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Tears of the Pearl by Tasha Alexander

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Chatterbox
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Tears of the Pearl by Tasha Alexander

Post by Chatterbox » Wed August 19th, 2009, 2:48 am

(this title will be due out in early September, the fourth of the Lady Emily mysteries...)

I've read and enjoyed all the preceding books in the series of mysteries featuring Lady Emily Ashton, so I was delighted this one features her traveling, along with her new husband, to the Istanbul of the late Ottoman era. After turning the final page of the third in this series, I had begun to wonder how Tasha Alexander would continue her formula of an untraditional yet aristocratic young woman bucking societal mores and solving crimes; the most recent book had begun to send signals that perhaps the concept was at risk of becoming simply a formula.

Thankfully, the setting of Istanbul and the Byzantine (pun fully intended!) politics of the sultan's court and the harem make a great backdrop for Lady Emily to run afoul of an entirely new set of social mores, and one of the best parts of the book was following her efforts to do so. The bad news? While Lady Emily rejoices at discovering a new setting, her creator flounders. The plot relies on an elaborate and improbable series of events that had me rolling my eyes and groaning at frequent intervals. And now that Lady Emily is happily married to Colin Hargreaves there are references to their marital happiness that are both excessively frequent and excessively coy. (At times, I felt as if I were reading a Victorian-era romance novel...) It seemed, occasionally, as if Alexander wasn't sure whether she were writing a historical mystery or a romance novel.

Together with the weaknesses of the plot -- it revolves around the murder of a concubine from the sultan's harem, who turns out to be the kidnapped daughter of a British diplomat (not a spoiler; disclosed early on) -- this became downright irritating. It's still a lively read, mostly because of the Istanbul setting, and I read through it rapidly, but certainly not with the same degree of excitement I experienced with the first two books in the series. Maybe Lady Emily should return to London, after all....

Recommended principally to those who have already read the three previous books in the series. You could still follow the plot readily enough if you haven't read those, but you won't get the full flavor of Lady Emily's character from this. If you've read and enjoyed this series and have yet to discover the series of books by Deanna Raybourn, you'll likely appreciate those as well (the characters are more eccentric; they are also probably closer to the romance than mystery sub-genre.) A far better but very different series of mysteries set in 19th century Istanbul is the wonderful series by Jason Goodwin beginning with The Janissary Tree and featuring one of the Sultan's eunuchs, who has left Topkapi and become a private investigator. (Goodwin also is the author of one of the most readable histories of the Ottoman Empire ever, Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire .)

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diamondlil
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Post by diamondlil » Wed August 19th, 2009, 12:54 pm

I have been reading this series since the beginning so will be reading this one as I do feel invested in the series. I do wonder though how much longevity these types of series can really have, espeically seeing as some of the tension is changed given the change in relationship between two of the main characters.

I have the same question about Deanna Raybourn as well.
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Chatterbox
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Post by Chatterbox » Wed August 19th, 2009, 5:49 pm

Yes, that's a question I struggle with as well -- with any kind of mystery. Elizabeth George manages to pull it off, IMO, and so does P.D. James. But Daniel Silva -- while he can deliver great writing & plots -- is slipping. I've been disappointed by a lot of long-lived series this year. The exception is the Charles Todd series featuring Insp. Rutledge. But I'm a bit tired of Maisie Dobbs -- by the 1930s, WW1 trauma wasn't affecting daily society in England as much as it was policy, and there are only so many dimensions to the idea that one can explore before sounding repetitive...

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sweetpotatoboy
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Post by sweetpotatoboy » Thu August 20th, 2009, 9:44 am

Me too. Maybe that's why I've more or less decided that historical mysteries aren't something I prepared to spend too much time on. I'll read the first one and think: yes, this is quite entertaining and interesting. Then I'll read the second one and think: more of the same but fun too. By book three, I just can't be bothered any more; there's no novelty value and the thrill is gone.

I know others love them but I was like that with the Lindsey Davis Falco books, the Simon Scarrow Cato books, the Fidelis Morgan books etc. I will occasionally try one out but I've learned that I'm very unlikely to be impressed enough for it to be sustained over a long series.

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Misfit
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Post by Misfit » Thu August 20th, 2009, 11:55 am

Thanks CB. I haven't tried this series yet but it's been floating around my wish list for a while. I have to take mysteries in small doses. Much as I love Penman I've never even tried her mysteries. Glad I skipped getting this one on the Vine offer.
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Post by Misfit » Mon September 7th, 2009, 12:26 am

I am very disappointed at the massive negative vote campaign going on for critical reviews at Amazon and it is now being carried over to a one star review at Goodreads. I'm not sure if it's rabid fans upset with a critical review or something more but it is very disappointing and coming close to turning me off to ever trying books by this author.
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Chatterbox
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Post by Chatterbox » Mon September 7th, 2009, 12:45 am

Ugh, yes, I've seen that. But really, unless the author's actually involved, give her the benefit of the doubt. If the book is bad, then dump the author. Don't let other idiots influence you. That's a bit like the nincompoops out there who believe Kindle titles should never be more than $9.99, so they're all out there sticking 1 star ratings on books simply because of the Kindle pricing.

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