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JANUARY - FEBRUARY REVIEWS THE
ABYSSINIAN PROOF
Kamil,
although hampered by less than accurate police records, quickly discovers the
enormous quantity of objects being stolen and smuggled out of the country. He
also learns that the vast majority of these objects end up in The
story is a complex tapestry of plots and subplots. And Kamil is a most engaging
protagonist — aristocratic and educated, sensitive and artistic, yet able to
kick down doors and go head to head with the lowest of villains. And the rare
orchids he raises and the fascinating women to whom he is attracted show his eye
for beauty. And in the course of this skillfully crafted book there is romance,
delicate eroticism, and even some unexpected taboos. The
story provides a rich sense of place and time. As Kamil moves though the old
neighborhoods in the course of his investigation, the author provides the reader
with a view of how This
is a wonderful piece of historical fiction. Jenny White, a professor of
anthropology at Aaron's
review of THE
DYING CRAPSHOOTER'S BLUES by NOVEMBER - DECEMBER REVIEWS LAST
RITUALS LAST
RITUALS, by
Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurdardóttir, is a contemporary murder mystery set in
Reykjavík. The initiating action in the book is the discovery of a graduate
student’s body by the chair of the university’s history department, the body
falling on him as he opens the door to the copy machine room. The police
investigate the crime and quickly arrest one of the murdered student’s friends
as the killer Lawyer Thóra
Gudmundsdóttir — thirty something and a single parent — is hired by the
victim’s parents, a wealthy German couple, who want an Icelandic attorney who
is fluent in the German language to review the case. One of their employees,
Matthew Reich, is dispatched to Reykjavík to assist her in her inquiries. In
addition to looking again at the evidence in this murder, the parents are also
interested in finding what happened to a large sum of money that disappeared
from their son’s bank account. Thóra
quickly learns about the bizarre nature of the victim, Harald Gunlieb. In life
he was heavily pierced and tattooed, including bits of metal inserted under his
skin in various parts of his body — not the kind person you’d want to be
behind at an airport security screening if you had a flight to catch. In death,
his body had been mutilated, a symbol carved on his chest and his eyes gouged
out. Thóra
learns from Matthew about Harald’s fascination with witchcraft, a passion he
shared with his late grandfather. And
Thóra and Matthew discover the focus of Harald’s graduate work — witch
trials during the medieval period in Slowly
they start piecing together the roll witchcraft played in Harald’s death and
disfigurement. In the course of the investigation, Thóra and Matthew have a
number of encounters with Harald’s circle of friends, also university
students, who had shared his love for witchcraft, sex, drugs, and alcohol.
Knowing that Thóra has no legal basis for her investigation, they are
uncooperative and suspiciously hostile. In the
end, Thóra is able to tie key pieces of evidence together. She and Matthew
confront the real killer and eventually hand him over to the police. And last,
they find the motive for disfiguring the corpse.
During the course of the story we get glimpses of Thóra’s life, her
struggles to look after her six-year-old daughter and increasingly difficult
sixteen-year-old son. This is a
skillfully plotted book that will keep you reading from the first page to the
end. Yrsa Sigurdardóttir established her writing credentials with five
children’s books. Now she’s moved on to the mystery genre with several very
successful titles. And her day job — she’s a civil engineer who is currently
managing one of the largest hydro construction projects in Aaron
Stander is an author enjoying wonderful success with his 2006
Northern Lower Michigan Bestsellers For Aaron's latest good
news about his COLOR TOUR book
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