eyes.2c Reviews

The Burning Chambers (The Burning Chambers #1) by Kate Mosse                I love historical fiction. This particular time, the mid 1500's in France, is fraught with terror, persecution by the Inquistion, and the conflict between Catholics and Hugenots. All seen through the eyes of inhabitants of those times, like Minou Joubert a young Catholic woman and a Hugenot convert, Piet Reydon. The action sweeps from Carcassonne to Toulouse and back. Underneath the story is the Inquisition's search for a stolen, important relic, and the terror and violence inspired by this organization. And let's not forget the human politicking and ambition. The Hugenots fled to many countries and it seems this weighty trilogy in the future will take us in some diverse directions. A series for the committed. As a story it's somewhat weighty and yet interesting in the telling. A St. Martin's Press Minotaur ARC via NetGalley ***

Gambrelli and the Prosecutor ( Gambrelli and the Prosecutor (Inspector Gambrelli #1) by Laurence Giliotti.                                               Chief Inspector Arthur Gambrelli, of the Metropolitan Police finds himself enmeshed in a murder outside of his jurisdiction. Ordered to investigate, he heads to an island off the coast of France near Toulon, and in the summer heat! Gambrelli is not pleased! Murdered is the attractive young mistress of a senior prosecutor in the Ministry of Justice, Jean Michel Bertrand. Bertrand is the prime suspect, hence the politics. Gambrelli is a wonderful character. Taciturn and talented--all hidden behind a no nonsense exterior, and Yes! I am seeing  Gérard Depardieu! (I love Gambrelli's soliloquies and discussions with his dog, Odin.) Shackled by internal politics, and the occasional incompetent o...