Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa by R.A. Scotti

First sentence:

"According to the song, it's not supposed to rain when it's April in Paris, but the day was wet and raw."

Description:

"In Paris at the start of a radically new century, the most famous face in the history of art stepped out of her frame and into a sensational mystery.

On August 21, 1911, the unfathomable happened -- Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa vanished from the Louvre. More than twenty-four hours passed before museum officials realized she was gone. The prime suspects were as shocking as the crime: Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire, young provacateurs of a new art. As French detectives using the latest methods of criminology, including fingerprinting, tried to trace the thieves, a burgeoning international media hyped news of the heist.

No story captured the imagination of the world quite like this one. Thousands flocked to the Louvre to see the empty space where the painting had hung. They mourned as if Mona Lisa were a lost loved one, left flowers and notes, and set new attendance records. For more than two years, Mona Lisas's absence haunted the art world, provoking the question: Was she lost forever? A century later, questions still linger.

Part love story, part mystery, Vanished Smile reopens the case of the most audacious and perplexing art theft ever committed. R. A. Scotti's riveting, ingeniously  realized account is itself a masterly portrait of a world in transition. Combining her skills as a history and a novelist, Scotti turns the tantalizing clues into a story of the painting's transformation into the most familiar and lasting icon of all time." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this book about the theft and return of the Mona Lisa. I liked learning the history of the painting, how it got to France, and where it ended up during the time it was missing.

Date read: 6/23/2013
Book #: 15
Rating: 4*/5 = great
Genre: Nonfiction

ISBN-10: 0307265803
ISBN-13: 9780307265807
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Year: 2009
# of pages: 227
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Civil War Fantastic edited by Martin H. Greenberg

First sentence:

"Ghosts of Gettysburg, bah."

Description:

"The War Between the States is synonymous with romance, tragedy, bravery, and lost causes. The only war fought by Americans against Americans, it nearly irrevocably tore the nation apart. Yet the United States of America did survive, though at a terrible cost. Even today, more than 130 years after the end of the Civil War, people are still fascinated by this pivotal point in American history. Writers, too, find this a fruitful period to investigate. And in Civil War Fantastic, some of science fiction's finest take us back to this turbulent time with their own special visions of what might have been. So don your uniform, load your cap and ball rifle, raise the colors, and perpare to charge into Civil War Fantastic where:

---A mysterious old man shows a Confederate soldier how one well-placed shot can change the course of history...

---He was only a horse used for children to ride on tours of Gettysburg, but he could see things on the battlefield that no human was aware of...

---Could General Lee bring himself to sanction a terrible sacrifice if it guaranteed that the South would win the war?" -- from the back cover

My thoughts:

This was a good collection of alternate history stories. My favorites included William Keith's "A Place to Stand" and R. Davis's "Across Hickman's Bridge to Home."

Date read: 6/12/2013
Book #: 14
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Alternate History/Historical Fiction

ISBN-10: 0886779030
ISBN-13: 9780886779030
Publisher: DAW Books
Year: 2000
# of pages: 308
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Secret Supper by Javier Sierra

First sentence:

"No one took any notice."

Description:

"Tightly paced and atmospheric,The Secret Supper is a dazzling historical thriller with a unique vision of both Leonardo da Vinci's genius and his masterpiece -- which you will never look at in the same way again.

Milan, 1497. Leonardo is completing The Last Supper. Pope Alexander VI is determined to execute him after realizing that the painting  contains clues to a baffling--and blasphemous--message that he is driven to decode. The holy Grail and the Eucharistic Bread are missing, there is no meat on the table, and the apostles, shockingly, are portraits of well-known heretics--and none of them are depicted with halos. And why has the artist painted himself into the scene with his back turned toward Jesus? The clues to Leonardo's greatest puzzle are right before your eyes. . . . " -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

I liked this historical thriller about Da Vinci, The Last Supper, religious and political intrigue in the 15th century. Sometimes there are mysteries and sometimes there are nothing to find, except rumors.

Date read: 6/9/2013
Book #: 13
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Historical Thriller

ISBN-10: 0743287649
ISBN-13: 9780743287647
Publisher: Atria Books
Year: 2006
# of pages: 329
Binding: Hardcover
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The Trouble with Magic by Madelyn Alt

First sentence:

"I don't know what it was that made me abandon my usual path to work on that particular October Tuesday."

Description:

"Bored with her office job (and subsequently fired for excessive tardiness), Maggie jumps at the opportunity to work in Enchantments. She was a little weirded out when Felicity described herself as a witch, but if her boss wants to play with broomsticks and cauldrons, where's the harm. However, Maggie's first day on the job may turn out to be her last when police question Felicity in the murder of her estranged sister.

