body are found two
clues – a cryptic note written in hieroglyphics and the beautiful
Charlemagne Talisman. Exquisite – but not real. An almost perfect
reproduction that leads our heroine Vicky Bliss through the streets
of Rome and into the arms of …danger?
Well, maybe. Three parts mystery to one part romance.
This is one of a number in the Vicky Bliss mystery series by Elizabeth
Peters also known for her Amanda Peabody books (in which she is an Egyptologist)
and is a good choice for the beach or any other equally lighthearted
occasion. Easy to read, probably a better bet for women than men.
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The Flanders Panel is set
in Madrid and begins with the discovery of a hidden inscription found
by a young art restorer whilst working on a 15th c. painting. “Quis
necavit equitem"– who killed the night?
The painting shows a scene of two men - a nobleman and a knight - playing
chess while the wife of the nobleman man watches on.
The knight in the painting is Roger of Arras whose death (murder?) in
1469 was never solved. Julia, the art restorer, believes the inscription
could be the key to the ancient puzzle.
While pursuing this clue, Julia find herself enmeshed in a past mystery
that has somehow transcended itself into the present day through the
chess game. Once just a part of the painting, it has come back to life
and is demanding the stakes be very high.
The first 150 pages of this book are really gripping. Unfortunately
somewhere along the way it seems to lose sight of itself and the ending
is, I’m sorry to say, a let down. Still, I would recommend this
book for the first half alone.
A charming story of two siblings,
older sister Claudia and younger brother Jamie, and their escape from
the ordinary day-to-day trials and tribulations of life in the later
years of elementary school. The plan – runaway from home and head
for the Metropolitan Museum of Art - where they will hide out until
adventure in some form or other finds them. Stowing clothes and sundry
items in their instrument cases they head to New York and, once making
their way into the museum, manage to elude security by hiding in toilet
stalls whilst the lights go out.
Taking advantage of some of the fabulous furnished room exhibits, they
sleep very comfortably in what sounds like a bed from the Louis Quinze
era and bathe in one of the museum’s fountains complete with coin
bottomed floor.
But amidst all the fun a real mystery reveals itself in the form of
a beautiful marble angel, which may or may not be the work of the famous
artist Michelangelo. Only the secretive Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler knows
for sure and she’s not making it easy for anyone to find out.
One of the most remarkable books for young people. I remember when I
first read this, I think I was in fourth grade; it’s one of a
handful of books that really stands out in my memory.
This book has twice been made into a movie, the first starring Ingrid
Bergman in 1972 and more recently Lauren Bacall as Mrs. Frankweiler
in the 1995 version. (See movie section)
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All right…if you liked A Year in Provence
for the wonderful culinary and wine descriptions, beautiful countryside
etc., you will probably like this book. If you liked A Year in Provence
for the wonderful writing and characters along with a very interesting
(real life) story you probably will not.
The mystery centers on Andre Kelly, a French photographer living in
New York and a cast of characters that include a lovely romantic interest,
a high maintenance magazine editor, a millionaire, and a forger. And
of course there’s a Cézanne - which may or may not be the
real thing. The plot is really thin and I doubt true mystery fans will
enjoy this book. However, Mayle’s travelogue backgrounds are still
charming.
I remember exactly
the first time I read Iain Pears. I was on a skiing vacation up at Black
Comb Whistler in Canada, and during breaks from the snow and cold I
would curl up by the fireplace and read what was to be the first of
Iain Pears art history mysteries.
That was the Raphael Affair and I’ll save that for another
review. What I will tell you about the book was that I liked it. Unfortunately,
I can’t say the same for this title or many of the others that
followed.
The settings are lovely and romantic, and if I describe the book you’ll
probably want to read it. Art, Venice, culture, theft…the problem
is I just can’t get into the characters. There are two main personalities
(in this book) Jonathan Argyll, an art expert and sidekick to the more
daring, and flamboyant Flavia di Stefano, art detective. There is supposed
to be romantic chemistry brewing between these two but it just doesn’t
seem believable. It’s like Niles Crane with Emma Peel from the
old Avengers series. Wait...I guess that combination sort of
works, but this one doesn’t.
The plot centers on the Titian Committee, an elite group of art historians
that specialize in all things relevant to the famed Venetian painter.
