The Poet Prince

April 19, 2010
In bestseller McGowan's breathless, at times overly melodramatic third Magdalene Line novel (after The Book of Love
), researcher Maureen Paschal, who's been feverishly investigating the “Confraternity of Saint Mary Magdalen,” uncovers juicy information about the gospel known as the Libro Rosso and the Order of the Holy Sepulcher. She heads for Florence, where her preternaturally ancient mentor, Destino, reveals the arcane past of Lorenzo de' Medici, “the great Poet Prince” and father of the Renaissance. Apparently, Lorenzo secretly married Lucrezia Donati, the “Colombina” or “little dove” featured in a number of Botticelli paintings. Maureen must also confront problems with her soul mate, Scottish oil mogul Bérenger Sinclair, after a glamorous ex claims he's fathered her son. This quasi-Christian historical fantasy confection slips back and forth in time with seamless ease. Mary Magdalene fans who enjoy wildly romantic conspiracy theories will be thrilled.

The third installment of the story that began in THE EXPECTED ONE (2006) is the first in the series to be narrated by Cassandra Campbell. The novel alternates between the continued story of Maureen, a present-day character, and that of Poet Prince Lorenzo de' Medici in fifteenth-century Italy. Campbell begins with a gentle tone that adds gravity to the subject matter of Mary Magdalene and the Book of Love, a gospel written by Jesus. Campbell is also up to the task of handling all the Italian names and phrases from Lorenzo's day as well as the Scottish and American accents of Maureen and her circle. Concluding author's notes detail some of the research that went into this work as well as plans for a fourth book in The Magdalene Line series. E.N. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine