October Read: The Vicious Circle by Katherine St. John

 

Katherine St. John's The Siren  was a favorite read of mine last year, so I was excited to pick up her latest novel, The Vicious Circle. It definitely had a lot of pulse pounding moments, along with  scary cult vibes.

Sveta is a model who lives in NYC and is engaged to a wealthy young man. She struggles to fit into his family's ideal and their New Year's Eve ends with an argument and a decision by Sveta to take some time to rethink their life together.

Soon after this, Sveta learns her Uncle Paul has died, and left her his entire estate. This isn't just some small estate; it's worth $180 MILLION dollars. Paul was a well-known self-help guru who built a fortune on classes, retreats, books, and speaking tours. He also has a villa called Xanadu in the Mexican jungle, and that's where his funeral will take place. Sveta feels like she needs to travel to Xanadu to say her final farewell to her Uncle, but hoo boy, it's one weird place.

Sveta is joined on her trip by Lucas, a man she once had a memorable encounter with years before, but never heard from since. He's in charge of Paul's estate, and he's worried Paul's spiritual wife Kali is up to something. 

Once they're at Xanadu, it's pretty clear this is a cult and Kali is in charge. Not only that, she produces a will that leaves everything to her, not Sveta, and wants Sveta to sign off on a deal that gives Sveta a percent of the estate, but leaves the bulk to Kali. Conveniently, the helicopter that is supposed to pick up Sveta and Lucas the next day is mysteriously damaged and can't fly. All technology is locked up in a room where Kali has the only key; no privacy anywhere. As Sveta and Lucas start to dig around, they discover some unsettling practices and realize Kali is dangerous, and their lives are at stake. 

There's more to this, of course. It's a typical cult in that sex is always a big part of it, and giving up everything you have to join and ascend to a higher vibration. Sveta is torn between believing Kali (she's very persuasive) and believing Lucas, who has lied to her before. 

Will Sveta make the right choices and escape? Who is she going to trust? The last bit of the novel takes off and the action escalates; there are revelations all around about Paul, Sveta, Lucas, Kali, and the cult. 

I enjoyed the novel but wasn't blow away by it, as I was with The Siren. I guess the cult part felt like an old trope with nothing new to make it any different than other novels featuring cults--or heck, even the real ones we see on TV. Otherwise it was a good weekend read with no surprises I didn't see coming.

Rating: 3/6 for a novel that centered around a cult-what it was, how people got sucked into it, and how dangerous it was to break free. It's all about absolute power corrupting absolutely--and no one is safe from it. 

Available in hardcover, ebook and audio. 

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October Read: The Vicious Circle by Katherine St. John

Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

 

I've read Rachel Joyce's novels before, and I know I am always in for a quirky tale that hits me hard in the heart when I'm least expecting it. Her latest didn't disappoint, and I loved everything about it. 

It's 1950, and Margery Benson is in her late 40's, single, and teaching home economics in post World War 2 England. She has no family, and has settled into a pretty sad and lonely life. One particular day, a student draws a picture of Margery, and once Margery sees the drawing, she loses it. She snaps, walking out of the school, quitting her job, and going home. She decides to leave it all behind and pursue her one dream-a dream from childhood that she stuffed deep down and decided would never happen. Her dream? to travel to New Caledonia in pursuit of the legendary golden beetle. Does it exist? Who knows? But Margery is determined to find it. She advertises for a companion to help her in her quest, and lively, quirky Enid Pretty is her last hope to pull off her adventure. 

Enid isn't exactly what you'd want on a trip to New Caledonia-a place that's full of jungles, rain forests, mountains, and all sorts of danger. Even Margery isn't in the best shape to undergo an arduous trip, but her mind is set and she's not going to give up. As Enid and Margery travel by ship to their destination, they get to know each other and a friendship slowly forms in between a whole lot of rocky situations. Just who is Enid Pretty? What is she running from? 

