Title: Borrower of the night
Author: Elizabeth Peters
Genre: Mystery
The Blurb:
Meet art historian Vicky Bliss, She is as beautiful as she is brainy–with unassailable courage, insatiable curiosity, and an expertise in lost museum treasures that often leads her into the most dangerous of situations. A missing masterwork in wood, the last creation of a master carver who died in the violent tumult of the sixteenth century, may be hidden in a medieval German castle in the town of Rothenburg. The prize has called to Vicky Bliss, drawing her and an arrogant male colleague into the forbidding citadel and its dark secrets. But the treasure hunt soon turns deadly. Here, where the blood of the long forgotten damned stains ancient stones, Vicky must face two equally perilous possibilities. Either a powerful supernatural evil inhabits this place. . .or someone frighteningly real is willing to kill for what Vicky is determined to find.
My Thoughts:
Later this year I will be spending an afternoon in Rothenburg so was excited to see a book that was actually set there. Added to this was the fact that the treasure they were hunting for was a ‘long lost’ piece of work by Bavarian wood carver Tilman Riemenschneider, and St James church in Rothenburg is famously known for its Holy Blood altar piece by Riemenschneider. Obviously I was meant to read this book?
Sadly it wasn’t the greatest cozy mystery I have ever read, however there were lots of lovely historical facts and then the story had secret passages, ghostly events and a dramatic escape from the bowels of the castle. Such fun! The story did drag a bit in parts, and I didn’t really warm to any of the characters. Vickie just didn’t come alive for me. I was also a little worried about the methods they used when looking for the missing treasure – a lot of smashing and breaking going on. I really would have thought that an Art Historian would have been more respectful of the things she was breaking – including a tomb for goodness sake!! I have been told that subsequent books in the series are much better, so may give the next one a try.
Rating: D – Average. Was better to read than to do the housework.
For more about the author – Click Here
I know a lot of people who say that this is their favourite series by Elizabeth Peters but I think I will always be an Amelia Peabody girl.