LemuriaBooks

Ok Folks, Here are some more books that I think that you will enjoy on your summer vacations or if on a "staycation" these books will transport you to another time and place!!

Murder of a Medici Princess by Caroline P. Murphy
"Like the Kennedys or Windsors, the Medicis are a dynasty brimming with biographical
gold, and this supple, smart account of a lesser-known daughter will engage modern
readers as it vivifies both Renaissance Florence and an extraordianary women who paid
ultimate price for flouting her era's traditional gender roles." --Publisher's Weekly

The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz
" A unique literary adventure, intimate, exotic; wonderfully imagined and achieved.
The narrative impels the reader from first to last, immersing us in its flow of ancient
acceptances and new demands. Splendid."--Shirley Hazard, author of The Transit
of Venus and The Great Fire


The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi
"Douglas Preston fulfilled a lifelong dream when he moved with his family to a villa in
Florence. Upon meeting celebrated journalist Mario Spezi, Preston was stunned to
learn that the olive grove next to his home had been the scene of a horrific double
murder committed by one of the most infamous figures in Italian history. A serial
killer who ritually murdered fourteen young lovers, he has never been caught. He is
known as the Monster of Florence."
FYI: Thomas Harris based his character Hannibal Lector on
The Monster of Florence and the surrounding circumstances.

The Dummy Line by Bobby Cole
"Jake Crosby, a troubled stockbroker, has planned a weekend escape at his hunting
camp with his nine-year-old daughter, Katy. In the middle of the night, a gang of
redneck drug dealers attempts to break into the remote camp. The gang's display of
heinous intentions toward Jake and Katy causes Jake to make gut-wrenching
decisions."

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
"The House of Riverton is a sweeping debut novel set in England between the
wars. It is the story of an aristocratic family, a house, a mysterious death and a
vanishing way of life, told by a woman who witnessed it all and kept a secret for a
lifetime."

Master of the Delta by Thomas Cook
"Cook writes powerful layered novels, with original heroes who choose to walk down
paths that quietly, inexorably, lead them to even darker places in the human heart,
and ultimately to breathtaking and revelatory surprises at their journey's end."
--Minneapolis Star Tribune

The Red Leather Diary--Lily Koppel
Lilly Koppel 'rescued' a red leather diary from the garbage dumpster in front of her
apartment building in New York. She took it home and after reading it realized she
must find this girl who wrote it. She hired an investigator and the rest is history!
"The young woman who emerged from the diary's pages had huge ambitions, even if
chasing them proved daunting. February 21, 1931. Went to the Museum of
Modern Art and almost passed out from sheer jealousy-I can't even paint an
apple yet-it's heartbreaking! January 16, 1932. I couldn't study today & went to
museum to pass a morning of agonizing beauty-Blown glass, jade and exquisite
embroideries. April 10, 1932. Wrote all day-and my story is still incomplete.
September 2, 1934. Planning a play on Wordsworth-possibilities are infinite.
October 12, 1934. How I love to inflict pain on my characters!
What she craved most was to be enveloped in a grand passion that would
transform her life. July 3, 1932. Five hours of tennis and glorious happiness-all I
want is someone to love-I feel incomplete."

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton, 2008, Atria Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, $24.95

I loved this book! In fact after the first four pages, I was totally in love with the main character, Grace. In the present day(1999) Grace is ninety-eight years old and living in a nursing home. Grace once worked as a servant at the great English country manor, Riverton. In the summer of 1924 the family who owned Riverton held a midsummer's night affair that turned very tragic when a young poet shot himself...and Grace was a witness and she is the only person still living who knows the truth.

Grace is visited by a film director who has written a screenplay about the death of the famous poet and the family who owned Riverton. The young director starts asking Grace questions that makes Grace face memories that she had long ago decided to forget. In all the reminiscing of her life at Riverton and with the family, Grace decides to start making audio tapes for her grandson, so after she is gone the truth of what happened will not die with her.

This is Kate Morton's debut novel, and I was blown away with her characters and writing. The story has it all...mystery, family secrets, death, war, jealousy,
true love, passion and best of all...a haunting ending. If you like The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Settlerfield or The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, then you will definitely like this romantic, suspenseful tale.