The Book of Blood and Shadows

So. Where to begin? If you liked the Davinci Code you might enjoy Robin Wasserman's novel. It is complicated, at times confusing, and somewhat interesting. Four students are helping a professor translate a mysterious book. The story is told from Nora's point of view. She and her best friend Chris, his girlfriend Adriane and Chris's roommate Max each are working on their own piece of the puzzle. When Nora stumbles upon a letter and she sneaks it home, she sets off a chain of events that takes her on a journey to Prague. Chris has been murdered and Max has disappeared. She and Adriane sneak away from their school trip to Paris to find Max and solve Chris's murder. They are met by Eli- Chris's cousin, who has some pretty useful skills on this mission, What they discover is a secret society set to build a machine that will allow them to speak to God. Nothing good has ever come of this search and their is a secret society set to thwart this attempt. The only way for Nora to survive is to find the pieces to the machine and save her and her friend's lives. The end reminds me of the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark. No one is as they seem and some meet quite melty ends. I don't know what student I would recommend this too, it is more for an advanced reader, or high school reader. It did make me want to visit Prague, but that will be a passing fancy I fear. So, if you are up for secret societies, lots of latin translations and a twisted love story, this may be the book for you. Happy reading my friends.