Street of the Five Moons (Vicky Bliss, #2) by Elizabeth Peters
Amy Caudill‘s review
When blonde bombshell/medieval art historian Vicky Bliss is shown an unbelievably perfect forgery of a piece of famous jewelry, housed in their own Munich National Museum, she convinces her boss that she should investigate the origins and purpose of this copy. She soon finds herself on the way to Rome to check out an obscure clue from a dead man’s pocket.
While there, she will encounter an Englishman who may be both an ally and a criminal, and an underground art forgery ring that touches the highest echelons of Italian society. When she is invited to visit the mansion of one of the main suspects the morning after being kidnapped, and rescued, by her sort of ally/rival, Vicky doesn’t hesitate to accept, even knowing she is probably going into even more danger. She will follow clues leading through a garden of monstrous statuary, a secret lab, and a thrilling escape through the Italian countryside.
I have read all of Elizabeth Peter’s Amelia Peabody series, and a few of her stand alone books written under the pseudonym of Barbara Michaels. I adore the Peabody books, patterned somewhat after the author herself, who holds a doctorate in Egyptology; but I found the books she wrote as Barabara Michaels a little less in substance than those, so I was happy to discover the Vicky Bliss series seems to be just as fascinating as the Peabody books.
While the subject matter is obviously different, being medieval art versus ancient Egyptian artifacts, it is obvious that the author put in her due diligence in research as well as creating several memorable, fascinating characters; including Vicky and her bumbling, lovable boss Professor Schmidt, and her future possible (?) love interest/antagonist, who she only knows as John Smythe.
I enjoyed this story very much, and intend to go back and read the rest of the series as I have time. I award this book four and a half stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys thriller/mystery stories featuring strong female heroines.