Monday, September 12, 2011

Mystery: The Beads of Lapis Lazuli, by Doris Kenney Marcotte

The Beads of Lapis Lazuli, by Doris Kenney Marcotte is about Kathryn, a homemaker who becomes inspired to write a book about an ancient Greek myth after she purchases some blue beads from an antique store in Crete. Needing more information to help with the end of her book, Kathryn returns to Crete against the wishes of her best friend and her husband. She is accompanied by a psychic named Dupree whom she has hired to help her find the answers she needs.



While on Crete, Kathryn finds that trouble is following her. The beads she had purchased on her last trip did not belong to the person who sold them to her. This leads to many chase scenes, some of which take place on the high seas. Fortunately for Kathryn she is aided by Dupree and a couple of his friends. In the end, Kathryn finds what she was looking for, and everyone makes out splendidly.

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick and light read with simple prose. The characters were fairly well detailed, and the scene setting was good. I did find some of the interaction between the main character and her husband to be less than believable at times, but that is probably because I am a very different woman than Kathryn.

I was expecting there to be some romantic parts of the story, but the book was pretty dry there. The only mention of such was with regards to Aridane and Thesues, from the Greek myth the main character was researching. I feel that there was potential missed in the relationship between Dupree and Kathryn, even if it was something that did not grow into anything more than a fondness. It would have been natural for a woman in Kathryn's shoes (on a beautiful island alone, husband unsupportive, excitement of the hunt, etc.) to forge a romantic bond with the man who was helping her. Again, even if Kathryn did not follow any of those feelings, it could have been acknowledged, but was not.

On a scale of 1-4, I give this book a 3.5. Overall, this book had a good story with a lot of supporting details. The imagery was strong, and the style was simplistic which made for a quick read, but I would have liked there to be a bit of romance and relationship development.

This book was published by Outskirts Press, Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-4327-6054-0

1 comments:

steve said...

This sounds really cool! I'll have to check it out! Thanks for sharing :)
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