The Serpent's Daughter: A Jade Del Cameron Mystery

Great series - good characters, great setting and well done plotting. One looks forward to the next and the next.

I've read several titles in the Jade del Cameron mystery series and, like this one, they all are great! Jade is the ultimate heroine and Suzanne Arruda is brilliant in bringing her adventures to life. I can't wait to see Jade on the big screen as the next "Tomb Raider."

I love this series! They are historically well-researched. The main character is a strong, believable woman. The story lines are always interesting. I can't wait for the next one!

What if Indiana Jones were a woman? No, this isn't about a spicy gender revelation, but rather a rip-roaring adventure set in North Africa in the 1920s. Jade del Cameron drove an ambulance in France during World War I. After the war, she went to Africa instead of returning to the United States. In this third book in the series--Mark of the Lion and Stalking Ivory are the first two--she travels to Morocco to attempt a reconciliation with her Spanish-born mother, Doña Inez Maria Isabella de Vincente del Cameron. Things don't go well. Doña Inez disappears, Jade discovers a dead body, and she just might be hearing voices from hundreds of years ago. After Jade gets out of the Caves of Hercules, watch out. There are escapes and rescues from crumbling mansions, arduous journeys, wise women, slave traders, and mystical symbols in abundance. Jade is strong, smart, and an expert at using whatever comes to hand: at one point, a rather annoyed snake. This is the kind of book I would have devoured at fifteen, or twenty-five. It is full of women. Women who regret. Women who reflect. Women who act. Women who keep secrets. Women who hold power. Women who are generous, selfish, silly, nefarious, and brave. I admit to having a bit of trouble with the style at first. In fact, I had previously tried Stalking Ivory, and put it down after a few chapters. When I realized that the author had adopted a story-telling method to reflect the way stories were written in the 1920s, I fell in love with the book. I'm anxious, now, to go on to the other two in the series. by Sharon Wildwind for Story Circle Book Reviews reviewing books by, for, and about women

In 1920, photojournalist Jade del Cameron reluctantly agrees to meet her prim and proper mother Inez in Tangier, Morocco in hopes they can reconcile their contentious relationship. However, Jade is realistic as she loves globetrotting explorations into out of the way trouble spots while mother is a perfect lady who never perspires let alone sweats. In Tangier, someone kidnaps Inez. An anxious Jade may feel the planet is not big enough for both of them, but she still loves her mother. She begins a frantic quest to find and rescue Inez with clues taking her to Marrakech and from there to a remote mountainous Berber village. Every step she takes step since starting in Algiers is dangerous especially eluding slave traders who want to sell her and the most dangerous person of all Lilith Worthy. This terrific action-packed thriller will grip readers from the moment Inez is abducted and never let's go until the final confrontation. The story line is fast-paced especially when Jade is on mission. However, the plot slows down a bit as Suzanne Arruda packs the tale with a deep look at 1920 Morocco especially the Berbers. Fans of historical thrillers will want to read Jade del Cameron third adventure although the previous two contain more of a mystery (see STALKING IVORY and MARK OF THE LION). Harriet Klausner