August Beach Books 2013

Ain’t It a Beach – So Many Great Books, So Little Time

reviews by Sharon L. Shervington

The Tudors

We know the who, the what, the when, the where; but the why has proven elusive when it comes to what turned Henry VIII from a golden prince of Christendom to the monster who had two of his wives beheaded and became one of Europe’s cruelest and most bloodthirsty tyrants.

We get his story in the first person in the Y/A novel VIII. His father, Henry VII, who never felt secure on his throne, never ceased his offhand cruelty toward the gifted young prince; his cruelty and insistence on seeing Henry as just the “spare” was part of the humiliation that he endured even after his older brother, Arthur, died unexpectedly and he became heir. This depicts a mind crumbling slowly into madness or something very like it amid a surfeit of luxury and power.

Another book, The White Princess, proved to be just the thing to further illuminate Henry’s horrific transformation. His mother, Elizabeth of York, had been forced to marry Henry Tudor as the War of Roses drew to a close. She had loved Richard III, who was killed by Henry’s troops; and as King Edward IV’s daughter, her own claim to the throne was stronger than Henry’s. She is pawned into a dynastic marriage with Henry that forces her to choose between her mother and her siblings or her husband and children.

This latest novel by Philippa Gregory, one of the best historical novelists writing today, is gripping.

Another good choice for devotees of the Tudor, York, and Lancaster dynasties is Queen’s Gambit, the story of Katherine Parr, Henry VIII’s sixth and last wife, and her astute handling of the monarch who had left four wives dead. This, Elizabeth Fremantle’s first novel, has drawn well-deserved comparisons to the prize-winning Wolf Hall.

The Borgias

Extremely popular, and a historical hotbed, is the story of the Borgias, particularly Rodrigo Borgia, the Spaniard whose machinations to obtain the papacy are legendary even today. Kate Quinn, author of The Serpent and the Pearl, has an expert grasp of Rome’s many legacies, having written three previous novels set at the early apex of the Roman imperial state.

The scandals, strategies, and emotions of the time are enhanced here not only by her portraits of Rodrigo, his daughter Lucrezia and son Cesare, but also by two characters of her own invention, a handsome dwarf body guard Leonello, and Carmelina, a gifted chef with an enigmatic past. This will appeal to fans of Quinn’s earlier work as well as anyone fascinated by the tumultuous legacy of Rome and the Italian city-states.

The wait for the latest novel from Sarah Dunant, Blood & Beauty, seemed like a long one, but is definitely worth it, as is so often the case with a favorite author. Her acclaimed trilogy of the Italian Renaissance is remarkable. Dunant has never shied away from life’s ugly underbelly and once again clearly portrays a world where life could indeed be short and brutal, whether one was a cardinal or a courtesan.

But the era’s compensations included friendship and compassion even in grave circumstances, both of which are deftly drawn here. Everyone from Rodrigo to Lucrezia and Cesare, as well as other less well-known figures such as Alexander’s youngest son Jofre and his wife Sancia, Duchess of Squillace, and various Orsinis and Sforzas, are well-drawn characters, as is Cardinal della Rovere, the Pope’s arch-enemy.

There has been a great deal of historical research on the era and the Borgias, but two questions may never be resolved: Who killed Juan Borgia? And if Lucrezia, the prime dynastic tool, gave birth to a child, who was the father? Ms. Dunant’s characterization, narrative, and brio are compelling throughout. Brava.

If that is not enough, catch some Borgia face time with Showtime’s well received show The Borgias. Season Three was released on DVD this month and stars Jeremy Irons as Rodrigo Borgia, Holliday Grainger as Lucrezia, and Francois Arnaud as Cesare—who was believed to have been the Prince of Machiavelli’s still-popular tome of that name. Some things never go out of style.

The Scandinavians

Leaving the Eternal City but not the eternal issue of dysfunctional families, we move north to Scandinavia for The Fire Witness, which is still on Sweden’s best-seller lists. In an isolated home for wayward girls, most of whom have come through the foster-care system, two gruesome murders take place in a single night. Another of the girls, with a reputation for extreme violence, has disappeared. But is this child really the killer? Joona Linna is determined to find out.

The highly successful detective has deep family secrets in his own past, and as this page-turner unfolds he is reminded that in this he is hardly alone. The adventures of this superlative yet troubled investigator are also chronicled in The Hypnotist and The Nightmare. All three are highly recommended.

A recurring theme among writers throughout Scandinavia is this pattern of often-gruesome family violence, often in secluded communities. In The Ice Princess we meet Erica Falck, a journalist who has returned to the small, seaside home of her childhood, only to find that her closest childhood friend has committed suicide. There she meets Patrik Hedstrom, a detective who has had a crush on her since they knew one another as children.

A sweet love story unfolds as the two work together to find out why a friend with everything to live for took her own life. Or did she? Long-buried secrets surface among the town’s wealthiest, and among the most underprivileged residents. The couple’s adventures continue in The Preacher, also highly recommended.

The Asians

Switching continents, but not genres, we next turn to Bangkok and the latest of the Poke Rafferty thrillers, The Fear Artist. In this fantastic series, family is the kind we choose—and is a rare refuge. Poke has found love with Rose, a former bar girl in a city known for its sex trade. The pair have created a stable home life with daughter Miaow, a child they rescued from the street.

While the girls are away visiting relatives, Poke is drawn into a labyrinth of death when a man on the street dies in his arms, gasping out three words. Shortly thereafter, Poke discovers that he has been caught between corrupt local authorities and America’s War on Terror, and is directly in the path of a state-sanctioned butcher who has dealt in torture and methodical madness since the Vietnam War.

The superbly executed and gripping Crazy Rich Asians may well be destined to become a classic. This juicy beach read has the frothy charm of a Plum Sykes novel. Nicholas Young seems like a regular guy to his girlfriend Rachel Chu, an American-born Chinese.

Totally in the dark about his role as Asia’s most eligible bachelor, she agrees to spend the summer with him in Singapore. There she finds herself in a glittering jet-set lifestyle with everything from private islands to the penthouses of Shanghai. All of Nicholas’s extended family “welcome” Rachel, albeit coldly, and some seem content to stab her in the back amid the competition for Nicholas’s old-money fortune.

Young Adult in Brief

Excellent summer reads for teens are The Elite, the second of The Selection novels in which girls in a dystopian future vie for the prince’s hand. It is a story that combines aspects of The Hunger Games with the TV series The Bachelor.

For those who like their action witchy, the sequel to Born Wicked, Star Cursed focuses on a divided sisterhood and the discord between the three powerful witch siblings that have been foretold to end the Salem, Massachusetts-like tyranny.

The final volume of The Chemical Garden trilogy, Sever ends the series with a bang, introducing new characters and showcasing the talent for mood, character, and plotting that make Lauren Destefano a writer to watch.

Sever; Lauren Destefano; Simon & Schuster; $17.99; 371 pages