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Pale as the Dead
A Genealogical mystery

by Fiona Mountain



      Genealogist Natasha Blake is recovering from the belated discovery that she is adopted. Hence, she sets out to try and find her roots.

Bethany Marshall is a young woman who has modeled for a series of art photographs for Adam Mason. These photographs are related to Victorian Dante Rossetti. Bethany vanishes and her friends fear possible suicide. Bethany was obsessed with the Victorian model, Lizzie Siddal, the suicidal wife of Dante Rossetti.

Natasha in her search to find Bethany examines the bloodlines of Bethany and Lizzie, and feels that there may be a connection between Bethany and Lizzie. Natasha seeks to test her theory and becomes involved with Adam Mason, Bethany's boy friend, and photographer, and is in peril from mysterious figures which follow her and break into her flat. She meets many dead ends but finds Bethany's past may provide evidence for some previous suspicious deaths. The search for the truth leads her to the birth and census records, a journal kept in Bethany's family and microfilm.

This is a haunting story with an intriguing plot. There is a contemporary story interwoven with pre-Raphael scandals. Natasha is an appealing heroine whose determination to find the truth leads her to multiple sources. This gives the reader an education in the field of genealogical research. The details of the lives of Victorian artists and their time are extremely illuminating. The Cotswood setting is beautifully portrayed.

The Book

Signet/New American Library
August 2005
Paperback
0451216172
Mystery
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The Reviewer

Barbara Buhrer
Reviewed 2005
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© 2005 MyShelf.com