THE FIREBIRD – Susanna Kearsley
A Perfect 10
Sourcebooks Landmark
ISBN- 978-1-4022-7663-7
June 2013
Paranormal Historical Fiction
England, Scotland, and Russia – the Present and the Past
Nicola Marter works for a prestigious broker in London who deals in Russian art. She's highly thought of by her boss, Sebastian, and is going to represent him in St. Petersburg to negotiate a very important purchase for a client. But before she leaves, she meets a woman in Sebastian's office who is trying to sell an antique supposedly given to a long ago relative by the Empress of Russia. Because the woman cannot produce concrete evidence, she's turned away, although not before Nicola holds the Firebird in her hands. Immediately she knows the woman is telling the truth, but Nicola cannot reveal to Sebastian how she knows this. Having the unique gift of psychometry, where she can see the history of something she touches, Nicola is unable to let this secret she's hidden for years come to light. And when she finds the woman has left her scarf behind, that woman's history sets Nicola off on a journey that will change several lives.
Heading to Scotland to find a young man she met in Edinburgh several years ago who is even more talented in psychometry than she is, Nicola hopes that she can help the owner of the Firebird. But in order to do so, she must admit to at least Rob McMorran, that when she left the psychometry studies, and him, behind without a word, that she is afraid to use her talent. Rob is understanding, but also wants to help Nicola come to terms with her special gift. They end up in St. Petersburg, Russia, where the original owner of the Firebird, Anna Moray, lived in the early eighteenth century.
Anna's story is complicated from the beginning as Nicola and Rob start her long ago journey at a convent in Ypres, Belgium. They track her to Calais, and then to St. Petersburg where she used the name Anna Jamieson in order to protect her Jacobite family. Anna's life will reveal much to Nicola and Rob, and endear her to Nicola, but will Nicola's reluctance to use her special abilities hamper the search for the truth, and her relationship with Rob?
A wonderful tale of caring, love, honor, and redemption for both Anna and Nicola, THE FIREBIRD is Susanna Kearsley at her best. Drawing from some characters, both real and fictional, in her previous books, she gives readers a brilliant, heartwarming, and utterly realistic story that will keep you up at night until you finish it. Beautifully written and meticulously researched, THE FIREBIRD is an adventure, a mystery, and several love stories wrapped up in one terrific novel. I do very highly recommend reading her previous books. http://www.susannakearsley.com/
Jani Brooks
