Aventurine Morrow finds past secrets she’d thought were buried rising up and threatening to destroy everything she holds dear…
Popular author Aventurine Morrow is working on a biography of Genevieve Smithson, a veteran of the SOE—Britain’s network of operatives in occupied France during WWII—and travels to York, England, to interview the aging survivor.
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Complicating matters, however, is Aventurine’s nephew, Paul, who has accompanied her to the U.K. in an attempt to work through the grief of losing his father at sea. As the two travel together, hints of Aventurine’s past begin to darken their steps, until long-hidden family secrets are brought out into the open through the interference of her former lover—secrets that threaten to destroy everything Aventurine holds dear.
Enjoyed this tremendously. A cast of wonderful characters in a story ranging from WWII French resistance to present day.
It was non-stop action until the end. I loved every minute of it! Cannot wait to read the next book!
What a splendid page turner this is. Anne, with her usual thoroughness, has done her research, and the places in York and London were well described. I have walked those walls in York and know them. The characters are well drawn and what a juicy villain we have in this tale. Would he get his just deserts or not. I’m not telling. Been a bit busy this last couple of weeks or so since the book arrived but when I started reading it was captured. 2 nights burning the midnight oil to finish it.
I enjoyed this book very much. I was really sucked in by the depth of the characters. Aventurine is strong and independent, yet insecure which made her so real. I was also very drawn to her nephew with all that he was going through throughout the book and Genevieve who was a kick a** senior citizen with an exciting past. I can’t wait for another installment in this series to find out what happens next. This is my 2nd favorite book by this author after her book called The Book of the Mandolin Player. Highly recommend!
An intriguing storyline with amazingly written characters that quickly feel like family and friends, and I’m including the setting as a character here. When a book makes you want to travel to the location it takes place because you feel sure you’ll meet up with the characters if you go, that’s a job well done by the author. I can’t wait for the next one!
This book was a delight to read and I highly recommend it. So hard to put down! A captivating thriller with an intricate story line full of twists, unexpected turns and an exhilarating pace. This novel leaves you wanting to know more about Aventurine Morrow and I can’t wait for Anne Britting Oleson’s next book. In the meantime pick up this one, you won’t regret it!!
Well, that was a pleasure to read. Briskly paced, and studded with sparkling detail and experiences I would want to share. It all feels real and immediate. The title character is an interesting person, an American who clearly relishes England. It is excellent to read a rare exploration of the English Folk Music Festival scene. The descriptions of place in Southampton and York are vivid and clearly well-researched. The character of the elderly spy Genevieve is superb. I too would like to spend time in her company, tapping her way around the ancient and beautiful Walls of York. There are many teasers in place for Aventurine’s next adventure – I want to read those books already!
I am always amazed at how an author can take a simple life-happenstance, such as ordering in a restaurant, or spilling a beer, and making it into something that the read can actually “feel”. Then, when I am entranced by the characters that are involved in the story, I am engaged within the story. I am a friend of the main character. I speak out loud to her. I scream at her for decisions, for not doing what I want her to do because even though I haven’t skipped ahead, the author makes you a part of the script so well that you KNOW what will happen… that is an author who you follow for the next novel, the next journey with your old friends or maybe new friends. This story leaves you hanging with so many unanswered questions. Some of the questions pop into your head well after you have finished the book, others simmer along with you as you await the answer in the coming pages, but they never get answered. That seems frustrating, but, then you can only hope that you’ll meet these characters soon, in another journey, and find the closure, that you, as a reader, feel compelled to get. Hopefully we’ll see more of Avi Morrow.
Finished this amazing book and had to write a review. From dedication through acknowledgements, it captivated me. Excellent pacing, entrancing characters, exquisitely crafted plot. Very satisfying mystery that still left just enough unresolved so it wasn’t an overly tidy ending and didn’t feel trite. It left me wanting more Aventurine Morrow Thrillers. 10/10 would recommend.
I’ve gotten to know many fictional characters well, but I’ve never been intimate with them on the level I am with Anne Britting Oleson’s characters. I know their quirks and routines, frankly, more than I recognize my own at times. It’s the way Oleson freely describes commonplace processes – ordering food, building a fire, calling a family member – while keeping them lively and engaging. To do that while never adversely changing the plot pace? An incredible feat. Oleson does not create characters; she meets them and introduces them to us authentically. Aventurine and the Reckoning is Oleson’s definitive statement on those compositional habits. The best collection of all the things that readers come back year after year for. There is a treasure trove of intrigue here and I’m excited to see what’s next. Also, just as she had hoped, I’m now researching the women of the SOE because I need to know more. I have full confidence that this is the reaction every reader will take with them after this read. Of course, that is exactly why I’ve kept this general in nature – I can’t give anything away. You’ll just have to let Anne Britting Oleson take you to the same place. Incidentally, I’m bound and determined to walk those damned walls at some point in my life. I’m certain that no other book has ever made me say that.
Rare is the novel that delivers a ripping good story in prose that lingers after the last page . (Maybe that’s because the author is also a poet and a prestigious Pushcart Prize finalist?) From the opening scene of Aventurine and the Reckoning, you’re in on the ride with gutsy journalist, Aventurine, her grieving nephew and a mysterious Second World War spy who’s a cross between Mata Hari and your favourite aunt. This is a story of family but where the stakes are raised above the usual dynamics and into territory that’s relevant and riveting. The momentum is propulsive, mixing past and present, to offer convincing characters that catapult the reader to a satisfying ending. Hope there’s more Aventurine on the horizon.