The Medici Return

The Medici Return is the newest and 19th installment of Steve Berry's Cotton Malone spy thriller series. The story is currently in development as a streaming series. In The Medici Return, Cotton travels to Italy in order to solve a five hundred year-old mystery.  

It is always hard to summarize a book with a complex plot so I will let the publisher summarize it for me:

Cotton Malone is on the hunt for a forgotten 16th century Pledge of Christ—a sworn promise made by Pope Julius II that evidences a monetary debt owed by the Vatican, still valid after five centuries—now worth in the trillions of dollars. But collecting that debt centers around what happened to the famed Medici of Florence—a family that history says died out, without heirs, centuries ago. 

Who will become the next prime minister of Italy, and who will be the next pope? Finding answers proves difficult until Cotton realizes that everything hinges on when, and if, the Medici return.

Former Justice Department operative, Cotton Malone, has been asked to assist the Swiss guard with determining whether Cardinal Jason Richter has engaged in bribery and theft. It’s a favor for Stephanie Nelle, once his boss at the Magellan Billet, who is doing a favor for the Vatican. But nothing is as it seems. Four hundred thousand euros are found, a Swiss Guardsman is murdered, and a killer sets his sights on both Cotton and the cardinal.

Together they are thrust into a search for a forgotten document, a 16th century Pledge of Christ executed by Pope Julius II that reveals a debt owed by the Vatican, still valid after five centuries, now worth in the trillions of dollars. But when the trail to collecting that debt leads Cotton to the famed Medici of Florence—a family that history says died out, without heirs, centuries ago—he realizes that two more things also hang in the balance. Who will be the next prime minister of Italy, and who will become the next pope.

From a quiet hilltop village in central Germany, to the ancient city of Siena with its famed Palio horse race, and finally to the historic piazzas, churches, and crypts of Florence, Cotton Malone uncovers the answers, one by one, everything hinging on when, and if, the Medici return.

I have read all of the Cotton Malone books all of them have been good. The Medici Return is one of the best though. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the history of the Medici and Pazzi clans. The Pignus Christi, the Pledge of Christ, referred to in the plot is not real however. While I was still reading, I researched the pledge online and found nothing. "Pignus" is a Latin word that means "pledge" so a pignus christi is translated as the pledge of christ. In Roman law, pignus referred to a pledge given to a creditor to secure an obligation. In this story Pope Julius gave this such pledge to Giuliano de Medici in exchange for ten million flori. The Author's Note at the end of the story cleared up my question whether the Pignus Christi was real. It isn't. Berry made it up. This was creative! By the time Malone is searching for this IOU, the Medici family has died out and a man who believes he is a lawful Medici heir is also searching for it. Others who are looking for it include two powerful Cardinals, one who is striving to be the next Pope.

The pace was pleasant, neither fast nor slow. With so much history written into the novel, a slower than normal pace for a Steve Berry book was appropriate. If there was anything that bothered me it was the part where Cotton participated in a horse race in Siena called the Palio. It did not advance the plot so I am puzzled why it was inserted. Steve Berry stated that he saw this race during one of his visits to Italy and that he was fascinated by it. Maybe that is the answer to my question.

I loved The Medici Return and highly recommend it to mystery fans. 4 out of 5 stars.

Can’t Wait Wednesday #37

A new book in Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series will be published in September 2025. The Secret of Secrets is the 7th book in the series and at 704 pages it's a chunkster. It is always hard to summarize Brown's novels so here is the publisher's summary.

Robert Langdon, esteemed professor of symbology, travels to Prague to attend a groundbreaking lecture by Katherine Solomon—a prominent noetic scientist with whom he has recently begun a relationship. Katherine is on the verge of publishing an explosive book that contains startling discoveries about the nature of human consciousness and threatens to disrupt centuries of established belief. But a brutal murder catapults the trip into chaos, and Katherine suddenly disappears along with her manuscript. Langdon finds himself targeted by a powerful organization and hunted by a chilling assailant sprung from Prague’s most ancient mythology. As the plot expands into London and New York, Langdon desperately searches for Katherine . . . and for answers. In a thrilling race through the dual worlds of futuristic science and mystical lore, he uncovers a shocking truth about a secret project that will forever change the way we think about the human mind.

We readers wait a year or more for our favorite authors to publish new books. Then we read them in a flourish and must wait a long time for the next one.  I fear this will happen with The Secret of Secrets. What book(s) are you waiting to read?

