Book 90: Mosaic

Mosaic is an early novel espionage thriller author Gayle Lynds. In this novel she takes several acts which initially seem to be unconnected and weave them together to tell a fast paced, exciting story of mysteries and violence. Plot Point 1: an old man has been put into a high security retirement home where he has been deemed insane and unfit to manage his massive fortune. He blames his sons. Plot Point 2: Creighton Redmond, a retired Supreme Court Justice, is running for President of the United States and is engaged in an illegal scheme to discredit his opponent. He does so with the best intentions, honestly feeling that he would be an excellent President. And his family would gain even more wealth and power. Plot Point 3: Julia Austrian is a world class pianist. She is blind (not from birth) and regains her sight in time to see her mother murdered in front of her during a robbery attempt and she sees the killer's face. Then she loses her sight again. The investigator at Scotland Yard is blackmailed to cover up the investigation. Plot Point 4: CIA agent Sam Keeline is in the bad graces of his Deputy Chief of Intelligence Vince Redmond and when Redmond intercepts a letter sent to Keeline claiming it contains classified information, Keeline is suspicious. Not knowing about any of the other plot points he starts a different investigation about the famed Amber Room (a treasure lost during the Nazi Era) which leads him to Julia Austrian.

Lynds weaves all of these plot points together so that they are all connected and intertwined and runs the story from there in directions I certainly did not expect. There are a couple of points that come up that feel fairly standard (romance, anyone?), but Lynds tells the story well. A former Supreme Court Justice trying to steal an election is interesting in itself and one wonders if such a thing is possible and then we wonder how Redmond could possibly lose the election in time. Will Julia recover her sight again and will Keeline be able to protect her? Gayle Lynds makes these questions matter.

While later novels like The Coil and The Last Spymaster have tighter storylines with fewer loose threads, Mosaic is still an exciting read and sure to please readers looking for a fast paced suspenseful story.