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fearandtrembling's review against another edition
I'm almost embarrassed to log this in my reading challenge for the year but I was ill over the last few days and the only thing my brain wanted was a light mystery. I was hoping for something like Elizabeth Peters but I have to say this was quite boring; the only thing I enjoyed were the bits of history relating to Mayan belief and culture. I could have done without the liberalisms regarding the political situation of indigenous struggles but it's only to be expected in a book like this. In theory I love a good archaeological mystery but this was not a good mystery and the main character is hare-brained and humourless, so I probably would not recommend this to anyone except people who are killing time or convalescing and would prefer not to think at all over the few hours required to read this book.
literally_laura's review
3.0
This book really seemed to drag for me. That could very well be due to circumstances much outside of the authors control, however, so I'll be gentle.
I love history, especially ancient history. I also love all things creepy, so this book seemed right up my alley. I certainly did get a large share of Maya history and culture included with my murder mystery... But it felt disjointed to me. Many of the chapters started with a bit of a story about a couple of twins who trick the Death Gods. It was fascinating, but delivered in such a fashion it was difficult to follow.
I spent the entire book trying to figure out a clue given very early on about a writing rabbit. It was never resolved despite the story revolving heavily around that wording.
All in all though, it was a good story. I figured out the villain early on, but there was still a fairly big twist for me and I never felt quite SURE that my guess was correct. Lara is a bit two dimensional, but thats okay. I get the feeling that sharing the Maya culture was the focus of the book, and the characters just vessels for that.
I love history, especially ancient history. I also love all things creepy, so this book seemed right up my alley. I certainly did get a large share of Maya history and culture included with my murder mystery... But it felt disjointed to me. Many of the chapters started with a bit of a story about a couple of twins who trick the Death Gods. It was fascinating, but delivered in such a fashion it was difficult to follow.
I spent the entire book trying to figure out a clue given very early on about a writing rabbit. It was never resolved despite the story revolving heavily around that wording.
All in all though, it was a good story. I figured out the villain early on, but there was still a fairly big twist for me and I never felt quite SURE that my guess was correct. Lara is a bit two dimensional, but thats okay. I get the feeling that sharing the Maya culture was the focus of the book, and the characters just vessels for that.
dollycas's review
5.0
Lara is obsessed with the Mayan culture. She loves finding rare and beautiful artifacts. She has just sold her Toronto antiquities store and is unsure of the direction her life will take. Then she receives a cryptic phone call from Dr. Hernan Castillo, an expert in Mayan history, to help him with a mysterious project. But when she arrives in Mérida the good doctor is nowhere to be found --until his lifeless body is found in his office.
Lara knows she must retrace the doctor's steps to find out what he was working on if she wants to find his killer. This takes her into the lush paradise of the Mayan temples and the camps of those trying to save their Mayan heritage. This is when "the mysteries of the past meet the dangers of the present" putting Lara in a perilous position.
Dollycas's Thoughts
I never dreamed that an A-Z book challenge would help me find this wonderful mystery series.
The story is rich with Mayan and Mexican history told in a fun and entertaining way. This style reminded me of the current Cats and Curios series by Rebecca M. Hale where the mystery is interwoven with true history and events. I can tell the author did plenty of research to make the story authentic.
Like all books that are first in a series time is spent laying the character foundation for upcoming installments. I can tell we just scratched the surface of Lara's story. She grew a lot just within this first adventure.
The theme of the series has endless possibilities and the author created 11 novels before her death in 2009. According to her obituary the books reflect her passion for heritage and culture, her sense of humour and her love of travel. I hope to read them all.
Lara knows she must retrace the doctor's steps to find out what he was working on if she wants to find his killer. This takes her into the lush paradise of the Mayan temples and the camps of those trying to save their Mayan heritage. This is when "the mysteries of the past meet the dangers of the present" putting Lara in a perilous position.
Dollycas's Thoughts
I never dreamed that an A-Z book challenge would help me find this wonderful mystery series.
