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junekramin's review
5.0
Loved it! They always say you write what you know. It was obvious to me that Stephen knows gems & maps (& I’m pretty sure he dabbles in magic tricks, too). The book had my attention from the 1st sentence: “There’s a dead guy out there.” I love when books have to solve puzzles and break codes to get to the “treasure” at the end. In this case, the treasure was, well…really a treasure. The Tavernier Stones. The book takes you through a few sets of people, all very colorful characters. searching for them and ties it in wonderfully at the end.
I can only say, if you are at all interested in gems, maps, codes, or just a bloody good read – read this book!
I can only say, if you are at all interested in gems, maps, codes, or just a bloody good read – read this book!
eilconj's review
4.0
The Tavernier Stones is a fun book. It is a treasure hunt with a varied group of characters. John Graff is an Amish born cartographer who is fascinated with the 17th century map maker Johannes Cellaris. After Cellaris' body is found in a German bog with a 57-caret Ruby in his hand, a world wide search for the legendary Taviernier stones starts. John allies himself with David Freeman a gemologist and gem thief to study Cellaris' maps to find the clues to the hidden stash. What follows is a search and run for the treasure. Also racing for the gems are other teams.
Graff and Freeman are wonderfully developed characters that are engaging despite their flaws. The teams racing against our heroes are less well developed. They are a former ally of Freeman's. A German noblewoman who will stop at nothing to obtain the stones including having a criminal assist her. There is also a German detective who was one of the team that found the body in the bog.
I recommend this book as a fast and fun read of a thriller. It is not a deep book, but the historical, cartographic, and gemology is well researched and accurate.
Graff and Freeman are wonderfully developed characters that are engaging despite their flaws. The teams racing against our heroes are less well developed. They are a former ally of Freeman's. A German noblewoman who will stop at nothing to obtain the stones including having a criminal assist her. There is also a German detective who was one of the team that found the body in the bog.
I recommend this book as a fast and fun read of a thriller. It is not a deep book, but the historical, cartographic, and gemology is well researched and accurate.
stricker's review
adventurous
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
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