Book Cover of the Month: February

You can’t go wrong with an Andy Warhol type of painting on a book cover. Warhol is one of my favorite pop artists and I was attracted to the book because of the cover. Warhol was part of the storyline so it's a great match for the cover. I couldn't find any information about the cover designer so I sent a message to author Susan Bacon. She replied:

"The jacket design is by Taylor Martin. He lives in Austin, Texas and heads up a design firm called Design Positive. He brought an illustrator on board named Alejandro Mila. I love the way it turned out. We wanted it to be compatible with the first book in the series, which Taylor also designed . . ."

Martin does not specialize in just designing book covers. His company creates logos, websites and advertising for private business organizations. 

Book of the Month: February

The Stolen Queen is a fascinating historical mystery by master writer Fiona Davis. In the book we read about the real life Egyptian female pharaoh Hatshepsut who is referred to as Hathokare in the novel. 

The story alternates between the current era and the 1930s in Egypt. Not only was the mystery interesting but the history surrounding ancient Egypt was fascinating. It was obvious that the author performed a lot of research. I was initially confused, though, why she did not use the real name of Hatshepsut for the story. The Author's Note states that she had to alter the dates of events in the storyline so she decided to create a fictional character instead. Likewise, the author changed the names of Hatshepsut's husband and son.

The issues concerning the repatriation of stolen artworks is addressed toward the end of the story. The characters dialogue reveals some of the reasons for and against repatriation which was eye opening. The Stolen Queen is a riveting story that you won't want to miss. 

Dumb

Dumb is the true account of cartoonist Georgia Webber's experience with a temporary but lengthy loss of her voice. This is an unusual disability, one I have never heard of before. Certainly there are those who have been born with speech impediments but an experience like Webber's is new to me.

The publisher's summary:

This graphic memoir is about how the author copes with her loss of voice due to a severe injury. Part memoir, part medical cautionary tale, Dumb tells the story of how an urban twentysomething copes with the everyday challenges that come with voicelessness. Webber adroitly uses the comics medium to convey the practical hurdles she faced as well as the fear and dread that accompanied her increasingly lonely journey to regain her life. Her raw cartooning style, occasionally devolving into chaotic scribbles, splotches of ink, and overlapping montages, perfectly captures her frustration and anxiety. But her ordeal ultimately becomes a hopeful story. Throughout, she learns to lean on the support of her close friends, finds self-expression in creating comics, and comes to understand and appreciate how deeply her voice and identity are intertwined.

Georgia has a difficult time getting her point across to her friends in everyday life. Alot of the drawings have no dialogue but you can see what is happening as she tries to communicate with others. She decides not to go to loud places and mainly uses writing to converse with friends. Georgia still meets friends at bars but gets stressed because it takes alot of effort to communicate. It is tiring. Friends begin to view her as someone who needs to be helped constantly. Many of them, though, find her silence attractive. I love that she began wearing red lipstick to make it easier for people to read her lips. 

The memoir reads fast. It's 178 pages are filled with drawings that are actually scribbles in black and red that are not always legible. However, they match the storyline concerning  communication problems.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this graphic memoir and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.

Can't Wait Wednesday #36

The Librarians of Lisbon is a WWII story based upon historical figures. What I like about the book is the take on the war from Portugal, a setting that I never knew was connected with the war. The book was published earlier this month and I cannot wait to read it. 

The story takes place in 1943 Lisbon. The city harbors spies and two Boston librarians, Selene Delmont and Beatrice Sullivan, are working for the Allies. They have officially been enlisted to collect banned books but both women are undercover agents tasked with infiltrating the Axis spy network. Both ladies become entangled with two of Lisbon’s most notorious men, the outcast Portuguese baron, Luca Caldeira, and the lethal spy, code name Gable. As Selene charms her way through lavish ballrooms with Luca, the more bookish Bea is plunged into Gable’s shadowy world of informants. Then a betrayal occurs. I have to assume that the librarians fall in love with the men but will not know until I read the book.

What book(s) are you waiting to read?

The Petrus Prophecy

The Petrus Prophecy is the 3rd book in Gary McAvoy's Vatican Secret Archives Mystery series. There are 7 books in the series to date and its the best one I have read.  It was published in April 2022.

The publisher's summary:

Father Jonah Barlow is dead. The respected Jesuit scholar of apocalyptic studies might have died from a fall in his apartment . . . or was he pushed? All that is known for sure is that the provocative manuscript he was working on—a book that promised to reveal the upcoming fulfillment of ancient and recent prophecies, including the ghastly and shocking Third Secret of Fatima—is missing.

