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Published Apr 2011
464 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
Benvenuto Cellini - the master artisan of Renaissance Italy: goldsmith, sculptor... necromancer. Creator of a beautifully carved amulet that was once the proud possession of popes and princes, queens and conquerors. A work of unimaginable power... and menace.
In this new spine-tingling thriller by Robert Masello, the critically acclaimed and bestselling author of Blood and Ice, the quest to recover a legendary artifact - and plumb its secrets - depends upon one man: David Franco, a brilliant but skeptical young scholar at Chicago's world-renowned Newberry Library.
What begins as a simple investigation quickly spirals into a twisting, turning tale of suspense and intrigue, a race against time that carries Franco across continents and centuries in a desperate search for the ultimate treasure - and an answer to a riddle that has puzzled mankind since the beginning of time.
Aided only by a beautiful young Florentine with a conspirator's mind and dark secrets, Franco is soon caught up in a life-and-death struggle from which there is no escape. Relentlessly pursued by deadly assassins and demons of his own, in the end he must confront - and defeat - an evil greater than anything conjured in his worst nightmares.
Packed with breathtaking invention and breakneck adventure, The Medusa Amulet is a harrowing ride from the streets of Chicago to the châteaux of France, from the ramparts of the French Revolution to the palazzos of Rome, a story where historical fact meets with fascinating conjecture... and the impossible becomes terrifyingly real. Like a masterpiece from the hand of Cellini himself, The Medusa Amulet is a unique and powerful work, as inviting as it is forbidding, as ingenious as it is bold.
"Starred Review. This book is a few notches better than most, thanks to crisp prose and drum-tight plotting. Great writing and rich detail combine for a gripping read." - Kirkus Reviews
"A little judicious pruning might have turned it from a good book to a great one, but devout fans of conspiracy-themed thrillers should find it to their liking." - BookList
"The burgeoning romance and frequent brushes with death all follow formula, while the conceit that the mirror holds the secret of eternal life fails to convince." - Publishers Weekly
"Masello's latest thriller is an engrossing and fun read. While similar in content to the novels of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child and historical detail to Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, this work adds a supernatural twist. Recommended for those who like to delve into the past." - Library Journal
This information about The Medusa Amulet was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Robert Masello is an award-winning journalist, a television writer, and the author of many books, including the supernatural thrillers Blood and Ice, Vigil (a USA Today bestseller), and Bestiary.
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