Moronic Musings From Massachusetts

"Labyrinth" by Kate Mosse

This novel was better than average but still there were problems.  The author has a penchant for overly detailed descriptions and there were several gratuitous sex scenes that compel you to say both huh? and why?  Other than the minor crime of occasionally trying too hard, I do like her writing style.

It's a DaVinci Code type of novel with its murder/mystery, religious artifacts storyline and anti organized religion theme.  The story takes place in France both in the present and past weaving the stories together brilliantly.  I found the novel difficult to get into at first, partly due to Mosse's need to detail ever bit of flora and fauna but once the characters became established, I was hooked.  I do feel this novel was better than any of Dan Brown's work because of the improved character development.  I love historical novels without being much of a history buff so I can't vouch for the historical accuracy. 

I'm a consummate believer in literary license.

The book is occasionally difficult to follow, because of the numerous characters and quick switches back and forth between centuries.  I wouldn't call it a difficult read but definitely not a ball of fluff.  I liked this book enough to buy her next one "The Sepulcher", although with the stack of unreads sitting on my shelf it will be some time before I get a chance to crack that one.

Enjoy.

"The Last Secret of the Temple" by Paul Sussman

This is a well evolved compelling murder mystery that hooked me from the prologue.  The main setting is modern day Egypt, Jerusalem and Palestine with three main characters and dozens of valuable extras.  The Egyptian Khalifa is a chain-smoking, Indian Jones wanna be, police detective, with a huge heart and troubled conscience.  Layla is an angry Palestinian journalist trying to avenge the death of her beloved father with pen and paper and finally Ben Roi the bitter, alcoholic, self destructive, Israeli police detective with a broken heart.  All of the characters are fatally and fabulously flawed with personal stories that force you to become involved. 

The main event that brings all of the characters together involves a 15 year old murder that has already been solved.  The story is fascinating, from the mysterious ancient Jewish "treasure" to the tale of the hateful Nazi's.  It spans a millennium in its telling and occasionally is hard to follow because of its lengthy time-span, multitude of characters and rapid switches back and forth between all of the interlocking stories.  While the murder mystery and interesting characters were enough to hook me, I found one of the most intriguing parts of this novel to be its frank assessment of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict seen sympathetically and critically from both sides. 

If you like grown-up murder/mysteries I strongly recommend this one.