A
Most Extraordinary Pursuit. Juliana Gray. Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle
Book. October 2016. 400 pp. ISBN#: 9780425277072.
Emmeline Truelove has been the
secretary/personal assistant to the Duke of Olympia. Upon his untimely death, Truelove is assigned
to travel with Lord Silverton to find the missing son, Max Haywood, the new
heir to the former Duke’s title, lands and monies. Emmeline is staggered that she would be asked
to complete such a task since her previous duties didn’t encompass sleuthing in
the slightest way. But she’s intelligent
enough to do it. Truelove as a character
is enigmatic. One minute she’s fully
invested in her “proper” behavior and thinking and at other times she displays
a wit and intuitive intelligence to provide meaningful clues and spunkiness of
character.
Lord Silverton, on the other
hand, is well-known as a promiscuous rake, vacillating between being a caring,
sensitive man and a teaser who seems to be looking for more than Truelove is
willing to even hint at giving. Indeed,
it turns out that Lord Silverton is a genuine sleuth and that’s a very good
thing as he and Truelove will experience danger many times during the course of
their travel to Knossos in Cyprus and beyond.
Interwoven in the story lies a
part of the myth of the Minotaur and the Labyrinth with a romantic spin only
gradually revealed, scenes which enhance the very, very slowly evolving romance
between Truelove and Silverton.
Add to the story that Queen
Victoria and Emmeline’s father, who are both deceased, keep appearing to
Emmeline, the former warning her she should never have accepted this job and
the latter giving her sharp looks that could mean a million different things.
Emmeline believes the appearances of both characters are delusions that she
should ignore, or should she really pretend they are not real?
The archeological artifacts
that have been discovered by Max and other peers seem to have a mystery about
them as well. Are they real or
fake? Why does one in particular seem to
depict a character holding what any modern person would call a camera? What are the secrets about why Max shipped
his discoveries back home through someone being paid a great deal? Are these shipments legal? Honestly acquired for “The Institute” back
home?
A
Most Extraordinary Pursuit is an interesting novel replete with many
twists and turns, sometimes presented with an annoying complexity and confusion
and at other times with a natural style of mystery that enhances the reader’s
interest and engagement. The reader must
decide whether the characters are truly credible. Mythology is said to be a rational
explanation for behavior and events that are totally inexplicable. The same could be said for the plot of this
challenging novel. Interestingly crafted
historical fiction, Juliana Gray!
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