The story is rich with Mayan and Mexican history told in a fun and entertaining way. This style reminded me of the current Cats and Curios series by Rebecca M. Hale where the mystery is interwoven with true history and events. I can tell the author did plenty of research to make the story authentic.
Like all books that are first in a series time is spent laying the character foundation for upcoming installments. I can tell we just scratched the surface of Lara's story. She grew a lot just within this first adventure.
The theme of the series has endless possibilities and the author created 11 novels before her death in 2009. According to her obituary the books reflect her passion for heritage and culture, her sense of humour and her love of travel. I hope to read them all.
writerlibrarian's review
2.0
A good start to the series. I learned a few things about Maya mythology. The archeological background of the writer and the way she integrated the information in the plot makes the reader receptive to the information. It is still not perfectly blended into the plot but it's far from the pages and pages of information dumping style I've sometimes come across. The culprits I guessed early on but the lead character, Lara, is endearing and worth following up on. Recently divorced and having lost the business she built from the ground up, Lara used to be an antique dealer specializing in archeological pieces, Lara finds herself at crossroads. She goes back to school to get her bearings but lacks enthousiasm. When a call from an old friend asks her to come help him find a "writing rabbit" she flies out to Mexico's Yucatan and finds herself involve in a series of violent deaths. The epilogue is a bit predicable, a bit rushed. I'm gonna definitely hunt down book # 2 to see where the writer takes Lara next.
libraryjunkie's review
4.0
I found this book very interesting. As an anthropology major, much of the Maya mythology was very familiar. The author did a nice job in weaving the story line around these legends of the Maya culture, all while touching on their plight to keep their culture and traditions alive. Her character development was well done, both with the main character and her supporting characters. All in all, this was a book worth reading, I would read another by this author.
skinnypenguin's review
3.0
Lara gets a call from an old friend that takes her to Mexico. Once she arrives he cancels their meeting and is found dead several days later. She isn't sure why he wanted her there and she tries to find out. She is staying at an inn that her friends own and there are some other interesting people living there. She witnesses an art theft and is confined to the hotel by the local police. She manages to find a way out and goes hunting for clues.
She finds a dead person at the local museum while doing some investigating. She also befriends the local curator of the museum and he helps her in her search. She gets involved with an archeologist and thinks it might possibly be love but has been fooled in the past. She also befriends the wife of a prominent citizen who had argued with her friend shortly before he was killed. She has lots of suspicions of who the murderer could be and puts herself in danger trying to find out.
A fun read, not too intense.
She finds a dead person at the local museum while doing some investigating. She also befriends the local curator of the museum and he helps her in her search. She gets involved with an archeologist and thinks it might possibly be love but has been fooled in the past. She also befriends the wife of a prominent citizen who had argued with her friend shortly before he was killed. She has lots of suspicions of who the murderer could be and puts herself in danger trying to find out.
A fun read, not too intense.
julieputty's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Not strong characters. I liked the potential of the setting but didn't feel it paid off.
luann's review
3.0
This was a solid three stars for me. There's nothing really wrong with it, but nothing terribly exciting about it either. The setting and information about the Maya culture was well done, but only mildly interesting. I was never drawn into the story, and the characters all seemed just a bit flat. On the plus side, I can now cross "X" off my Title A-Z challenge.
aprilleigh's review
4.0
I'd have given it 5 stars if the characters had been less predictable. Of course, I love mysteries, so the problem might have more to do with my own familiarity with the roles that show up in every mystery. Still, the best writers go past the formulaic characterizations (shady characters that turn out to be good guys and helpful individuals who turns out to be bad guys). While I can't say I didn't see most of it coming, I still found the pacing and level of detail highly enjoyable. I also felt like I learned something about a fascinating culture, which was, by itself, enough to keep me reading. I will read more from this author (pity she's not around to add additional volumes) because, frankly, a well-constructed mystery where I can see the end coming is still a far better read than a poorly constructed one that leaves me guessing until the last page.