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A review by christajls
The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman
4.0
Originally reviewed at Christa's Hooked on Books
What a beautifully crafted mystery Robin Wasserman has wormed her way directly onto my “I will read anything this author writes” list.
This story begins with Nora translating the Latin letters of the long dead Elizabeth Weston. Cryptic letters in a dead langauge? You know there's got to be a good mystery there. I always wonder when I'm reading mysteries like this if people actually created such elaborate hidden messages in every little thing they did. But then I get so wrapped up in the story I just don't care any more. Robin Wasserman builds up the tension in such an expert fashion. She reveals only as much as the reader needs to know and because of this all external thoughts and questions melt away as you get wrapped up in the mystery.
It helps that all this mystery and action takes place in such a beautiful setting. The story starts in America but soon you are thrown head first into the beautiful world that is Prague. I love stories set in Europe, there's so much more history and distinct architecture there that we just don't have here in North America. And because Prague isn't one of the more common European cities we see stories based in (like Paris, London etc) is felt even more unique and enchanting.
One things I really appreciated about this book (and the reason that I can so whole heartedly recommend this book) is that is builds this whole century old mystery, involving Latin and secret sects and it does it all without demonizing religion. I find for many similar titles some authors easily fall into a pattern of scape goating religion - particularly Christianity - and I usually find this incredibly problematic and kind of lazy. Robin Wasserman builds a much more complicated and layered plot with three dimensional antagonists. That's a sign of a quality mystery writer.
Final recommendation: A beautiful book that is great for more than just mystery lovers but is perfect for those who want something similar to The Da Vinci Code but with better writing and plotting.
What a beautifully crafted mystery Robin Wasserman has wormed her way directly onto my “I will read anything this author writes” list.
This story begins with Nora translating the Latin letters of the long dead Elizabeth Weston. Cryptic letters in a dead langauge? You know there's got to be a good mystery there. I always wonder when I'm reading mysteries like this if people actually created such elaborate hidden messages in every little thing they did. But then I get so wrapped up in the story I just don't care any more. Robin Wasserman builds up the tension in such an expert fashion. She reveals only as much as the reader needs to know and because of this all external thoughts and questions melt away as you get wrapped up in the mystery.
It helps that all this mystery and action takes place in such a beautiful setting. The story starts in America but soon you are thrown head first into the beautiful world that is Prague. I love stories set in Europe, there's so much more history and distinct architecture there that we just don't have here in North America. And because Prague isn't one of the more common European cities we see stories based in (like Paris, London etc) is felt even more unique and enchanting.
One things I really appreciated about this book (and the reason that I can so whole heartedly recommend this book) is that is builds this whole century old mystery, involving Latin and secret sects and it does it all without demonizing religion. I find for many similar titles some authors easily fall into a pattern of scape goating religion - particularly Christianity - and I usually find this incredibly problematic and kind of lazy. Robin Wasserman builds a much more complicated and layered plot with three dimensional antagonists. That's a sign of a quality mystery writer.
Final recommendation: A beautiful book that is great for more than just mystery lovers but is perfect for those who want something similar to The Da Vinci Code but with better writing and plotting.