Customer Reviews

The Magyar Venus (Archaeological Mysteries, No. 8)

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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.

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.

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.

I am Hungarian born and since 1996 have visited one of the "Venus" sites in Austria, along the Danube (THE VENUS OF WILLENDORF). Familiar as I am with the subject, Ms. Hamilton has still taught me something new, interesting, and she did it in her usual "painless" way. Of course, the murder mystery portion is also interesting...breathtakingly interesting.

If you have never travelled to Budapest or if you have or if you want to, this book is for you. if you want an "edge of your seat" exciting experience, read the book. I dare you to put it down without finishing it.

It isn?t every person who could own and work with an ex-husband but Lara McClintoch manages quite nicely. In fact Clive Swain carries most of the business load because Lara is depressed because she broke up with her long time lover. In downtown Toronto Lara meets an old schoolmate who is on her way to meet some other college friends. Lara joins them because she shared an apartment with them and was one of the Dovercourt Divas as they were called.

The six divas attend an exhibit at the Cottingham Museum hosted by new curator, Lara?s former lover Karoly Ndmar. He displays the Magyar Venus that he acquired for the museum. Some of the divas think he committed fraud so Lara goes to Hungary to trace the history of the three inch ivory statue. While there the man who sold the Venus to Karoly dies. The police believe he slipped but Lara thinks someone killed him; she also believes that one of the Divas didn?t commit suicide but was chased and fell off the bridge trying to get away from someone she knew. Determined to find out the truth, Lara goes to London where she finds the evidence she needs to confront the perpetrator and almost loses her life in the process.

Lyn Hamilton?s archeological mysteries always make the reader want to travel to the setting of her latest book and THE MAGYAR VENUS is no exception. She makes Hungary come alive in the mind?s eye with her descriptions of the country and its people. The heroine is a fascinating and complex person who has the courage to do what is right even if it means putting herself in danger. The armchair travel crowd and fans of excellent amateur sleuth novels will want to read this book in one sitting.

Harriet Klausner

I thoroughly enjoy the Archaeological Mystery Series. This is number 8. Lara is at "it" again. Only this time she has some of her old college friends helping with her adventurous investigation. They are searching the validity of the Magyar (Hungarian) Venus that has been presented to a Toronto museum. There is a crazy trip to Hungary with lots of intrigue.

I first found Lyn Hamilton while traveling in Thailand. How could I resist reading "The Thai Amulet"? Once I came back home, I bought all of her other books, and was sad to discover that she has decided to stop writing mysteries.

Lyn Hamilton, in the tradition of writers like Ellis Peters and Peter Tremayne, is a bright and articulate author who wants to teach you about things she finds interesting by writing mysteries. This particular book tells you all about the prehistoric "venus" (perhaps fertility-related) figures that were found in Europe. As with all of her books, you would not disappointed if you researched her factual background -- she doesn't toy with history. What she does toy with is the life of her main character, and this produces a fun read.

If you enjoy being fed some interesting history along with a nice murder mystery, this is your book (as are her others).

Even if you only read the cover, the author still deceived you. The Magyars conquered Hungary about 800 AD and the venus goes back a few thousand years.
I also noted every one of Hamilton's Hungarians was either shady, greedy, or both. Worst of all, her plot was filled with unlikely coincidences.
I grew up in a Hungarian family and so I regret the author didn't take advantage of Hungarian culture. For example, Hungarian is the world's most pretty language but the author hardly mentioned it. The author also could have written more about Hungarian cuisine.
Hungarian cold cuts and sausage have a very unusual flavor that is unlike anything else in the world. Outside Hungary very few people know the taste sensation of a good Hurka.