The Medusa Amulet

March 7, 2011
In this less than successful thriller with supernatural trimmings from Masello (Blood and Ice), Dante expert David Franco, whose beloved sister, Sarah, has advanced breast cancer, unexpectedly gets an offer that could enable him to save her life. Kathryn Van Owen, a major donor to the Chicago academic library where he works, asks him to track down a mirror bearing an image of the legendary Medusa, which she claims was crafted by Renaissance artist Benvenuto Cellini. Success would lead not only to a promotion but to a $1 million reward that could be applied to Sarah's treatment. The trail takes Franco to Florence and Paris, where he's pursued by the usual assortment of shadowy assassins and aided by Olivia Levi, an attractive Italian tour guide and scholar with her own offbeat theories. The burgeoning romance and frequent brushes with death all follow formula, while the conceit that the mirror holds the secret of eternal life fails to convince.

Starred review from January 15, 2011

A bookish librarian encounters danger and intrigue when he sets out in search of a lost Renaissance masterpiece rumored to possess strange powers, in Masello's latest novel (Blood and Ice, 2009, etc.).

When the often veiled, recently widowed and extraordinarily wealthy Kathryn Van Owen approaches librarian and renaissance scholar David Franco with an opportunity to find a long-missing silver mirror made by the Florentine artist Cellini, she goes out of her way to make the search worth David's while. First of all, there was the money—$1 million upon return of the mirror. There was also vague talk about how she, a generous donor to the library where Richard works, could help him secure a promotion. But what really intrigued David was Mrs. Van Owen's suggestion that the mirror could somehow be used to cure David's beloved sister, who is dying of cancer. At Mrs. Van Owen's fervent urging, and using her considerable bankroll, David sets out immediately for Florence to pick up the trail. He meets Olivia, a spirited Florentine tour guide and scholar, who has a bad reputation among the Florentine scholarly set for her radical theories concerning the Nazis and their interest in the occult. The two join forces, and soon realize that they are not the only ones interested in the mirror, and that others are willing to kill in order to retrieve it—or protect its secrets. Interspersed with the chapters following David's search are chapters which follow the artist Cellini's involvement in the story, from the creation of the mirror, to the discovery of its powers by his favorite model, to his eventual trouble with Pope Paul, which led to the mirror's loss. While the post–Da Vinci Code bookstore and/or library is bursting with novels about ancient secrets imbedded in renaissance art, this book is a few notches better than most, thanks to its crisp prose and drum-tight plotting. In addition to its taut story, there is an impressive amount of scholarship, and enough detail to please art lovers or history buffs.

Great writing and rich detail combine for a gripping read.

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March 15, 2011

Benvenuto Cellini was a master artisan of Renaissance Italy. He was also a necromancer. Combining these two talents, he created a powerful and dangerous amulet crafted from the legendary Medusa's pond after slaying her. This amulet granted the user eternal life but was lost in the mists of time. Jump ahead to the present day. David Franco, a young scholar at Chicago's Newberry Library, is approached by a mysterious woman searching for the amulet. He is offered significant financial compensation and the assurance that this treasure will heal his dying sister. Before long, David starts his globe-trotting adventure and is caught in a centuries-old life-and-death struggle. VERDICT Masello's (Blood and Ice; Bestiary) latest thriller is an engrossing and fun read. While similar in content to the novels of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child and historical detail to Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, this work adds a supernatural twist. Recommended for those who like to delve into the past. [Library marketing.]--Jennifer Zoethout, Pickering P.L., Ont.

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