Take one fiery-tempered Queen Elizabeth I type shrew who runs her gourmet
restaurant with an iron fist, a laid back drifter with the gift of touching
the past with his hands, involve them in a plot for vengeance and you are
getting some idea of the story of Gift of Gold. But only the surface….
Verity Ames, our heroine, isn't really a shrew, although she's called that
by the hero, Jonas Quarrel, at various times in the book. She's more of a
person who has definite opinions about things and shares them either until
the situation is beyond her control or the person she's "advising" changes
their plan. Jonas is a rarity in her world - she does not intimidate him at
all. Instead he's drawn to her, not only for herself but for her ability to
anchor him during one of the time corridor episodes he has, that are
triggered when he touches objects that have known violence. In turn, even
though she knows he's a drifter who will someday leave, Verity is very
attracted to Jonas. This attraction leads them to experiencing an unusual
side effect of Jonas' time corridor - when they come out of the corridor,
they are both wild for each other (yes, I think that states it nicely).
Into this volatile relationship comes the plot for vengeance. A well-known
painter wishes to draw Jonas into her plot to kill someone. The painter
knows that, in the past, Jonas lost control of his talent and almost killed
a lab assistant while he was testing his talent in a college lab test, and
she wants to recreate such a situation. To draw Jonas in, she befriends
Verity, who admires her greatly. The plot thickens and you'll need to read
the book to see what happens.
This book had a wonderful third character in Verity's father, Emerson Ames.
He's a man much like Jonas, in that he has an education he doesn't use and
he chooses to drift, write westerns and get into trouble. The reader is
clearly able to see the strong family ties between Emerson and Verity, in
spite of her dissatisfaction with his frittering away of his talent (her
opinion). The similarity of her opinion of Jonas' situation is very clear,
with Verity pushing Jonas to write articles for publication and to look for
respectable ways to use his knowledge. This "nagging" is clearly one of
Verity's ways of showing that she cares. Jayne is able, in her inimitable
way, to show their relationship growing and becoming ever more important to
each of them.
The author also paints the evil of the "bad guy" very well. Although
you never condone the painter using her friend Verity in her thirst for
vengeance, you understand why she is driven to carry out her plan.
I found this book and its sequel to be entertaining and eminently
re-readable, and I highly recommend it both for new and familiar Jayne Ann
Krentz readers.
Carole Coonrod
