Seven books this week. The best of the lot was Elizabeth Peters first Vicky Bliss novel, Borrower of the Night.
(Although a tip of the bookmark needs to go to Nathaniel's Nutmeg, it was just a little too gleeful in the recounting of torture and death involved in 17th century spice trading, but nonetheless a fascinating story of coincidences.)
Peters, who is practically an institution for mystery fans with her amazing series featuring Amelia Peabody, also created PhD Vicky Bliss and set her loose in Europe. In this first accounting she heads to Germany on the trail of a lost Gothic artwork. I probably should have read the first one of the series first, but I had to make do with what the library had. And this one doesn't suffer for my having gone out of order.
Part of the appeal, outside of the genuine mystery-fan appreciation of the tale, is that despite the fact that it was written 35 years ago, the story reads fresh. The lack of technology dates it, but the action overrides that.
To be honest, I'm not sure Ms. Bliss will appeal to a male readership. She is brazenly liberated and willful, but I like her a lot and will be gathering up the two others in the series I haven't gobbled up yet as soon as I can.
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