Margery is delightful, and you can't help but admire her persistence in what looks like a completely foolish endeavor. Enid is a bit of a mystery, and she's so different than Margery you wonder how they could ever become friends, let alone go on an adventure that is both thrilling and dangerous. Yet Enid's story slowly unfolds, and you see how alike both women really are, and how both have dreams that neither is willing to let go. This is a travel tale, an adventure, a story of two women who become dear friends, and a tale of pursuing dreams. It's never too late! 

I so hope this becomes a limited series somewhere on TV. I would recommend this novel to book groups, and pretty much anyone else! I'll be passing my copy onto friends for sure. The author has some extras at the end of the book that you're sure to enjoy. Definitely one of my favorite novels of 2020. I've left a lot for you to discover as you read it--I can't give away all the good stuff! 

Rating: 5/6 for an unlikely adventure and friendship between two women who seem very different but are actually quite a lot alike. I'll confess I got a bit teary-eyed a few times and it left me thinking about Margery and Enid for quite some time. 

Available in paperback, audio, and e-book. 

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Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce

The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston

After reading this book, I know I wouldn't last more than a day in the jungle. Mosquitoes just love me, and I can't even survive a few hours in my back yard during the summer when they come out in droves. I'd be a giant mess in the jungles of Honduras. Couple that with an absolute terror of snakes, and I'm done. Douglas Preston is a much braver soul than I ever will be, and thanks to him, I got to read about this archaeological adventure in the comfort of my home.

The Lost City of the Monkey God is an adventure that takes you into the vast, dense jungles of Honduras to look for the famous "White City" or "Lost City of the Monkey God". For centuries, rumors have told of a famous city, lost for years in one of the most remote places on earth:  the jungles of Honduras. Hard to get to; once you do, the time spent hacking through the jungle just to walk a few feet keeps most people out. It is one of the last places on earth that still remained a mystery; untouched by humans for centuries. It's been so long since humans have lived in the area that animals are not afraid and are merely curious at the new arrivals.  

As I read this book, I thought of Bill Bryson's funny take on Australia, where he says that pretty much everything there can kill you. That's just what Mosquita, the vast, impenetrable jungle in Honduras presents.  Mosquitoes, snakes of all shapes and sizes (and all horribly lethal), sand flies, and a host of other creatures that require constant vigilance and constant spraying of DEET. Yet Douglas Preston (yes, the co-author of the Preston and Child novels) gets a chance to go along on a trip to finally find out if the rumors are true: is there a lost city in the jungle? When National Geographic calls, you go!

Using LiDAR, which is, from what I can understand, a very expensive scanning machine (this is a much simplified description), archaeologists discovered not one, but two potential sites in 2012. Known as T1 and T3, the LiDAR scans proved for the first time definitively that there were man-made structures in the jungle.  Not only man-made, but huge, and spanning miles.  Were they vast cities?  And who built them?  

Preston and crew returned to the jungle in 2015 to finally start exploring what their scans had found, and what they discovered was beyond their biggest dreams.  Untouched, intact proof of a sophisticated civilization that disappeared hundreds of years ago. They simply walked away from their cities. Why? The jungle doesn't leave very many clues. The high acidity in the soil means that anything organic is quickly broken down. Any hope of finding tombs with remains were swiftly dashed. What they did find opened up a huge debate over the culture that existed, how to protect the sites from looters, and how Honduran cultural identity would be formed. It also brought up a huge debate regarding what exactly archaeology is, and how advanced scanning technology is both at once a huge gift to the field, and damaging to the practice of actually going into a site and excavating.  

There's much more to this tale, and I'll leave it to you to discover. Preston and crew didn't leave the jungle alone; they were exposed to a dangerous illness that in itself is fascinating to read about. Preston talks about Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel and I think it's probably a book I should read sometime soon. The whole Old World bringing disease to the New World issue plays a big part in this story, and even carries over into Preston's life after he returns home.

