Sonnet of the Sphinx

The Poetic Death Mysteries have become quite a lot of fun for me to read. The characters of Peter and Grace are wonderful as they solve mysteries and discover things about each other. It's a witty series and I hope there will be a 4th. book.

Diana Killian is a thoughtful writer, and SONNET OF THE SPHINX is just my cup of tea. It's funny. It's a good story. The writing is lovely. I like the protagonist, Grace Hollister, an American literary scholar sojourning in England's Lake District. I like her romantic interest, Peter Fox, who plays the good guy/bad guy role that Cary Grant perfected in movies like "To Catch a Thief." In this third book of Killian's Poetic Death series, Grace is enjoying her 15 minutes of fame after writing a book about the search for a lost work by Lord Byron. She's to be guest speaker at an annual Romantic literature conference. She's still working at Rogue's Gallery with Peter, jewel thief turned antiques dealer. If there are small clouds on her horizon they are a touch of homesickness and a growing uneasiness about her relationship, or lack thereof, with Peter. Peter has bought the contents of a 17th century farmhouse from the new owner, a wealthy Japanese collector named Matsukado. When Peter and Grace begin sorting through the packing boxes, she finds an old letter referring to "Shiloh's poesy." It's addressed to "Dearest Girl" and signed "John." It's a riddle Grace can't resist, especially since "Shiloh" was Lord Byron's nickname for Shelley, and "the witch Posey" appears in Shelley's poetry. So who was John and why was the letter hidden in an old musical brochure? Almost before she finishes reading the letter, however, Matsukado's chauffeur, who may or may not be a ninja, shows up with news that Matsukado wants his goods back, and is willing to swap valuable Asian art for the packing boxes and all their contents. The plot begins to thicken. Killian touches all the bases in this tale of a lost poem and stolen antiquities. The characters, along with the usual village eccentrics, include a disagreeable detective inspector, a librarian from hell, and a disgraced Turkish prison guard who's looking for a legendary diamond known as The Serpent's Egg. While Peter has unexpected problems of his own to deal with, Grace's pursuit of a lost Shelley sonnet takes her into an abandoned estate, along a deadly mountain road, and into various other dark and dangerous places. More than once she's lucky to get out alive. Her relationship with Peter takes an interesting turn, and the epilogue is a perfect touch.

Ever since I read 'Verse of the Vampyre', with its tantalizing excerpt from 'Sonnet of the Sphinx', I've been waiting impatiently for the rest of the story. And not because I care overmuch about the possibility that there's a lost sonnet by Shelley floating around somewhere. Though I admit that treasure-hunting is fun, what I really wanted, was to know the details of the Istanbul-affair, the one that landed Grace's boyfriend Peter in a Turkish jail for fourteen months. After two books full of hints, I wanted answers, and I wanted them now! The books starts with Grace finding an old letter mentioning the unknown Shelley sonnet. Hard on the heels of that, Harry, an acquaintance of Peter's from his stint in Turkey, shows up, and threatens to have Peter extradited. Then Harry turns up dead, and naturally, Peter is at the top of the suspect list. Grace is not safe from suspicion herself, however, after Scott Sartyn, the new head librarian, accuses her of going through the dead man's pockets. (No, she didn't. Really. And Sartyn shouldn't really be talking anyway, since he knew Harry from before and is trying to keep it quiet. With good reason.) While Peter is out of town, someone forces Grace's car off the road and into the lake, and then someone sets fire to her cottage. Then Scott Sartyn ends up dead. And woven through the whole intricate web is the mystery concerning the soldier who was in possession of the Shelley-sonnet back in 1943. What happened to him? Did he desert? Was he - and the sonnet - blown to smithereens by a bomb while on leave? Did he really run away with his girlfriend's sister, or was someone else to blame for his disappearance? And for that matter, is the sonnet still around somewhere, and can Grace and Peter find it? I quite enjoyed both 'High Rhymes and Misdemeanors' and 'Verse of the Vampyre', but I think 'Sonnet of the Sphinx' beats them both, hands down. Grace and Peter's relationship moves forward by leaps and bounds; they seem more comfortable together now, than what they did in the previous book. The plot is nice and tight, with enough surprises to keep the reader reading long after she should turn out the light and go to sleep. And while I thought for a moment, at one point, "I wonder if this person had something to do with it...?", I'd forgotten all about it by the time I got to the end. And best of all, all my questions about Istanbul were answered, and enough loose ends left dangling to make for a few more books. My only gripe is that this time, there's no excerpt to whet my appetite for the next installment, when, surely, the cursed Serpent's Egg diamond will once again resurface, to tempt Peter off the straight and narrow... Oh, no! Here we go again!

