Homeport by Nora Roberts Review
Putnam, March 1998.Hardcover, 456 pages.
ISBN: 0399143874.
Dr. Miranda Jones of Jones Point, Maine, is a beautiful, if somewhat lonely archeometrist who spends her days at The New England Institute of Art founded by her brilliant but remote parents. Her evenings are usually spent with her alcoholic but beloved brother in their family home. Her life is quiet until the day she is attacked at knifepoint and her wallet, passport and ID are stolen.
Shaken up, but not seriously injured, Miranda complies with her mother's imperious demand that she travel to Standjo, the family's art laboratory in Italy, at once to help authenticate a recently discovered Renaissance bronze known as "The Dark Lady" after a courtesan at the de Medici court. Miranda authenticates the find as a Michelangelo, but someone leaks the findings to the press. Banished back to the states by her furious mother, Miranda is further devastated when another art lab declares The Dark Lady a fake. Her reputation in tatters, Miranda endures yet another blow when a different bronze is stolen from her museum. Soon afterwards, a handsome and angry art thief, Ryan Boldari, shows up in her bedroom one night claiming that the bronze he stole is also a fake. Now Miranda and Ryan are forced into an uneasy alliance to prove that a forgery was substituted for the real Dark Lady and to find the killer who is stalking Miranda.
The inimitable Nora Roberts has created yet another captivating adventure which will sweep readers away on a tide of passion, suspense and intrigue. With startlingly real characters, a complex plot and a superbly moody atmosphere created by the vivid descriptions of Florence and the Maine coastline, Homeport enthralls and entertains on every level.
Ordering information: Amazon.com.
Return to the May 1998 issue of The IWJ.