The Serpent's Daughter - Suzanne Arruda
The Serpent’s Daughter
A Jade del Cameron Mystery
Suzanne Arruda
Obsidian
Mystery/Historical
Like many mothers and daughters, Jade del Cameron is having a hard time getting her mother, the aristocratic Inez Maria Isabella de Vincente del Cameron to accept her choice of career. Of course, for a woman in 1920, being a photographer and writer for a travel magazine is hardly the norm. For a woman like Jade, who drove an ambulance in the Great War, traveling the world and writing about it seems almost sedate. The truth, as Jade well knows, is that it’s unlikely that she’ll be able to convince her mother of that. A meeting with her mother in Tangier, Morocco, will, Jade hopes, begin to heal the rift between a mother’s expectations and a daughter’s happiness.
When her mother is late meeting her that afternoon, Jade knows something is wrong. Inez considers tardiness to be a sign of poor character. Jade’s search takes her to the fortress city of Azilah, where her mother was touring with a few others. Jade descends into the tunnels under the city – the main attraction – and discovers, not her mother, but a dead Moroccan man. The man has been stabbed and posed, with one arm pointing dramatically down one tunnel. Following that tunnel, Jade overhears a cryptic conversation before becoming a bit spooked and leaving the tunnels.
Arriving back in Tangier, with Inez nowhere to be found, Jade is about to contact the French police when they contact her. In fact, they’re about to arrest her for stealing the rented car she returned late. Disposing of that matter takes minutes. The far greater concern is that the police are also looking for Inez. Apparently, the dead man from the tunnel has been found in Inez’ rooms. Clearly, he didn’t move himself there. But Jade is having a hard enough time just convincing the police of what she saw in the tunnels. It’s up to her to clear her mother’s name; and then find the woman.
A woman ahead of her time, Jade travels where she likes. When trouble rears its head, she’s intelligent, brave, and resourceful. Last seen in STALKING IVORY, it’s great fun to follow her on her adventures. The author makes great use of detail to set the time and place. Tangier of the 1920s is an exotic locale, and the story is populated with fascinating characters. I wouldn’t miss a single installment of this fine series.
Rating: 8 ½
January 2008
ISBN# 978-0-451-22294-7 (hardcover)
A Jade del Cameron Mystery
Suzanne Arruda
Obsidian
Mystery/Historical
Like many mothers and daughters, Jade del Cameron is having a hard time getting her mother, the aristocratic Inez Maria Isabella de Vincente del Cameron to accept her choice of career. Of course, for a woman in 1920, being a photographer and writer for a travel magazine is hardly the norm. For a woman like Jade, who drove an ambulance in the Great War, traveling the world and writing about it seems almost sedate. The truth, as Jade well knows, is that it’s unlikely that she’ll be able to convince her mother of that. A meeting with her mother in Tangier, Morocco, will, Jade hopes, begin to heal the rift between a mother’s expectations and a daughter’s happiness.
When her mother is late meeting her that afternoon, Jade knows something is wrong. Inez considers tardiness to be a sign of poor character. Jade’s search takes her to the fortress city of Azilah, where her mother was touring with a few others. Jade descends into the tunnels under the city – the main attraction – and discovers, not her mother, but a dead Moroccan man. The man has been stabbed and posed, with one arm pointing dramatically down one tunnel. Following that tunnel, Jade overhears a cryptic conversation before becoming a bit spooked and leaving the tunnels.
Arriving back in Tangier, with Inez nowhere to be found, Jade is about to contact the French police when they contact her. In fact, they’re about to arrest her for stealing the rented car she returned late. Disposing of that matter takes minutes. The far greater concern is that the police are also looking for Inez. Apparently, the dead man from the tunnel has been found in Inez’ rooms. Clearly, he didn’t move himself there. But Jade is having a hard enough time just convincing the police of what she saw in the tunnels. It’s up to her to clear her mother’s name; and then find the woman.
A woman ahead of her time, Jade travels where she likes. When trouble rears its head, she’s intelligent, brave, and resourceful. Last seen in STALKING IVORY, it’s great fun to follow her on her adventures. The author makes great use of detail to set the time and place. Tangier of the 1920s is an exotic locale, and the story is populated with fascinating characters. I wouldn’t miss a single installment of this fine series.
Rating: 8 ½
January 2008
ISBN# 978-0-451-22294-7 (hardcover)
posted by Deborah Hern @ 11:32 PM
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