The Magyar Venus (Archaeological Mysteries, No. 8) [Paperback]

Lyn Hamilton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2005

After the unveiling of the Magyar Venus--a head and torso of a woman carved from mammoth ivory during the Upper Paleolithic period--one of Lara's friends commits suicide. Determinedly tracing the Venus's provenance to Budapest, Lara discovers a truth that arises from the secrets of the past.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The ninth in Hamilton's appealing series (The Thai Amulet, etc.) takes chatty, always upbeat antiques dealer Lara McClintock to Hungary to research the provenance of the Venus, an ancient bust carved from mammoth ivory. Charlie Miller, aka Karoly Molnar, onetime lover of most of the "Dovercourt Divas" (six University of Toronto chums, including Lara, who lived in tiny apartments above a Chinese restaurant), unexpectedly turns up as curator of the Cottingham Museum and wastes no time in running up a huge expense account with the purchase of this mysterious objet d'art. This tale bristles with confusing coincidences, such as the simultaneous arrival of assorted members of Toronto's social set in Budapest on various missions. Yet Lara, unfazed by her friends' skepticism, is determined to prove this million-dollar artwork's authenticityâ€"and also the honesty (or lack thereof) of her ex-boyfriend from those heady university days. Interspersed with excerpts from a 100-year-old diary by the Venus's original finder, Lara's tireless quest gives an absorbing view of post-Communist Budapest and its surrounding prehistoric caves full of archeological treasures, like an old skeleton that she inexplicably decides to conceal under her hotel-room bed while making a side trip to London and Edinburgh. A drawn-out resolution comes as a bit of a letdown in this lively blend of romance, humor and occasional tragedy.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Toronto provides an evocative home base for Lara McClintoch, a smart, funny antiques dealer who co-owns an antiques shop with her ex-husband, Clive. In this eighth in the series, the focus is on a group of college chums with whom Lara lived during her University of Toronto days. The six women reunite almost by chance and attend a museum opening together. Much to Lara's surprise, the museum's sexy Hungarian curator, Karoly Molnar, who is unveiling the 25,000-year-old Magyar Venus, is none other than her college sweetheart, Charlie Miller. She also discovers that most of her former roommates have had relationships with Karoly. When Anna, one of the roommates, commits suicide, Lara tries to find out if Karoly is somehow responsible--and if his renewed affection for her is real. Traveling to Hungary for further research, Lara learns that many of the roommates have secrets--some of them deadly. Lara's sharp wit and many foibles make her a highly appealing heroine. Hamilton once again combines an exciting mystery with fascinating historical and archaeological subject matter. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425201546
• ISBN-13: 978-0425201541
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #324,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's not always the artifact that is fake ..., April 27, 2006

By 

Gayle Surrette "omnivorous reader" (Brandywine, Maryland) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Magyar Venus (Archaeological Mysteries, No. 8) (Paperback)

Hamilton's the Magyar Venus is another well told tale of intrigue, friendships, lost love(s), and archaeological treasure. I love these books and I've always been fond of the Venus figures so this was a treat.

Lara McClintoch has broken up with Rob Luczka and she really doesn't want to have to explain it to Rob who wants to get back together with her. So when she meets an old college roommate agrees to meet for drinks and meet the old gang before the museum opening. But Lara gets more than a night of entertainment when she's drugged, one of the Divas turns up dead, and another is fired from her job. Lara agrees to research the provenance of the Venus. She learns more than she bargained for when her old college love wants to rekindle the flame and she believes something is wrong with the Venus.

There's plenty of excitement and we travel from Toronto, to England and Hungary. Once again Lara is our guide in the world of antiques, art, and history.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a mystery thriller for the summer, June 26, 2004

By 

richard mester (newtown square, pa USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magyar Venus (Archaeological Mysteries, No. 8) (Hardcover)

Lara mcclintoch attends an opening at the cottingham to witness the unveiling of a twenty five thousand year old artifact , the magyar venus and wakes up with a terrible hangover;a freind is dead,the cottingham has been broken into and Laras car is missing.the worst part is Lara cant remember if she had anything to do with the break in or her freinds death.
Laras college pals, the Dovercourt divas, suspect the Magyar Venus is a fake and that cottingham curator,Karoly Molnar an old lover of Laras is behind the ruse. Driven by conscience Lara agrees to track down the provenance of the Magyar Venus and solve the riddle of her freind Annas death
Lara travels to Budapest where the venus was supposedly found but her instincts tell her theres a missing link in the chain of provenance.something in the diaries of the British explorer.Cyril Piper,who suppsedly discovered the Venus just isnt right.But what?when Mihaly Kovacs,the dealer who sold the Venus to Molnar refuses to answer questions and then turns up dead Lara realizes her instincts are right.Piece by piece an ancient mystery involving deceit,murder, betrayal and greed draw Lara into a web of danger that her thirst for justice require her to unravel.Employing painstaking scolarship and more then a touch of true grit Lara insures that all players, past and present,in the deadly game involving the Magyar Venus receive their just reward.
Written with a scholars knowledge of Archaeology,THE MAGYAR VENUS is a fascinating tale of good and evil providing readers a spellbinding mystery as deep and impenetrable as the caves that house the secrets or prehistoric man.A must read for any lover of a good mystery.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As good as they come, October 14, 2005

By 

O. Cecilia "folklore books" (Sweden) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Magyar Venus (Archaeological Mysteries, No. 8) (Paperback)

As usual Lyn Hamilton has written a great mystery! This one is as good as all the others. Somehow she makes all her books feel "new" even though they have the same theme. They never get boring or tedious. Being a European myself, I like the way a lot of her plots revolve around European cities and countries. She aparently knows a lot about the places she write, and also a lot about antiquites and history. I am looking forward to her writing about Sweden some day. If you like her other books, this is a sure bet! I hope she will continue writing for many many years to come.