Customer Reviews

The Etruscan Chimera (Archaeological Mysteries, No. 6)

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

 

 

Lyn Hamilton has another winnner with this complex tale of greed and betrayal set in Italy. Few writers can compare with her in presenting layer upon layer of deceit together with intricacies of plot and character.

This mystery novel, set in Tuscany and Rome, illuminates the dramatic scenery of the region and shows the reader the world of antique hunting and the people within it. These are not your gentle Sunday afternoon antique shop browsers but sharks in Lamborghinis, some motivated by financial greed, others by the need to possess the finest Etruscan artifacts. They have the money and the motivation to establish expensive smokescreens, sending antique dealer Lara McClintoch to Paris and back through Tuscany in an attempt to retrieve the Etruscan Chimera.

But the chimera is just that. The characters are never so simple, and just as one could not trust a chimera, one cannot trust anyone but Lara McClintoch in this book. Their deceits are so manifold and intricate that it's almost hard to keep track. Chimera indeed.

This is a vivid and and well-told tale. It is carefully researched, even scholarly, but never loses its drama and immediacy.

I loved this book, it is exciting, well-plotted and very well written. I was surprised that this book didn't get more attention because it is as rivetting as The DaVinci Code, maybe even more. Lyn Hamilton is quite skilled at developing a sense of place, I have wanted to visit every locale she writes about. You won't be disappointed with this mystery either, it is as good as any Hitchcock had in his best days.

The author struggles to string out her convoluted tale; there's a lot of toing and froing by the principal character as she stumbles about the country side making choices a normal person never would. At page 74 the author shows little understanding of the "lost wax" process; does "artistic license" absolve her from misinforming the reader about this process? The last thirty pages are devoted to the denouement, revealing that three of the villains "managed to have their sentences reduced by testifying against Rosati, who couldn't defend himself for the obvious reason [he was dead]..." What a silly, naive suggestion. Judges normally don't give any weight or reward to self-serving statements by villains placing the blame on a conveniently dead crime partner. But then there's a lot of sillier stuff in this tale. Don't waste your time.

Lyn Hamilton has another winnner with this complex tale of greed and betrayal set in Italy. Few writers can compare with her in presenting layer upon layer of deceit together with intricacies of plot and character.

This mystery novel, set in Tuscany and Rome, illuminates the dramatic scenery of the region and shows the reader the world of antique hunting and the people within it. These are not your gentle Sunday afternoon antique shop browsers but sharks in Lamborghinis, some motivated by financial greed, others by the need to possess the finest Etruscan artifacts. They have the money and the motivation to establish expensive smokescreens, sending antique dealer Lara McClintoch to Paris and back through Tuscany in an attempt to retrieve the Etruscan Chimera.

But the chimera is just that. The characters are never so simple, and just as one could not trust a chimera, one cannot trust anyone but Lara McClintoch in this book. Their deceits are so manifold and intricate that it's almost hard to keep track. Chimera indeed.

This is a vivid and and well-told tale. It is carefully researched, even scholarly, but never loses its drama and immediacy.

Its been a long time since I read a book I couldn't put down. The Etruscan Chimera is an intricate, well woven tapestry, whose beauty isn't revealed until the very end. A true delight for the mystery lover.

I had never read a mystry before and I must say I was quite surprised, I liked it! It was quite fun to read! I very much enjoyed the author's style. I suppose now, I will have to read her other books. If I found one fault, and it may be just me, I felt the author was rather abrupt in her introduction of new characters - I had trouble tracking them. Other than that, all was well and I would highly recommend this book. I do hope we get more from Ms Hamilton (after, of course, I read her first ones. Thank you for writing this story.

I just finished The Etruscan Chimera-the third one of Lyn Hamilton's novel I have picked up in my travels. I didn't read them in proper order and I do think this one was the best of the three-the other two being The Celtic Riddle and The Thai Amulet.

I enjoyed them-the story flows, the characters, although not deep, are interesting and you get a little travelogue and historical knowledge to boot. Lara is not Indiana Jones but she is human enough. I certainly will seek out the other 7-in time but if you want a few hours light reading and like a bit of a puzzle wrapped in historical context I would certainly recomment spending some time with Lyn Hamilton's Toronto's globe trotting heroine.

McClintoch & Swain is an antiques store in Toronto, Canada run by two ex spouses, Lara McClintoch and Clive McSwain. Since Clive spends more than he should on items for the store, Lara is the one who goes on the buying trips locally and abroad. In Rome, Lara is brought to meet Crawford Lake, a reclusive mega-billionaire who hasn't been seen in public for over fifteen years.

Crawford is an art collector and whenever he is interested in purchasing an item, the owner marks up the price. To prevent this, he uses intermediaries and Lara is the one chosen to purchase a piece of Etruscan art from a Mr. Goddard in Vichy, France. A flattered Lara agrees to take on the job for a generous fee but before her quest is concluded, three men are murdered. Lara inadvertently becomes a smuggler and an innocent bystander winds up in jail for its theft.

Lyn Hamilton is a very creative and colorful writer who always manages to bring the past to life in her archeological mysteries. Her latest work, THE ETRUSCAN CHIMERA is a conspiracy buff's delight. The supporting cast have schemes within plots that Lara innocently and unwilling participates in them. This is one mystery that will take a genius to solve.

Harriet Klausner

Ms Hamilton's series is getting better and better. This one, which takes place mostly in Italy was my favorite so far. Hamilton wove an interesting and multi-layered mystery - using the three headed Chimera as inspiration. Kept me guessing to the end - which most mystery books don't do! Great read.

I do love a story that can weave together an exotic location and a challenging mystery that reaches into the past. I thought that might be what I was getting in this novel, the first I'd read by this author. But by the middle of the book, I was so disgusted with the hackneyed writing I almost quit reading. If they were giving away awards for the most repitition of the word "rather," Ms. Hamilton would be a shoo-in winner. The rather cardboard characters in this rather poorly-plotted book left me wondering why the heroine didn't just get on a rather large jet and fly home to her rather nice antique shop in Toronto. As for me, I'd rather read a well-written book than this one. Maybe the gross overuse of the word "rather" is a Canadian thing??

The plot took many unexpected (and unexplainable) turns as the main character tried to figure out who wanted the Etruscan hydria and why it kept turning up in her car and hotel. In the end, the reasons were so laughable and improbable that it ceased to bother me that I couldn't remember who was who (they all seemed rather similar). Even the main character acted in ways that seemed unreal. Hadn't she bought a round-trip airline ticket? How could she simply endlessly extend her antique buying trip? Why was her $10,000 sudenly cut off and why did she continue spending like a drunken sailor after that? How was Lola able to live in Europe? She was there permanently but was living in hotels? And why wasn't she on the suspect list? Her behavior was just as strange as everyone else's. If I went to France and Italy, would handsome men just sit down next to me at the sidewalk cafes and start talking, offering to buy me dinner? If that happened, I'd know I was in a bad Lyn Hamilton novel.

The only good point for this book is the information about the Etruscans, their art, and the important locations in Italy for their culture. The author clearly did some homework, but the Etruscan material is not really integral to the story. You could substitute pasta bowls or leather hats or some other collectible object. The fanatic collectors in the story and their actions were not believable. If you are going to use some ancient artifacts in a story, they need to have more meaning to the ultimate mystery that unfolds. In this story, nothing much unfolds except foolish people engaged in unfathomable behavior.

If you want good writing, real mystery, great (and believable) plots combined with a superb sense of place, try Dan Brown or Tony Hillerman. In my humble opinion, Lyn Hamilton is not in the same league as those masters of the mystery.