At Rogue's Gallery, American visitor Grace Hollister looks through papers delivered a couple of weeks ago from Mallow's seventeenth century farmhouse in England's Lake District when she locates an interesting gem. The Los Angeles English literature teacher and romantic poet scholar uncovers a World War II love letter that hints at the existence of a previously unknown Percy Byshe Shelley's sonnet, "Sate the Sphinx."; if true the excited Grace feels they will have hit mother lode. Her lover retired jewel thief Peter Fox agrees to help her follow the "clue". However, before they can get started, Peter's enemy Kayaci, a Turk from his previous illegal profession, threatens Grace and him. Soon attempts on her life occur, but Grace is not quite as confident as Peter that the Turk is behind them; she wonders whether others, aware of at least one major weird hieroglyphic clue, interested in finding the Shelley sonnet might want to eliminate the competition. The latest Poetic Death amateur sleuth tale is a delightful cozy that centers on whether an unknown Shelley sonnet existed fifty years ago and if so could it be found if it still survives. Grace is terrific as her enthusiasm for the romantric poets propel her accompanied by a doubting Peter to follow the clues. Several late twists add to a fun tale as the audience will wonder what the dynamic duo will find at the end of the journey; that is if they survive the quest. Harriet Klausner

If three's a charm, then Diana Killian's third installment in the Poetic Death Series, Sonnet of the Sphinx, is just that.... A charm! While sorting through some old books and papers at Rogue's Gallery, Grace stumbles upon an old love letter written in 1943 by a man named John Mallow. The letter hints of an unknown sonnet by poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Realizing the significance of this find, Grace attempts to share her enthusiasm with Peter, who only wishes to tease and poke fun. During some light hearted banter between the two, a ghost from Peter's past enters the gallery and immediately the mood is changed. The mysterious stranger is Hayri Kayaci, a policeman from the Turkish prison where Peter had spent some time. He has come to claim something he feels Peter owes him and if he doesn't get it, he's going to extradite Peter back to Turkey. Grace fearing for Peter, tries to come up with a plan to help him but Peter assures her that it will be taken care of. A few days later, Kayaci turns up dead with Grace and Peter becoming the prime suspects. Thus begins this fast paced mystery, complete with shadowy figures in the night, some very amusing and colorful characters, death threats on Grace's life, cover ups, a relentless detective determined to pin the murder of Kayaci on Peter, some surprising discoveries, a little romance and an ending that will shock you! Sonnet of the Sphinx is jam packed with heart pounding action and nail biting suspense! Hang onto your book and get ready for the ride of your life! The dialog is witty and fun. The events may seem far-fetched and out of the ordinary but if the book was ordinary, it wouldn't be worth reading. Ms. Killian is an accomplished story teller with a knack for wit and creativity when describing a feeling or situation. From the very first page of the prologue, Ms. Killian's descriptive style starts working its magic. Describing the storm that will soon claim Shelley's life, she writes, "The young man raked fingers through the golden hair that was perpetually in his eyes, then turned his attention once more to the book of Keats's poetry. The boat creaked, the sails whispering to each other. The storm that whipped up off the black-glass ocean was like an enchanted thing, so sudden, so parlous. The pages in the book flapped like chattering paper teeth." Explaining the thoughts running through Grace's head regarding the possibility of discovering an unknown work by Shelley, she states, "Grace's brain continued to spin sweet airy fantasy as though someone had left a cotton candy machine on overdrive." While detailing Grace's constant battle to fight the urge to pry into Peter's mysterious past, she says, "Peter's mysterious history acted upon her the way an unopened jigsaw tempted a puzzle addict." The writer's descriptive style and imagination brings this book to life. It sparks our own imagination, inviting us into the story and encouraging us to experience it for ourselves. We become the unseen sidek