When one of them is found murdered, the local police try to categorize
it as a suicide but the powers that be in Rome are suspicious, and Flavia
di Stefano is deported to Venice to stir things up and possibly snuff
out a clue or two.
I had a really hard time getting through this book. I recommend reading
the Raphael Affair as an alternative. This one just skulked
and skulked and skulked(!) along.
Japanese antiquities expert, Rei Shimura,
is engaged to courier a famous kimono from a Tokyo museum to the Cultural
Museum in Washington D.C. From the beginning there are complications
for Rei, not the least being her bi-cultural heritage (mother America,
father Japanese) and how that affects her position in the Asian art
world. With intriguing museum politics, a priceless kimono gone errant
and a murder on her hands, our heroine is thrust into a match of wits
and wills in this mystery filled with interesting side notes on Japanese
culture and heritage.
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Jacques Sauniere, curator at the Louvre
in Paris, is found dead in the Grand Salon of the museum, naked and
surrounded by cryptic codes in both letters and numerals. After finding
his name in the victim’s date book, Robert Langdon, Harvard professor
and Symbologist, is called in by the French Police, seemingly to assist
in interpreting the code.
From the moment Robert steps into the Louvre, he is enmeshed in a mystery
spun around the ancient group The Priory de Sion, a secret society that
guards the hiding place of the Holy Grail. Luckily for him, Sophie Neuve,
an expert cryptologist, and granddaughter of the murder victim, enters
the picture and the two combine their expertise to decipher the maze
of coded messages, double-crossers and finally, the mystery behind the
murder.
This book is pretty entertaining.
If you’ve read anything about this book, you probably already
know that much of what is touted as fact, is in question, but so what?
This is an easy one or two day read, there are some interesting ideas,
and the interweaving of Da Vinci (who is the possible creator of the
real life fake, the Shroud of Turin), and Sir Isaac Newton is intriguing.
There is one complaint I have about this book. Some of the “codes”
they have to crack are incredibly simple. There are two that are so
elementary that I knew the answer the instant I read them. And these
are two experts?
Still, this is a book you’ll
enjoy and even if the facts are padded with fiction, the tid-bits on
symbolism in art, early Christian sects and mathematical equations are
quite extraordinary.
Faith Crowell lives a lone with
her cat, has few friends and has made a career of painting trompe l’oeil.
Out of the blue she receives a commission from a socially prominent
widow asking her to paint the interior of her ballroom. Liking her solitude,
she accepts the job looking forward to a long project with little standing
between herself and a peaceful work environment for the next few weeks.
After the initial meeting she begins work and though the project is
going well she begins to feel slightly uneasy at the eccentric climate
surrounding the estate and its chief occupant. Soon she finds out that
her client’s daughter was murdered on the same estate she is now
painting. And not only that, she looks a lot like her. Run, Faith, run!
But she doesn’t.
A well-written book with an ending
that, while not a total shocker, will probably surprise you. This story
is strange in that the main character, Faith, is not wholly “together”
or “out of it” in the conventional sense. I mean, she’s
a little bit older than most gal characters (39), she openly admits
to often having morbid thoughts, and in a bathroom scene she does something
most people wouldn’t. It’s a little bit disjointed, but
it does make for a nice intro to her intrigue with the murdered girl.
The sex scene in the book is a bit of an anomaly too.
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Now this should be my kind of book!
Art, books, the Library of Congress...!
One of the first things that struck me was the loss of reading rhythm
you experience when someone has a hyphenated name. Annabelle Reed-Smith,
or Mrs. Reed-Smith, as she is often called throughout the book, is a
former matrimony attorney turned Pre-Columbian art dealer, who is taking
some time off to research and write about the Las Casas diaries and
the journey of Christopher Columbus for Civilization magazine
at the Library of Congress.
No sooner does she arrive when a fellow researcher is found slumped
over his desk and it looks a lot like murder. Annabelle is assigned
to go through his files and little by little a hidden agenda slowly
comes to surface. Unfortunately, since everyone who dealt with the murdered
victim disliked him immensely, the list of suspects is long and reaches
throughout the inner circle of America’s foremost library.
A solid grade B mystery and good for an afternoon escape.
