Emily Braden couldn't resist the invitation to
join her charming but unreliable cousin, Harry, on a visit to the town
of Chinon—where, according to legend, Queen Isabelle hid her treasured
jewels during a seige in the 13th century. But when Harry vanishes and
Emily begins to search for him, she uncovers the mystery of a different
Isabelle. A mystery that dates back to the German occupation during the
Second World War. As Emily explores the city, with its labyrinthine
tunnels and ancient history, she's drawn ever closer to the mysterious
Isabelles and their long-kept secrets.
Comment: So
far, the books by Susanna Kearsley have been very interesting. She has a way of
writing that is very appealing to me.
This is the
4th book by her I read. So far all the books follow a certain idea,
there’s a story happening and there’s also a subtle paranormal element in, like
the veracity of reincarnation or a medium or even the memories of past lives.
In this one, things are way subtler.
This book
presents us Emily. She is invited by her wild cousin to visit the place where
King John and his wife lived in France. She is in need of a vacation and she
enjoys that moment of history so she accepts. Of course, her cousin isn’t
waiting for her as promised but she doesn’t find it strange because it’s his
usual behavior, to do as he pleases. She checks in to the hotel and decides to
wait for him. In there she meets a cast of characters that intrigue her and
that bring her up to date to the conversations and new friendships, even an
unwanted attraction from her part.
I liked how
the author has created this story. As usual, things are inserted slowly, the
action doesn’t rush and we even have a hint of romance. This story, however, is
different from the others because is focuses more in the current mystery than
in the happenings from old times. It’s a bit more like suspense than a
contemporary. I liked it, because after two books very similar (Mariana and Sophia’s Secret), this was quite the fresh surprise.
Like usual,
the characters offer many different takes on behavior. I was very glad to see
so many personalities at the hotel, the loud American woman, the apparently
quiet subservient husband, the funny guy, the serious melancholic one, the
friendly waiter, the strange neighbor, and so on. The author has put into
action so many different people to interact and build up an interesting story
that, I have to be honest, surprised and intrigued much more than what I
imagined.
The action moved
along a way I wasn’t expecting. A thing or two happened I was really surprised
to see happening. So, this story felt quite strong for me because it seemed
apparent, considering her other books, the pace would be sedate, simple,
peaceful…and this book had some scenes where things were much unexpected. The
mystery wasn’t the most fanciful I ever read, but it suited this story very
well.
In the end,
we even have a surprise or two, concerning the action. This added up to the
characters’ feel, I mean, we have our doubts about who might have done this or
that but overall, I think the author has done a great job mixing things and
making them interesting. Her talent shows, for sure.
What I
think she could do better and something I find faulty in almost every book (in
three of the four I’ve read), is her exaggeration in the subtlety of romance.
We know it will happen and that the main character in the end will have an HEA
somehow, but, came on, she could be a bit more obvious about it without ruining
the story or the flow of it. In this book in particular, she could have done
more, because if felt rushed at the very end and I wish we could’ve gotten more
scenes with them, and even more so, more scenes where we could actually “see”
their feelings more, instead of just knowing they might have it because it’s
where it leads to.
Anyway,
this didn’t spoil the book for me, and in the end I had a great time reading it
and getting to meet everyone and everything. Great book, overall.
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