I highly recommend this adventure to anyone who enjoys travel memoirs, archaeology, history, and science. Those who have devoured The Lost City of Z must read this--it's full of rascals who claimed to have found treasure and the lost city, and the excitement their travels created in newspapers in the early and mid-20th century.  

Rating: 4/6 for a really interesting read on something that was never on my radar; the archaeology geek in me was hooked. How do you begin to understand a civilization that was lost to time?  

Available in hardcover and ebook.     

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The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston

Two Reviews in One: Letters from Skye and Map of Lost Memories

I've been busy reading all week and I've decided to give a combined review of two historical novels I read on my Nook.  Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole takes place from 1912-1917 and also during 1940 in Scotland and England and is written all in letters.  It's the story of Elspeth, a young married woman who writes poetry, and David, a young American living in Urbana, Illinois.  It starts out innocently enough, with David writing a fan letter to Elspeth.  She's had a few books of poetry published, and one found its way into David's hands during a hospital stay.  

This is the beginning of years of correspondence between the two; they fall in love while writing about their lives, the impending war, and desperately wanting to meet each other face to face.  The other letters from 1940 are written by Margaret, Elspeth's daughter, and her fiancé as she copes with her mother leaving home to travel to London in search of her past.  Do Elspeth and David make it?  Can their love survive war and distance, with only a few meetings to sustain their passion for one another?  

I did enjoy this novel, but felt that they fell in love a bit too quickly.  It didn't seem like a smooth transition from friendship to deep love.  Otherwise, I did like the novel and anyone who wants a bit of historical fiction tossed in with a novel written in letter form should pick it up.  Perfect for a quick vacation read.


Rating:  6/10; letter form is always an interesting way to write a novel.  David's journey through France during WW1 as an ambulance driver will keep you flipping the pages.

Available in hardcover, e-book, and audio.

I have to say I was disappointed in this novel.  I had high hopes for an adventure in 1920's Cambodia, and I felt a bit let down that the adventure didn't occur until well into the story.  

Irene is a young woman who's lived all her life at the Brooke Museum; her father was the night watchman there and she spent all of her time learning about the mysteries of Cambodia and the Khmer people.  She's been a huge asset to the museum, and expects to be head curator.  Unfortunately, she is passed over because she's a woman and she doesn't have the "education" needed for the position.  Completely disillusioned, she quits and is hired by long time family friend Mr. Simms to go to Cambodia to find a lost temple.  This temple holds 10 copper scrolls that have the complete history of the Khmer people engraved on them--they are priceless, both to museum collectors and to the people of Cambodia, who are under French rule and are slowly being erased from history.

Irene enlists the help of Simone, a french woman who is well known in the area for her communist leanings and her knowledge of Cambodia and it's people.  Irene also meets Marc, a man who knows everyone and everything about the area--but is he on her side?  What secrets does he have?  Some will surprise you.

Most of the novel is about the political unease in this area during the 1920's and how the natives are being treated by the French and English.  It's also about the shameless pillaging of native treasures by collectors around the world.  It leads to the question:  do we leave these priceless items with their people, in a dangerous unstable environment, or take them away to preserve them?  This is an ongoing battle even today with museums and countries fighting to keep what they consider their property.  

It took me a long time to get through this novel; I was a bit bogged down by the constant back and forth of who was a good guy and who was a bad guy.  The political issues dragged on, and I just wanted Irene and her gang to get into the jungle already!  I don't even know if I liked Irene all that much.  She too was driven by her own agenda and not so much about the land she was traveling through.  Yes, she does change by the end of the novel, but it felt a bit too late.  The descriptions of the cities, the absolute dripping humidity, and the languid life the Europeans lead were all wonderful and the best part of this story.

Rating:  6/10; wonderful descriptions of 1920's Shanghai and Cambodia and the lost temples of the Khmer people.  Story was bogged down by politics and people's agendas.

Available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

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Two Reviews in One: Letters from Skye and Map of Lost Memories