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Book News: The Pindar Diamond, by Katie Hickman

I don’t normally write about books to be published here, but I got super-excited when I found out about this one. I read the author’s other book, The Aviary Gate, last summer, and enjoyed it. The Pindar Diamond will be coming out on August 17, 2010 (BTW, the publisher's catalogue has a different cover, which I think is better, but I can't find a way to copy and paste it into here).

A tale of lust, greed, and danger set in seventeenth-century Venice, The Pindar Diamond is a gripping and superbly told historical novel.

In a small town on the Italian coast, a mysterious woman washes ashore. She is crippled, mute, and clutches a bundle to her chest—a baby the townspeople insist is a real-life mermaid. It can only bring bad luck; they pay a troupe of acrobats to carry mother and child away.

In the bustling trade center of Venice, merchant Paul Pindar is the subject of his colleagues’ concern. Since his return from Constantinople, they have found him changed; raging over the loss of his beloved, Celia, he has gambled away his fortune at the gaming tables. But when a priceless blue diamond surfaces in the city, Pindar recognizes the opportunity to regain everything he has lost—including, perhaps, the woman he loves.

A celebrated writer of history and travel books, Katie Hickman has always been a master of evoking time and place. With The Pindar Diamond, her follow-up to The Aviary Gate, she brings early-seventeenth-century Italy vividly to life, and also demonstrates her maturity as a novelist. A tale of love and avarice, with a touch of the mystical, The Pindar Diamond is rich with historical detail, and unfolds with urgency and grace. It is accomplished, wholly satisfying historical fiction.
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Comments

Svea Love said…
Oh, I have been eying this book also! It sounds and looks so good. Such a long time to wait lol.
February 13, 2010 at 9:27 PM
Joanne said…
Interesting to know that Paul Pindar's tale continues. I enjoyed The Aviary Gate last year -- thank you for this "heads up."
February 15, 2010 at 8:58 PM
Passages to the Past said…
I too am waiting for this one! I need to sneak in The Aviary Gate before it comes out though..I've heard such good things!

There are a few covers for this one and I like them all.
March 11, 2010 at 6:54 PM
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