Two female detectives—one from Chicago, the other from Rome—take on the investigation as a possible homicide, turning to Vatican archivist Father Michael Dominic for his help, since Barlow sent the young priest the only other copy of the manuscript.

Newly elected Pope Ignatius, Enrico Petrini, intent on verifying the content of the manuscript against the original handwritten version of the Third Secret—which has been kept sequestered in the Pope’s personal vault for decades—discovers that the keys have been stolen. The search is on for the only other set, kept safely in the hands of a trusted monk in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, a sinister ancient order known as the Knights of the Apocalypse seem to be using the predictions of the manuscript to create fear and chaos as the prophecies appear to be coming fulfilled. Is the end of the world imminent?

From Chicago to Jerusalem to Scotland, from Rome to the ancient island nation of Malta, join Father Dominic, journalist Hana Sinclair, their trusted team of Swiss Guards, a French commando, and the two detectives as they solve the bewildering puzzles of the Petrus Prophecy.

This book was an exhilarating read. From the first chapter to the last I could not stop reading until I finished it. The death to resolve was that of Father John Barlow. Was it an accident or a homicide? The gut instinct of detective Rebecca Lancaster of the Chicago Police Department tells her that a murder was probably committed. She believes that the research Father Barlow was conducting was important enough to kill for and that she needs to know more about it in order to resolve this death investigation. After obtaining approval from her boss to travel to Italy, Rebecca contacts a friend who is a member of Rome's police force. With Sabrina Felici's assistance, Rebecca begins her investigation. 

Barlow's book was about the third secret prophecy of Our Lady of Fatima, an historical event, St. Malachy's prophecy of the last pope, Petrus Romano, and the Miracle of the Sun which occurred in Fatima in 1917 several months before three children were visited by the Virgin Mary and given a three part prophecy. The first secret was a vision of hell and the second secret was the identity of the pope during WWII. Both were publicly disclosed in the 1940s but the third secret was disclosed in May 2000 by Pope John Paul II. The Pope stated that the third message was the Virgin Mary’s vision of the May 13, 1981, assassination attempt on himself. John Paul II publicly credited Our Lady of Fátima for saving his life. The premise of this novel is that John Paul II only told part of the third secret. Barlow's involvement in the plot disappears halfway into the story. The real mystery is whether the priests who are using Barlow's ideas to force the end of the world will succeed.

There were lots of twists and turns in the story. Each twist takes the reader to a different location. The reader travels to the U. S., Rome, Scotland, Jerusalem and Malta. Knowing how to read symbols is essential to solving the mystery. The story is similar to Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series. Father Dominic and his journalist friend Hana Sinclair are both experts in this field. Hana has joined him on all of his earlier exploits. While they are searching for the keys the new pope needs, the Knights of the Apocalypse (KOTA) are making media releases concerning the end of the world. Hoarding of food and other goods  begins happening world wide and the stock markets are tumbling. 

The Petrus Prophecy is a wonderful book. Mystery lovers will want to read it. 5 out of 5 stars.

Bible Translations for Everyone

Today I am reviewing something very different from my usual fare and discussing a religious book. The author of Bible Translations for Everyone, Tim Wildsmith, is a pastor and You Tuber whom I follow. His book was published in November 2024. It's a short, 178 page, soft cover book that is easy to read. 

The book opens with a history of early English Bibles such as the Wycliffe, Coverdale and Tyndale  Bibles. It then moves to individual chapters for the most read English translations such as the King James Version, New King James Version, Revised Standard  Version, New Revised Standard Version, The New American Standard Version, New International Version, English Standard Version, New Living Translation, and the Christian Standard Bible. Within each chapter you will read about the historical context of each one, the textual basis, translation philosophy and the people who translated them, as well as the differences, similarities, strengths, and weaknesses of each. Succeeding chapters discuss the Catholic translations and other modern, 21st century translations such as the Legacy Standard Bible, Modern English Version, and the Common English Bible.

 

The final chapter delves into how you can choose the one that is right for you. The author recommends choosing two translations, one for daily reading and another for studying the text. After reading this book, you will understand the essentials of each translation and be able to make an informed decision about which ones are right for you.

There are over 400 English translations of the Bible and I wish there was a listing of all of them at the back of the book. The author does give us, though, a bibliography of recommended reading as well as a short glossary which I found helpful. Bible Translations for Everyone is a welcome introduction into the most popular translations available today and I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars.

