Garment of Shadows: Booklist love

A writer with a book on the brink of publication always holds her breath until the first shoe drops: will reviewers like the new book?  Or will this be the one that exposes me for a fraud and a wastrel? Instead of the shoe dropping, will its owner come pounding down the stairs and stomp me into the carpet?

So to have a positive review is a huge relief.  To have a star is giddy-making.  And to have the kind of review that shouts out how much the reviewer not only loves it, but gets it, is the kind of kick that makes the week ride high.  Here’s part of Booklist‘s starred review for Garment of Shadows:

With the amnesiac Russell narrating, we are plunged into her mind as she tries to recover her identity and as she finds languages and defensive skills in herself. No detail is merely atmospheric, but rather we taste and feel and touch what Russell does with sensuous clarity: the tile and wood interiors; the riot of aromas sweet and foul; the colors; and the layer upon layer of political machination. The language is incredibly rich but always precise, the history of this time in Morocco woven with a contemporary eye on the wheels within wheels. As always, the relationship between Holmes and Russell is utterly understated, yet traced with heat and light.

5 Comments

  1. strawberry curls on May 25, 2012 at 8:25 am

    Well done, Booklist!! The reviewer obviously is a genius for seeing how great this book is, Laurie.
    Congrats!!

    –Alice

  2. Michelle Tabb on May 25, 2012 at 9:15 am

    Eagerly awaiting publication! I have read the entire series this year! Just finished Pirate King. Wonderful review for Garment of Shadows. Congratulations!!!

  3. Gail Lelyveld on May 26, 2012 at 11:56 am

    Congrats. I can’t wait to get it.

  4. Sherri Mancusi on May 26, 2012 at 5:36 pm

    Now I really can’t wait!

  5. ChrisAnn on June 3, 2012 at 8:26 pm

    I just read that review and then wandered over here. I’m so pleased by the review; this novel looks *exactly* like what I love about the Holmes/Russell relationship!

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