The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky

The Immortals
by
Jordanna Max Brodsky

Rating:

When the mutilated body of Helen Emerson washes up in New York’s Riverside Park, it’s not just the city detectives who are on the case.  Selene DiSilva, a striking figure with jet black hair and silver eyes, has a special interest in the crime.  A former cop, Selene has made it her mission to protect women against violence and she’s not about to let this murder go unsolved.  Clues point to a violent cult ritual and Selene knows she must act before more women become victims.

The above description could outline all kinds of murder mysteries, but The Immortals is an altogether different kind of story because Selene is no mortal.  She is a modern-day Artemis, daughter of Zeus and Leto and goddess of the hunt, virginity, archery, the moon, and all animals.  Selene and her family of gods and goddesses are using aliases and living in New York and around the world.  Although they aren’t exactly close, these Greek deities are connected by thousands of years of family dynamics, complicated relationships and rivalries.  Imagine carrying around all that family baggage!

Selene is drawn deeper into the mystery when she learns that Helen had been obsessively researching papyri fragments found in an ancient Hellenistic city.  And shocking details about a second murder convince Selene that the people behind this violence are reenacting the Eleusinian Mysteries, a ten-day ceremony and “the most important religious ritual in ancient Athens and the surrounding area for almost two thousand years.”  This connection to the Mysteries will bring Selene’s dysfunctional family together in new ways.

While it may sound great to be immortal, Selene and her extended family have found themselves in a strange state.  Their godly powers are fading and they are coping with the very human side of aging.  Selene’s senses aren’t quite as strong, her strength has diminished and she’s noticed lines and wrinkles in the mirror.  Caught somewhere between being mortal and immortal, she wonders if she can do enough.

She has help from Professor Theodore Schultz, a classics expert at Columbia.  This unlikely duo combine their knowledge and connections to chase after the cult before its next sacrifice.  There are plenty of twists, turns and road blocks in this race to stop the hierophant and his followers.  Selene and Theo land in a multitude of dangerous situations, complicated by Selene’s sudden and inexplicable strengthening powers.

The Immortals is more than an action thriller, however, as its characters navigate through relationships, family issues, university politics, love and forgiveness.  Romantic tension torments Selene, who has kept her vow of chastity for thousands of years, a promise that landed her long-ago love, Orion, in the heavens, twinkling down at her.  And Selene’s bitter rivalry with her twin brother Paul has modern relevance despite its ancient history.

In addition to these sub-plots, Brodsky introduces the interesting conflict between a world shared by gods and mortals and the idea that academics view myths as manmade creations, “not to be taken literally, but to be torn apart and dissected and put back together.”  Who’s to say the gods aren’t living among us?

I thoroughly enjoyed The Immortals.  It’s an ambitious but fun combination of mythology, mystery, romance and real-life figures in the modern world.  It’s full of facts about Greek mythology, but don’t worry about keeping up.  The author explains and repeats enough so you will soon understand the dynamics.  I loved the author’s descriptions of New York and how she places scenes at interesting places in the city, especially the City Hall subway station, the secret railway beneath the Waldorf Astoria, Central Park waterfalls and a hidden cave.  It’s exciting to imagine Brodsky’s story at these sites:

What a great site for a NYC thriller! Photo: jamesmaherphotography-com.jpg

Look at the staircase to this secret Central Park cave! Photo: central-park-cave-untappedcities-com.jpg

In addition, Selene’s character is nicely introduced in this Olympus Bound series.  She’s a strong female, but a long-time loner and her lack of social skills can get her into trouble, especially when it comes to romance.  I’m looking forward to seeing how this endearing character manages in Book Two – Winter of the Gods.

If you liked my review of The Immortals, you may also be interested in these preview posts of Brodsky’s book.

Mythology Refresher – Artemis and The Immortals by Jordanna Max Brodsky

Who were the Twelve Olympians and what were the Eleusinian Mysteries?

You may also enjoy visiting these sites about New York:

From Wikipedia.org – City Hall (IRT Lexington Avenue Line)
From DailyMail.com –  “The secret railway under the Waldorf Astoria:  Siding used by Roosevelt to hide his paralysis found beneath New York Hotel”
From RoadTrippers.com – “Shhhh!  These are the best-kept secrets of New York’s Central Park”

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Book Review: The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

The Dressmaker
by
Kate Alcott

In 1912, when the Titanic’s rescue ship pulled into New York, survivors of the disaster faced a great deal of complicated feelings, among them, survivor’s guilt. Of 2,224 passengers, only an estimated 705 survived the sinking of what people thought was an invincible ship. The world was horrified and demanded answers from Bruce Ismay, Chairman of White Star and the surviving crew. In response, Senator William Alden Smith led an inquiry into the accident and the rescue. One of the investigation’s first discoveries was that there were not enough lifeboats on board (only enough for 1,178 passengers), that many of the lifeboats left the ship before they were filled and that some of the boats had only a few passengers on them. Although women and children were chosen first for the lifeboats, wealth and privilege were also major factors in determining who got a seat. There were plenty of heroes, but rumors also flew about lifeboat passengers who ignored the desperate cries and pleading outstretched arms from the ship and from the water.