Budding Crisis #1

Budding Crisis is a Comixology Original comic that was released last month. It is the first installment of a 5 part historical fantasy series about power, privilege, magic and thieves.

In the fictional Bay of Cygnus, magic seeds from the Onamanthe plant have the ability to grant the user any wish they want. When the ship known as The Eclipse gets robbed in the Bay of Cygnus, the Dureni people have to find them before it’s too late. There won’t be another chance for them to find more seeds as they’ve become extinct and each nation was only allotted three seeds. However, in the process of searching for these seeds and the thieves who stole them, they uncover a conspiracy against one of the strongest armies in the world. A shipmate on the Eclipse loses a small box containing the magical seeds. The ship is docked at a foreign port where they have little to no authority. Of course, they are going to try and get the box back. 

I loved this story. It was easy to understand the plot but with many characters, all shady, I was not able to determine who the protagonists were going to be. Maybe the 2nd installment of the series will make this plain. The artwork is done in bright colors which always helps me love the story. I am drawn to these colors and it's what helps me decide whether I want to purchase a comic.

All in all, Budding Crisis was a fun read. 5 out of 5 stars.

Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart is a coming of age graphic novel. The story concerns the children of a town called Alexandria. Their parents are on a  mysterious, four-year religious pilgrimage so the kids are on their own. 

There are alot of characters. We have Ben Schiller, Otto, Empathy, Josh, Tommy, Lola, Tony, Erica, and Jessie. However, the main characters are Ben, Otto and Empathy. They speak with rude, crude and lewd words and cannot get their minds off of sex. I didn't like any of them. The characters are consumed with their love lives and going to parties. Ben (a girl) takes care of her younger sister who is hiding a dark secret. Ben ardently believes that her parents will someday return. Ben also has problems with her best friend because they are maturing at different levels. The characters are undisciplined but show up at school every day. I found that unusual because I would have been cutting class.

The artwork consisted of black and white line drawings that were crudely drawn. It matched the crude behavior of the characters. However, I didn't care for the artwork. The story itself was all over the place. There wasn't a story per se but rather snapshots of events the characters attended.

Sacred Heart has received many positive reviews but I didn't care for it. It's just not my kind of comic. No rating.

Can't Wait Wednesday #35

Emilia Hart, author of Weyward, has a new book coming out on April 1, 2025. The Sirens is about sisters separated by centuries, but bound together by the sea. There are three perspectives that set out the story. We read about Lucy in 2019, Jess in 1999 and twins Mary and Eliza in 1800. 

The publisher's summary:

2019: Lucy awakens from a dream to find her hands around her ex-lover’s throat. Horrified, she flees to her older sister’s house on the Australian coast, hoping she can help explain the strangely vivid nightmare that preceded the attack―but Jess is nowhere to be found.

As Lucy awaits her return, the rumors surrounding Jess’s strange small town start to emerge. Numerous men have gone missing at sea, spread over decades. A tiny baby was found hidden in a cave. And sailors tell of hearing women’s voices on the waves. Desperate for answers, Lucy finds and begins to read her sister’s adolescent diary.

1999: Jess is a lonely sixteen-year-old in a rural town in the middle of the continent. Diagnosed with a rare allergy to water, she has always felt different, until her young, charming art teacher takes an interest in her drawings, seeing a power and maturity in them―and in her―that no one else has.

1800: Twin sisters Mary and Eliza have been torn from their loving father in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship bound for Australia. For their entire lives, they’ve feared the ocean, as their mother tragically drowned when they were just girls. Yet as the boat bears them further and further from all they know, they begin to notice changes in their bodies that they can’t explain, and they feel the sea beginning to call to them…

A breathtaking tale of female resilience and the bonds of sisterhood across time and space, The Sirens captures the power of dreams, and the mystery and magic of the sea.

I like reading stories with dual timelines but cannot remember whether I have read one with a triple timeline. It's going to be fun finding out because Hart is a phenominal author. Weyward was one of my top books for 2023 so my expectations for The Siren are high.

Lava Cakes and Lies

Lava Cakes and Lies is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by Nova Walsh. It was published in December 2024 and features ex-lawyer Ginny as a bakery owner and amateur sleuth. I received a free copy of this book from Book Sirens in exchange for an honest review.

