The Thieves of Legend by Richard Doetsch

Michael St Pierre and his at the moment ex-girl friend KC Ryan are forced into a life or death mission in Richard Doetsch’s latest fast paced thriller. Isaac Lucas, a US Army Colonel, will do anything to ensure they take this all but impossible mission – even blackmail.

The job takes Michael first to Macao and then to China to steal a box containing a book and papers that could change the balance of power in the world.  Michael takes his best friend Paul Busch (an ex-cop) with him to assist in this impossible task.   Michael has another possible ace up his sleeve..his mysterious friend, Simon, a priest.  All the while, Michael is being pressured by Lucas, who is desperate to get the box and the information it holds.  He claims if he doesn’t  get the box, it could mean the death of millions of people.  Lucas is not above threatening KC’s life to get what he wants.

When KC is heading back to London, she befriends an interesting woman, Annie.  Little does KC know the vital role Annie will play in her immediate future!  When KC’s plane is cancelled, Annie offers her a ride on her military jet, but Annie doesn’t know the destination is Granada and not London, and that her new friend is a compatriot of Lucas!

This fast paced thriller is nailing author Doetsch’s name amongst the top of today’s writers of international thrillers. Tom Clancy watch out!

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I’m Off Then: My Journey Along the Camino de Santiago By Hape Kerkeling

Hape Kerkeling is a German Comedian who suddenly decided he’d like to walk the El Camino de Santiago, an over 800 mile pilgrimage that crosses the northern part of Spain. He is not athletic, or particularly religious, but is a Catholic and was curious about what effect such a journey might have on him physically and spiritually. Although the decision was made almost on a whim, the final results were profound and far reaching for him.

Kerkeling doesn’t take himself too seriously and laughs at how unprepared he really was for such a huge endeavor. He doesn’t end up walking the entire way, as some do. Several times he hopped on a train or bus if he felt he needed a break from walking. He also stayed in hotels whenever he could as he felt the hostels were too crowded for him to get any real rest. I thought Kerkeling was very open to new experiences as he traveled, though. He tried new foods and walked with others as their paths cross, although sometimes he chose to have a day of solitude. While walking, he kept a journal of the people he met and the places he stopped. He ended up traveling the final segments with two ladies who become lifelong friends of his. In his journal, he reflects daily on his experience, writing down what he feels was the lesson for the day. At the end, he decides the pilgrimage was worth every minute, even the bad ones.

Note: If you would like to see some of the scenery of the El Camino, the recent movie “The Way,” starring Martin Sheen tells the story of someone else making the same pilgrimage. This book is also sure to appeal to fans of Bill Bryson’s hilarious travel memoir A Walk in the Woods.

Editor’s note: we forgot to mention that this book was translated from German by Shelley Frisch.

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Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones

Did you love Ken Follet’s Pillars of the Earth?  If so, this book will satisfy your need for another good, thick, medieval tome.  The author, Ildefonso Falcones, is a lawyer in Barcelona.  This debut novel, translated from Spanish, was a bestseller in Spain.  The story focuses primarily on Arnau Estanyol, a good man trying to make his way in a tough world.  His father fled to Barcelona with young Arnau hoping for a better life.  As a runaway serf, his hope was to take advantage of Barcelona’s law that allows anyone who lives in the city for one year and a day to become a free citizen.

Life in Barcelona during the 1300’s is far from a bed of roses and Arnau and his father barely manage to survive.  They adopt Joan, a young boy from the streets who Arnau has become fast friends with.  The boys share a strong bond which becomes even stronger when Arnau’s father dies and they have to fend for themselves.  As they reach adulthood, their paths diverge;  Arnau becomes a stone carrier or “bastaixo” and carries the stones used to build the Cathedral of the Sea and  Joan starts on the path to the priesthood.

After many twists and turns, Arnau becomes a successful businessman and Joan becomes an inquisitor for the Catholic Church.  Because Arnau has a heart for people and tries to change his world for the better, he becomes a favorite with the common man and an enemy of the aristocracy and the Church.  Events ultimately come to a head and Arnau and his adopted brother Joan square off in a fascinating battle.

While Cathedral does not provide the architectural details that Pillars does, it does paint a detailed portrait of what life in 14th century Spain was like, set amidst much family drama.

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The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner

The Last Queen tells the tale of Juana la Loca (the Mad), the last native-born queen of Spain. Juana was the second daughter of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon.  She was married to Phillip the Fair of Flanders, sole heir of the Habsburg Empire.

I have to confess that this was my first foray into a novel about Spanish royalty – I usually stick to England, France, Italy or the Netherlands.  I knew of Ferdinand and Isabella and of their youngest daughter, Catalina (Henry the Eighth’s first wife) – but not much else.  C.W. Gortner convinced me I was missing out.  I was even shocked midway through the novel when I flipped to the back cover and realized C.W. is a Spanish-born male author.  I assumed the author was female.  While trying not to sound sexist, I’m going to say that that is a good thing, because the majority of this type of fiction- especially from a female point-of-view- is written by women.

Juana is the rebellious child, strong-minded, but empathetic.  She grew up on the crusade trail with her parents and siblings and initially wants nothing to do with marrying Phillip.  She submits ‘for the good of Spain’ because the alliance will help protect them from evil France.  Once in Flanders, Juana grows to love her handsome husband.  The only fly in the ointment is Phillip’s closest advisor, the archbishop Besancon – a man more focused on Phillip’s advancement than on religion.  After several years of marriage things become complicated as Phillip and Besancon scheme against Juana’s parents to try to have Phillip  named heir to the Spanish crown, something Juana’s parents know the Spanish people would never accept.  What was fascinating about this book is that the politics were completely new to me and unusual for that time, in the world of royalty.  Isabella and Ferdinand had unified Spain, but they were also held in check by their respective governing bodies.  With the death of their only son, the line of succession became incredibly complex and tenuous.  Gortner did a wonderful job of explaining these details, while moving the plot along and not losing touch with the characters.

While history might dismiss this mad queen, this novel does not.  It also creates a convincing perspective of Juana as a loving wife and mother that was driven to madness by politics in a world that used marriage and children as pawns in a game of power.

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