The Dressmaker is a story written into the history of the Titanic’s voyage, its passengers and the disaster’s aftermath. It’s a light historical fiction and romance, centered around a young English maid and seamstress, the fictional Tess Collins, who talks her way onto the ship to work for Lady Lucille Duff Gordon, a famous and mercurial English fashion designer. Lucille is a demanding boss, with no scruples and her husband, Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon pulls strings in the background to guarantee his wife’s success and prominence. The Duff Gordons are actual historical figures, as are many other characters in the story, including Lucille’s sister Elinor, Bruce Ismay, Mrs. Molly Brown, and Senator Smith.

As the story begins, Tess catches the eyes of two interesting men on the ship, a young sailor named Jim Bonney, and Jack Bremerton, an older and sophisticated Chicago businessman. Tess has just escaped a servant’s life and may be ready for love, but who will win her charms? Disaster may hit, but the love triangle continues and becomes more complicated once Tess arrives in New York.

Once in New York, we meet Pinky Wade, a spunky newspaper gal from the New York Times, who knows how to get a good story, and is assigned to cover the Titanic hearings. During the inquiry, stories about what others did to survive paint a desperate scene, which becomes a heavy burden for some of the passengers. As details emerge about what went on in the Duff Gordons’ lifeboat, whether Cosmo bribed the crew to refuse more passengers or worse, Lucille’s reputation is in big trouble. To help, Tess takes an active role in Lucille’s upcoming fashion show. Despite Lucille’s tantrums and criticisms, Tess feels indebted to her mentor, that is, until Jim becomes a target. Then Tess must decide what’s more important, her friendship with Jim or her fashion career with Lucille.

It’s hard to resist a story about the Titanic and I enjoyed reading The Dressmaker for these historical references. I also liked imagining the interactions between the actual historical figures and Alcott’s fictional characters in the book. I did not know about the inquiry that followed the disaster and found that very interesting. Alcott includes actual testimony from the hearings, which brings a good sense of authenticity to the book.

The story is nice, easy read and a good way to relax. I would be interested in reading Alcott’s newest book about Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, A Touch of Stardust, since I’m a big fan of Gone With the Wind!

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Empty Mansions by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.

Empty Mansions
by
Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.
Rating:

Every day I drive past three old abandoned homes and every day I wonder about the history of these houses and of the lives of the people who once lived inside them.  Bill Dedman discovered something like this on a much grander scale, with many unanswered questions:  two vacant mansions, one on the east coast, one on the west, still maintained and one fully furnished, ready for visitors.  And then there were three more residences, large uninhabited apartments in a Fifth Avenue building, including one that took up the entire 12^th floor.  Their owner?  Huguette Clark, a reclusive heiress who by choice spent the last twenty years of her life in a hospital bed and during that time gave away huge amounts of money to her caretakers and advisers, and to friends, godchildren and charities.

The ultimate question upon her death, just short of her 105^th birthday, was who would inherit her $300 million fortune, the people who for two decades took care of her or corresponded with her regularly, or distant relatives from the large Clark family?  Two wills emerged:  one bequeathing her assets to the Clarks, another one signed soon after, naming her nurse, accountant, attorney, doctor and others as the recipients.

Dedman conducted a massive amount of research and collaborated with Paul Clark Newell, Jr., a relative of Huguette whose father had researched the Clark family.  Newell developed a friendly correspondence and telephone relationship with Huguette and was not part of the Clarks who contested her will.  The result is Empty Mansions, a detailed history of the Clark family and an in-depth look at Huguette’s life during her twenty-year hospital stay.

Empty Mansions begins with Huguette’s father, W.A. Clark, an ambitious self-starter who made his riches in Montana’s copper mines, railroads, real estate and banking.  A Montana senator, his brief political career was filled with controversy, during a time when bribery and other payoffs were common.   After serving one term, he moved his family and riches east to New York, built a massive mansion on Millionaires’ Row where Huguette and her older sister Andrée were raised.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, both the early history of W.A. Clark’s money-making, and the pictures of Huguette, her family and homes.  I think Dedman and Newell have done a terrific job explaining what it was like to have grown up in such wealth, as well as respectfully portraying Huguette as a people-shy girl who became a woman who preferred to stay home and relate to the people she loved through cables, letters and phone calls.

I also think Huguette derived a great deal of joy from giving to others, but I believe some of her caretakers and hospital officials took advantage of her.  Whether the Clarks deserved to receive part of her fortune is another issue. It seems right that the Santa Barbara home, Bellosguardo, should become the center of a foundation to house Huguette’s $1.7 million doll collection and other art.  And now that I understand the Clark connection to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., I would like to plan a trip to see the rooms that hold much of W.A.’s art collection.

Empty Mansions was published before the settlement of Huguette’s contested will, however, all was recently finalized and the results are available on emptymansionsbook.com.  Explaining this complicated scenario with its many players is not an easy task so thanks to Bill Dedman for sending me this link!

This is a great read, well-written and worth the time!

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