The publisher's summary: 

High-powered criminal attorney Ginny Malone never expected to swap her designer suits for flour-dusted aprons, but a twist of fate sends her fleeing to the quaint coastal town of Moonstone Bay, California. With her spirited—and mischievous—cat Shortcake by her side, Ginny sets her sights on starting a bakery on the boardwalk, armed only with her grandmother's secret recipes and a dash of determination.

But Ginny's dream of sweet success crumbles when a dead body is discovered during renovations, and her gruff yet oh-so-intriguing landlord, P.I. Vince Rinaldi, becomes the prime suspect. The ovens are cold, the drywall is crumbling, and now danger is lurking behind every display case.

With the help of her hammer-wielding new BFF Lois, a sprinkle of legal know-how, and a heaping spoonful of wit, Ginny sets out to fix more than just ovens and drywall. As she digs into the case, the quirky townsfolk begin to look less neighborly and more suspect—and Vince might need as much rescuing as her broken heater.

Between perfecting her luscious lava cakes and untangling lies, Ginny must race to clear Vince's name before her fresh start becomes a recipe for disaster. Can she serve up justice and save a budding romance before the real killer strikes again?

Lava Cake and Lies is a charming and witty cozy mystery filled with heartwarming friendships, banter-filled clean romance, cat antics, and recipes you'll be dying to try. Perfect for fans of Ellie Alexander and Joanne Fluke, this book is a culinary cozy mystery that promises to be a real treat.

Usually a new cozy mystery series opens with a long description of the setting and introduces the characters. We read about their backstories from long narratives. Not so with Lava Cakes and Lies. The story opened with Ginny signing a lease for her bakery. The next morning she meets with her general contactor Lois and they find a dead body in the space. The mystery began quickly which is how I like my mysteries.

The investigation of the murder consisted of Ginny reading old newspapers and talking with her new friends. There wasn't any big build up to the reveal of the identity of the whodunnit. It just happened haphazardly when someone confessed while Ginny and Vince visited them. Romance was a large part of the story. Ginny and her landlord Vince hit it off from the start and were soon hugging and kissing.

The book lacks twists and turns and the investigation was lackluster. However, I didn't mind. The story read well. Maybe I have the genre wrong. It might not be a cozy mystery but just a cozy. I think cozy is the right description but the book is advertised as a cozy culinary mystery.

While I found some issues with the writing I loved this novel. I am rating it 4 out of 5 stars and have pre-ordered the second book in the series which will be published on February 25, 2025.

The Vanishing Bookstore

The Vanishing Bookstore was published on New Year's Day 2025. It is a historical fantasy fiction story, a genre I have never heard of before. I decided to give it a try just to mix up my usual reading fare. It was a delightful read.

The publisher's summary:

1692. On the outskirts of Salem, a bookstore stands covered in overgrown vines. Inside, a young woman hides a linen-wrapped journal under a loose floorboard and runs away, panicked by the sound of hounds barking in the distance. The bookstore vanishes into thin air…

Present day. Stepping inside a pale-pink house on one of the oldest streets in Salem, Dora can’t believe she’s about to finally meet the mother she thought died tragically when she was just a child. But the excitement is short-lived. Dora’s mother has fear in her eyes, and with a trembling voice she whispers: ‘my life is in danger, and now so is yours…’

Desperate not to lose her mother all over again, Dora digs into her family’s mysterious past, and stumbles upon a seemingly impossible secret: the key to their survival is hidden in a bookstore that no one has seen for generations.

Losing herself amongst thorny brackens and twisted ferns, Dora eventually finds the path that leads to the bookstore. But someone is watching her. They’ve been waiting for her.

As she pushes open the beautiful blue door hidden amongst the sharp brambles, and stands in front of rows of crumbling leatherbound books with faded pages, she has no idea of the secrets she is about to uncover. Or that her life is in more danger than ever before…

To my surprise I enjoyed this book. I am not a fantasy fan but the book reads more like a mystery. It is fast paced and kept my attention well. Given the title, I was expecting the story to be about a bookstore. It isn't. It is an engaging story about sisterhood that spans centuries. The witchcraft the sisters were known to practice doesn't become a part of the story until the last 50 pages. I felt uncomfortable reading the specific spells that the characters spoke and their request for Hecate to help them. Hecate originated in Thrace, an area that includes parts of Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. She was originally a mother goddess of wilderness and childbirth and is the goddess of crossroads, the underworld, magic, witchcraft, and the moon. 

Up until the point where witchcraft became prominent, I loved this story. It reads fast and was engaging. I am rating it 4 out of 5 stars. I cannot fault the author for writing about witchcraft when the book description stated it was magical.