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The Valentine Circle (A Silas De San Michel Mystery) (2000)

by Reinaldo DelValle(Favorite Author)

3.4 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

R. Janvier del Valle

review 1: THE VALENTINE CIRCLE By: Reinaldo DelValle* I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. *SYNOPSISThe story takes place in the city of Boston in the year 1885.Silas de San Michel awakes inside the closet of a ship in Boston Harbor. He has no memory of who he is or how he came to be on that ship. He isn't even sure his name is Silas, but since it is stitched inside his clothing, he figures that must be correct.Taken in by a Boston detective, he quickly finds himself recruited by the woefully understaffed Boston Police Department. He becomes involved in investigating a series of strange deaths of the city's elite citizens. Pregnant young women are dying, their babies cut from their wombs. A powerful group called the Valentine Society controls... more the police and what Silas doesn’t know is that the murder victims also belong to the same secret society. As he struggles to regain his memory, he must also try to solve the murders that have already occurred and try to prevent more people from dying horrific deaths and to protect more innocent babies from falling victim to this insidious evil.WHAT I LIKED:This book is very well written and skillfully draws the reader in. The plot is very complex and could easily have become confusing, but author Reinaldo DelValle has managed to make the story flow seamlessly. *Potential Spoiler Alert*Silas meticulously builds his case against the murderer and discovers a vast conspiracy that spans several decades. The way in which each small clue is uncovered guarantees that the reader will feel the intensity of being on the trail of the killer. When the truth about what is happening within The Valentine Circle is finally revealed, readers will be shocked and amazed.The hints of romance between Silas and Lucy and between Silas and Posy are charmingly done.Posy's character was one of my favorites. In the year 1888 women are seen as the property of their husbands and they are expected to be demure, to aspire only to motherhood and to do everything in their power to please their husbands. Posy is not that type of woman. She loves her job as a Boston Police Detective and her hobby is fencing. During this time period fencing was not considered appropriate for women, but Posy disregards that fact and she excels at the sport. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There are so many elements to this book that it would give too much away for me to list all the reasons this book is so good. The details of the lives of the pregnant girls shows a side of their world that is rarely seen. The reader will empathize with their situation rather than despise them for their opulent lifestyles. To achieve this takes an author with skill and skill is something that Reinaldo DelValle has plenty of.The ending of this book is terrific. It gives just enough information to intrigue the reader and leave them wanting to read the next book immediately. RATING:I give this book a rating of 5 out of 5 stars. It is well worth reading and I have a feeling that we will be hearing a lot more from this author in the future.This book rates up there with books such as "The DaVinci Code".I recommend this book to readers ages 18 and up. Younger readers may be bothered by the shocking violence and brutality of the murders as well as some of the other adult oriented scenes. I suggest to potential readers that you only begin this book when you have at least a few hours available. This book is so full of intrigue and surprises that you will not want to put it down. 'The Valentine Circle' is riveting and suspenseful and full of characters that readers will want to know more about. I hope to read more of the adventures of Silas de San Michel in the near future.
review 2: So many good elements in this story. A historical setting, a mystery spanning continents, powerful families, trained psychopaths, and the list goes on. The story really pulls all these unique elements together while still leaving so many avenues for follow up stories. Too many arcs to choose from as to which one would be best to learn more about. Now, what doesn't work in this story. I found the characters a bit stiff, meaning they just didn't become three dimensional and take on a life of their own. What really stood out to me, though, was the misuse of language and phrasing that isn't period correct. Any time you are trying to immerse your readers in a certain time period, you have to keep it true or the reader bounces between times. Even though this story takes place wholly in a pre-1900 time period, the author inserts phrases in the story that clarifies how difficult and harsh times were back then. Again, this pulls the reader in and out of the flow of the story. The strength of the story more than makes up for the shortcomings. less

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