Street of the Five Moons: A Vicky Bliss Mystery

It's been a long time since I've picked up a mystery book, and enjoyed it so much! I was up till 3 in the morning reading, I couldn't put it down. I loved the author's style- very brisk and believable, with humor and romance in all the right places. Plenty of adventure and danger too. Basically Vicky goes to Rome to find the creator of fraud jewelry. There she meets her match in "John Smythe". Whose side is he really on? And how is Vicky supposed to solve the mystery with such a distraction? I can't wait to read the other books in the series.

It's been awhile since I've read a book that I've taken such delight in. Vicky Bliss is a methodical detective much like Mary Russell from the Laurie R. King series. In "Street of the Five Moons", Vicky meets her match in "John Smythe", secretary to a nobleman and art collector, who strongly resembles Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey. His playful evasiveness is a delightful foil for Vicky's determination. Peters describes Germany and Italy like she's a longtime resident and makes clever allusions to more than a few literary classics. "Street of the Five Moons", like many series' second books, seems stronger than the first installment and has more compelling characters. Vicky's asides to the reader are also a fun device. I look forward to finishing this series and strongly recommend "Street of the Five Moons".

Our protagonist, gorgeous and brainy, Vicky Bliss is again on the move when she and her boss from the National Museum of Munich discover that someone is making excellent copies of the most famous jewels in the world. In this case it's a replica of the Charlemagne talisman. Vicky's who has a PhD in Art History and Medieval European History is also an amateur sleuth. With the only clue that she has, she goes to Rome to locate the street of the Five Moons where she hopes to find a connection to the thieves. Well, of course she gets into trouble and is rescued by a "dangerously exciting young Englishman." Sir John Smythe is truly charming and the chemistry between he and Vicky is terrific. This is a lovely romantic mystery and the second book in the Vicky Bliss mystery series.Another great story by Elizabeth Peters who is also Barbara Michaels!

The second of five Vicky Bliss mysteries, Street of Five Moons is one of Elizabeth Peter's best. Well, in my opinion the whole Vicky Bliss series is excellent. But in this novel, not only do we revisit the beautiful and brainy Vicky, but we meet the handsome and suave Sir John Smythe. The quick wit and banter of Vicky and Sir John is extremely entertaining. I literally laugh out loud when reading these novels. As for the plot, after discovering a forgery of a piece antique jewelery on a corpse, along with a scrap of paper with five cresent moons drawn on it, Vicky decides to go to Italy to investigate. An amateur sleuth, Vicky searches numerous areas until at last she gets caught. Will Vicky survive? What will transpire between Vicky and Sir John? You have to read this excellent book to find out.

With 357 pages, this read can take only one lazy summer day to devour...because you can't put it down! Who is behind what plot? What is real and what is fake? Museums, art, architecture, and antique jewelry all fit into the plot. Twists turn as suprising and numerous as the ancient Roman streets. The Vicky Bliss series has cool, cocky 1960's dialogue and writing in marked contrast to the classical verbosity of the Amelia Peabody series, but retain Peter's delightfully tantalizing "references-only" to sex. After several rousing escapades through elaborate fountain-and-waterworks embellished gardens, the satisfying ending leaves Vicky with a new travelling companion. Light, but not too light.