With everyone in town proclaiming Felicity's guilt faster than the Salem Witch Trials, Maggie finds herself wondering if she'll also be tied to the stake. And lately, she's been receiving messages on a spiritual frequency guiding her to prove Felicity's innocence--and to embrace her own 'charmed' life. . ."

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this first book of the Bewitching Mystery series. I liked how Maggie learned about Felicity and about herself. I look forward to the next book in the series, A Charmed Death.

Date read: 5/30/2013
Book #: 12
Series: Bewitching Mysteries, #1
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Paranormal Mystery

ISBN-10: 0425207563
ISBN-13: 978042507568
Publisher: Berkeley Prime Crime
Year: 2006
# of pages: 261
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Murder in the White House by Margaret Truman

First sentence:

"The radio on the helicopter was tuned to the tower frequency, and the crisp metallic voices said Air Force One was on final approach long before anyone could see it."

Description:

In a town where the weapon of choice is usually a well-aimed rumor, the strangling of Secretary of State Lansard Blaine in the Lincoln Bedroom is a gruesome first. White House counsel Ron Fairbanks is ordered to investigate. There are persistent rumors that the Secretary was an accomplished womanizer with ties to a glamorous call girl. There is also troubling evidence of unofficial connections with international wheeler-dealers.

In death as in life, Blaine is a power to be reckoned with. For Fairbanks, who loves the President’s daughter, one point is soon clear: only a few highly placed insiders had access to the Lincoln Bedroom that fateful evening. And one of them was the president. . . . -- from Amazon.com

My thoughts:

I liked this first book in the "Capital Crimes Series". I enjoyed meeting the characters as well as trying to figure out who killed Blaine.  I look forward to reading the next book, Murder on Capitol Hill.

Date read: 5/27/2013
Book #: 11
Series: Capital Crimes Series #1
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Mystery

ISBN-10: 0446310700
ISBN-13: 9780446310703
Publisher: Warner Books
Year: 1980
# of pages: 252
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Stone of Farewell by Tad Williams

First sentence:

"The wind sawed across the empty battlements, yowling like a thousand condemned souls crying for mercy."

Description:

"It is a time of darkness, dread, and ultimate testing for the realm of Osten Ard, for the wild magic and terrifying minions of the undead Sithi ruler, Ineluki the Storm King, are spreading their seemingly undefeatable evil across the kingdom. With the very land blighted by the power of Ineluki's wrath, the tattered remnants of a once-proud human army flee in search of a last sanctuary and rallying point - the Stone of Farewell, a place shrouded in mystery and ancient sorrow.

And even as Prince Josua seeks to rally his scattered forces, Simon and the surviving members of the League of the Scroll are desperately struggling to fulfill missions which will take them from the fallen citadels of humans to the hidden mountain caves of the Qanuc trolls - across storm-tormented waters to discover the truth behind an almost-forgotten legend - to the secret heartland of the Sithi, where the near-immortals must at last decide whether to ally with the race of men in a final war against those of their own blood. . . ." -- from the back cover


My thoughts:

I read the previous book, The Dragonbone Chair years ago, so I was glad to read the recap before reading on. There were times when the plot jumped around and I had trouble keeping track, but overall I liked this book and I look forward to reading the final book, To the Green Tower.

Date read: 5/20/2013
Book #: 10
Series: Memory, Sorrow, Thorn #2
Rating: 3*/5
Genre: Fantasy

ISBN-10: 0756402972
ISBN-13:9780756402976
Publisher: DAW Books
Year: 1990
# of pages: 727
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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The Museum of Horrors edited by Dennis Etchison

First sentence:

"It is not on any map."

Description:

"Here for the first time in paperback are eighteen original tales of terror and the grotesque from the greatest modern masters of the macabre selected by award-winning editor Dennis Etchison. Step inside the museum and gaze upon the dark works of . . ."

PETER STRAUB	JOYCE CAROL OATES
RICHARD LAYMON	RAMSEY CAMPBELL
WILLIAM F. NOLAN	CHARLES L. GRANT
ROBERT DEVEREAUX	GORDON LINZNER
S.P. SOMTOW	TOM PICCIRILLI
MELANIE TEM	PETER ATKINS
DARREN O. GODFREY	JOEL LANE
CONRAD WILLIAMS	TH. METZGER
SUSAN FRY	LISA MORTON

-- from the back cover 

My thoughts:

This was a good collection of horror tales. Ones I liked included "Piano Bar Blues" by Melanie Tem and "Hammerhead"by Richard Laymon.

Date read: 5/12/2013
Book #: 9
Rating: 3*/5 = good
Genre: Horror

ISBN-10: 0843950773
ISBN-13: 9780843950779
Publisher: Leisure Books
Year: 2003
# of pages: 369
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