'Medusa Amulet' is unconventional thriller

AP review by Jeff Ayers

[April 28, 2011]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "The Medusa Amulet" (Bantam Books), by Robert Masello: Past and present blur in "The Medusa Amulet," a fascinating and unconventional new thriller from Robert Masello.

At the Newberry Library in Chicago, David Franco has successfully restored a vintage version of Dante's "Inferno" to academic acclaim.

One night after a lecture, he receives a cryptic offer: A woman named Kathryn Van Owen asks him to track down a legendary piece of art created by Benvenuto Cellini, an artist from the 16th century.

This amulet depicts the gorgon Medusa on one side and a mirror on the other. Rumors suggest it has the power to grant immortality to its owner.

Van Owen offers Franco $1 million to find La Medusa. She also offers him the opportunity to save his dying sister, who has cancer.

If the mirror does have the power to make a person live forever, then many people will want this piece of art -- at any cost.

Masello expertly blends contemporary thrills with a historical spin on the life of Cellini.

A refreshing take on books like "The Da Vinci Code," "The Medusa Amulet" guarantees an unpredictable and exhilarating journey. Readers will not be disappointed.

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Online:

http://www.robertmasello.com/

[Associated Press; By JEFF AYERS]

Jeff Ayers is the author of "Voyages of Imagination: The Star Trek Fiction Companion" (Pocket Books, 2006).

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