Synopsis (from
the publisher):
Joining her mother for a holiday in the ancient port city of Tangier,
American adventuress Jade del Cameron expects their trip will be far
less dangerous than her safaris in East Africa. But soon after their
introduction to a group of European tourists, Doña del Cameron
goes missing -- victim of an apparent kidnapping -- and, shockingly,
the French authorities seek to arrest Jade for the murder of a man
whose body she discovered in a series of ancient tunnels. Now, Jade
must call upon her friends to help find her mother and expose the true
villains, who have every intention of bringing about her own
destruction.
— ◊ —
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The Serpent's Daughter
A Jade Del
Cameron Mystery
Suzanne
Arruda
NAL Books (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-451-22465-5 (0451224655)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22465-1 (9780451224651)
Publication Date: October 2008
List Price: $14.00
— ◊ —
Review: Suzanne
Arruda sets her third mystery with photojournalist Jade del Cameron, The Serpent's Daughter, in the
spring of 1920 in Morocco where Jade has agreed to meet her visiting
mother in Tangier.
But soon after her arrival at the hotel, Inez del Cameron insists that
her daughter return to the US and live a proper life, to stop putting
herself in danger traipsing all over Africa. The minor quarrel ends
with the two women retreating to their rooms. Later Jade finds a note
from another guest suggesting that her mother left on a tour of a
nearby coastal town. When she doesn't return, Jade gets concerned and
sets out to find her, driving down the coast and stumbling over a dead
man's body in a cave into which she believes her mother may have been
taken. Her actions set into motion a series of events that eventually
reunite mother and daughter but expose them to even greater danger in
the foothills of the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.
As much adventure as mystery, The
Serpent's Daughter is a thrilling account of the journey of Jade
and her mother take to discover why Inez was kidnapped in the first
place. Another significant "character" in the story is the country of
Morocco and its people, both of which the author describes in ardent
detail. Chapters are prefaced with travelogue-style snippets of
information that are not only genuinely interesting but also relate to
the narrative that follows. The atmospheric setting adds depth and
complexity to the story and heightens the suspense when Jade (or Inez,
sometimes independently, sometimes together) find themselves in peril
(which, it must be said, happens with somewhat alarming, and amusing,
frequency).
From the delightful expressions Jade mutters to herself ("Where in the
name of St. Peter's fishing pole is she?", "Spit fire and save the
matches."), to the special relationship Jade shares with her mother,
and to the intriguing backdrop of Morocco in the early 20th century, The Serpent's Daughter is a treat
of a mystery.
Special thanks to Penguin Group for providing a trade paperback edition of The Serpent's Daughter for this review.
Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read The Serpent's Daughter? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series …
Mark of the Lion
NAL Books (Hardcover), January 2006
ISBN-10: 0-451-21748-9 (0451217489)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-21748-6 (9780451217486)
Stalking Ivory
NAL Books (Hardcover), January 2007
ISBN-10: 0-451-22026-9 (0451220269)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22026-4 (9780451220264)
The Serpent's Daughter
NAL Books (Trade Paperback), October 2008
ISBN-10: 0-451-22465-5 (0451224655)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22465-1 (9780451224651)
Omnimystery keywords for The Serpent's Daughter ...
Location(s) referenced: Tangier, Marrakesh, Morocco.
