Customer Reviews

Arthurian Omen

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Arthurian Omen is beautifully written with so many descriptive passages that the reader will feel they are actually viewing the beautiful Welsh countryside. This mystery will keep your attention as you try to connect all of the incredible plots that are going on at the same time. As you read the suspense of drug smuggling, kidnapping, murder, and finding the priceless parchment that may prove or disprove the reality of King Arthur, you will think you have this story figured out. But, you better wait for the very last page. The mystery is so well written that you, the reader, will have to wait for that very last page to find out which characters (and there are many) kidnapped, smuggled, and murdered. I loved the book and with mystery writing similar to Mary Higgins Clark (one of my all time favorite writers), this book will keep you captivated to the very end.

Since I am good friends with GG, I was sent an advanced copy from Deseret to read and review and since I am of Welsh descent and am an avid Genealogist, I loved this thriller. It is a two mystery in one and was able to figure the first one out, but the one who murdered Maren's sister, was a toughie and surprising at the end and was a sad ending, but was inevitable. I rather enjoyed the short chapters like Mary Higgins Clark. I enjoyed the angle of believing that King Arthur is real with the hidden manuscript. I recommend this novel with lots of twists and turns to anyone that loves to read mysteries ala Agatha Christie and Clark.

I should probably preface this by saying that mystery is not my usual choice of novel, but I couldn't resist the plot centered around the existence of King Arthur. I sort of liked the book, the plot was convoluted and filled with enough subplots and misdirection to keep me guessing til the end. The characters were all fairly well written, and while I had one of the "bad guys" pegged from fairly early on, when I realized who the second one had to be, I was surprised, and a little disappointed. It bears mentioning, that if we are to believe the blurb about the author at the back of the book, she had some unnamed illness that caused her to lose her memory, and she continued her work on this book after it sat forgotten for who knows how long. If that is true, it might explain the fact that there is still at least one lose end that was not neatly tied up, and, in my mind, at least, makes it difficult to believe the final revelation.

G.G. Vandagriff, an author of three published works, suffered with severe depression and anxiety disorder for much of her life. Her treatments ranged from an array of drugs to electro-convulsive shock therapy, wiping out all of her short-term memory as well as her talent for writing. In 2006, her doctor discovered the combination of medications that finally allowed management of the author's disease. That serendipity - or miraculous healing, depending on your viewpoint - led to other discoveries. Partially completed manuscripts were unearthed on her computer. Works that she had no memory of writing. One of these was the beginnings of her newest mystery, The Arthurian Omen, and with it's discovery a rejuvenation of her craft.

Set in the United States, England, and Wales, the novel follows an ancient Celtic manuscript that is purported to contain proof of both the existence and identity of King Arthur. Rachael, an American scholar studying in England is killed soon after talking to her sister, Maren, about a find of great historical importance. Maren travels to England to join Rachael's "treasure hunt" only to find upon arrival at the university that her sister has been murdered. Maren, a lawyer by profession who seems to also be part detective, returns to Wales after her sister's burial to avenge her sister's death and solve the mystery of the manuscript. What follows is a journey through Wales that will turn Maren's entire world upside down.

The Arthurian Omen is my first G.G. Vandagriff novel and I enjoyed it even though some of the writing was a little stilted and did not flow quite as easily as I would have liked. However, the plot moved along well and there were plenty of twists and turns to keep me interested and guessing.

I found the Arthurian Omen to be a quick, lightweight and mostly enjoyable novel. I read the trade paperback edition and despite the size of the pages and the page count (322 pages) it is actually not very long. There is a lot of white on each page (and it is a bright white, not newspaper grey) as the lines are not single spaced, but 1½ spaced. There are also 89 chapters, each starting on a new page (including the prologue and epilogue) and on each chapter page the text takes up only about 60% of the page. Most of the chapters are just a few pages, with only nine more than 5 pages, while another nine are a single page. I read this on my daily commute (I take public transportation) and it seems to have been rewritten for this. The short chapters made for natural breaks for when I needed to stop reading and the story did not required any time to pick it back up later.

As I mentioned the story is lightweight and in my opinion is more a romance novel than a suspense novel/murder mystery. As for the Arthurian omen of the title, it is nothing more than a MacGuffin. The main plot involves the protagonist looking for it to solve her sister's murder, but as the story progresses more and more plot threads and characters are thrown into the mix, making for a merry mishmash. The story then ends far too quickly and incomprehensibly, leaving numerous loose ends.

I received this book on CD as a gift. I liked the story, it was a very simple and fast "read", but fairly predictable as far as realizing who the "bad guys" are early in the book. It didn't have nearly enough historical research or facts for my taste but still it was enjoyable. What almost ruined the story for me was the reader of the book on CD! I can't tell by the cover who the reader is and so I am supposing it may be the author. Whoever it is reads like an amateur drama student. She gives emphasis and drama to words that have no need of such dramatics and though her accent may be indeed flawless (I have no way of knowing) she often sounds like she has marbles in her mouth or a thick tongue. I am pretty sure I would have enjoyed this book much more in paper back.

I love love loved, this book and I have since read 3 other books by this author! I'm now waiting for the next book in the pedrigree series! Wow! What away for an author to bloom later in life, this just proves that life really does begin once your over 50! Dear author, Keep writing and I'll keep reading!

The setting and premise are exceptional in this novel, however the execution is very average. I found The Aurthurian Omen to be a very predictable and formulaic attempt at a suspense novel. The characters seem exactly like fictional characters rather than having the feel of real people and were just not very believable to me.

As I stated in my opener, I really enjoyed the fact that the novel was set in the beautiful and mysterious Welsh countryside and having the mystery itself involving finding proof of the actual existence of King Arthur made for an extremely interesting premise. Unfortunately, I had most of the particulars figured out well in advance of their reveal. Things in the novel seemed to plod along at times and I really had to sit down and force myself to get to work and finish it up.


The blurb on the back of the book touts it to be "in the tradition of Mary Higgins Clark." While I personally have not read any Mary Higgins Clark yet, my significant other reads a lot of her work and was also extremely disappointed with this novel.

I really liked this book! It clipped along at a fast pace, was hard to put down, and the characters were endearing. It's been six months since I read it, and one of the characters is still on my mind. This is definitely her best yet.

Yeah, I really wanted to like this book, but frankly I thought it wasn't that good. I was a big fan of the Mary Stewart Arthur books when I was a kid so I have a soft spot for that topic. The blurb about the Arthurian mystery and suspense left me hoping for something more. I have put off writing this review because I was so disappointed that I wanted to be fair and frankly didn't want to dissuade others from reading it who might have enjoyed. So I wanted to give myself some time and distance to see if maybe I liked it better thinking back on it. I don't .

From the beginning I was not drawn in. The up and leaving her daughter part kind of lost me. I figured out pretty quickly who the bad guys were. The suspense wasn't that suspenseful.

I also really was curious about the story of the author, having lost her memory of the time when she started the story. But, I think being more intrigued in the story of the author than the story itself is probably a bad sign for a book.