Paul Adam's "The Rainaldi Quartet" eloquently melds his knowledge of Italian culture and violins into a contemporary mystery revolving around the heinous murder of an aging luthier. His lead characters - Gianni and Guastafeste - are tireless in their efforts to find out what their dear departed friend had discovered just prior to his demise. It's a quest that takes them across breathtaking cityscapes and is written with such skill that you can practically smell the food they're eating and the wine they're tasting!
Choose elements of three other books or authors this book reminds you of:
Victoria Holt and Phyllis A. Whitney
Back when I was in high school, my bookshelves were filled with the Gothic romances of Mary Stewart, Victoria Holt and Phyllis A. Whitney. In my mind's eye (especially on a dark and stormy night!), I liked to cast myself as one of the intrepid governesses who finds employment at the manor house of a devastatingly handsome but brooding lord with a plethora of mysterious, murderous relatives and eavesdropping servants.
If they made a movie:
Sandra Bullock or Reese Witherspoon would be perfectly plucky.
Generation:
GenX (1960-1975)
An ancient line of witches…
An undying love…
A coming revolution…
One woman in the center of it all…
By:
North Bay Book Review--San Rafael, CA
Author M. Luci has played the perfect tune with A Beautiful Bucket of Bones. The story about love, rebirth, hope and fear takes so many turns and asks so many questions that it is difficult for a reviewer to even attempt to explain the simple complexity of this novel. Will Cara Dolorina take the trip to Italy?
If they made a movie:
I don't think any actors could do justice to these characters. They are best left in the imagination where they are indeed perfect.
