Eugenia Swift has to go to Frog Island Cove to catalog the art
collection of Adam Daventry (a guy I consider a sleaze), and her boss hires
Cyrus Colfax to accompany her for her safety. Both have ulterior motives to go to the island: Eugenia to investigate the death of a friend who was the last lover of Adam, and Cyrus is looking for a legendary art piece that is considered in the art world a myth, but it is a link to the past that needs to be finished for Cyrus.
The h/h are as different as night and day on the surface but as you get into the book you realize that they are similar. I found myself grinning about Cyrus' shirts for 2 reasons, my dad used to wear awful shirts like that, and I have a Hawaiian print shirt in my closet that I never wore, it still has the price tag on it.
I also like the part when they both admitted the real reason why they are
there and even though Eugenia doubted that the art piece was real she gave
him the benefit of the doubt and helped him look for it. Cyrus' brother Rick was a good strong character who would make another interesting hero for a future book.
Barb Hicks
Eugenia and Cyrus are a most unlikely couple . . . at least in Eugenia’s
mind. Cyrus, however, is more willing to accept and pursue the growing
attraction between them. Eugenia, successful curator and glass expert, has
a hidden agenda when she agrees to inventory the donated collection of glass left to the museum she works for. That hidden agenda is not something she wants to share with Cyrus, private investigator extraordinaire. Cyrus intends to pursue a hidden agenda of his own. He wants the famed fourth century BC Hades cup rumored to have been included in the Daventry glass collection, which now belongs to Eugenia’s museum.
After the pair discover an intruder in the house their first night at the
Daventry estate, a dead body in the basement, and a set of circumstances
which just don’t add up, Cyrus concludes that Eugenia wants the same thing
he does – the Hades cup. However, Eugenia believes the Hades cup is
literally ancient history and no longer exists. Each knows the other is
working on something outside their stated reasons for being at the Daventry
estate, and they decide to work together for the remainder of their stay.
This arrangement allows Cyrus and Eugenia to explore their growing passions
as well as locate the Hades cup, discover the answers to Eugenia’s
questions, and ultimately reunite Cyrus with his long-lost father.
The characterization is superb in Sharp Edges (but would we expect anything
less from JAK?). Cyrus is a multifaceted man with a steely will.
Eugenia’s view of her world is well grounded in reality, but she is
unwilling to settle for less than she wants. She is able to look beyond the
surface of people, and art, to find the true nature and focus. I
particularly enjoyed Cyrus’ wardrobe full of aloha shirts and wish I had one
with pink flamingos on it!
The elements of mystery are nicely intertwined with rational pitfalls and
peaks. There are viable culprits to spare, and answers are not always
forthcoming. The plot entangles Cyrus’ and Eugenia’s emotions as well as
their motivations. There is a deep sense of commitment and loyalty
displayed by both characters – for each other and their respective quests.
Sharp Edges is a thoroughly enjoyable read. Thumbs up to JAK!
Danyelle Warden
Do Glass, Crime, and Sex mix?
I regularly go to the library looking for books for my wife to read,
especially looking for authors with several books, so she can have
several in a row (without further searching) to read on her Reading Machine. While
doing this I came across Sharp Edges,
which I got for her after glancing at the fly and then read myself.
It is set (sort of) in the world of glass in the Northwest. It is
sort of a
mix of the Harlequin Romances where the maiden goes into the dangerous
castle (I am told,
catch me reading one), a tough guy detective mystery and an old
fashioned
screwball Clark Gable romance with R to X rated sex.
Of course all the sexual images are related to the "molten fire" of
glass.
Eugenia* Swift is the high style curator of the Leabrook Glass Museum,
an up
and coming small museum in the Seattle area which has expanded on her
skills
with glass and donors. Recently Adam Daventry has died, leaving his
fantastic
glass collection to the museum and she has to go out to Glass House on
Frog
Cove Island. She has her own agenda, wanting to investigate the death
of her
friend Nel, Daventry's last lover the day after his death. She is
saddled by
her boss with Cyrus Chandler Colfax a reasonably good private
investigator who
has his own agenda tied to a very old caged cup.
I found the book fun to read. There are almost no references to the
actual
Seattle glass scene, but the Glass House has a number of pieces that are
clearly
Chihuly, particularly the chandelier in the entry. The glass stuff is
good.
The reaction of a couple of artists to broken glass pieces seems
overwrought considering how many
pieces become "floor models" in an average week.
Krentz is obviously a popular writer, several copies of the book were
in each
branch I looked for it.
*Eugenia is also my wife's name.
Mike Firth
