The Queen Jade: A New World Novel of Adventure (Red Lion)

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 368 pages
• Published by: Harper Paperbacks June 3, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0060582650
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0060582654
• Book Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 1.1 inches
• Weighs: 8.8 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
A trek through the Guatemalan rain forest helps a Mexican-American lady heal old family wounds—and solve a centuries-old archeological puzzle to boot—in this atmospheric, long-winded adventure story by Murray (The Conquest). Lola Sanchez, a 30ish Californian bookseller, is long accustomed to dispatching her difficult mother, Juana, on archeological missions to the "jaguar-and-relic-filled jungles of Guatemala." But this time is different: Hurricane Mitch has devastated much of the country, and Lola fears that her mother's quest to discover the "magic queen of all jades"—a rare blue relic whose fabled power has obsessed centuries of European explorers—will lead her into dangerously flood-ravaged terrain. So she closes shop and heads for the rain forest, accompanied by Juana's academic rival, Erik Gomara, a paunchy lothario; her own intensely bitter ex-friend, Yolanda de la Rosa, who boasts expertise with a machete; and Manuel Alvarez, her frail, panicky father. These entertaining characters are all sharply drawn, and the depiction of the teeming jungle is breathtaking. But Murray is less successful at conveying the mythos of the Queen Jade and the history of its pursuit. Too much of the novel consists of the characters reading documents aloud to one another or pedantically lecturing. The repeat appearances of a menacing mustached soldier add zip to the plot, but seem forced and implausible, as does the family tree–altering conclusion in an amazing cave.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Murray has fashioned a good old-fashioned lost-treasure tale fleshed out with plenty of action, intrigue, and romance. After her intrepid archaeologist mother disappears in the Guatemalan jungle during an epic hurricane, meek bookstore-owner Lola Sanchez is determined to find and rescue her with the ironic--if able--assistance of one of Juana Sanchez's most detested professorial rivals. Of course, Lola and Erik soon discover that Juana was hot on the trail of an archaeological grand prize: the legendary Queen Jade, a rare blue jade stone said to possess mystical powers. As they traipse through mountains and jungles, passions flare, family secrets are revealed, and danger lurks along every unusual footpath. In the finest tradition of adventure yarns, the would be lovers succumb to their ever smoldering attraction to one another, and the treasure is located, though it is not at all what it first appeared to be. A rip roaring page turner that concludes with a satisfying twist. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: The Queen Jade: A Novel (Red Lion) (Hardcover) Lola likes her quiet life as owner of a bookstore. But when her adventuresome archeologist mother disappears in the jungle during a hurricane, Lola is quick to pack up and fly to Guatemala. She enlists Erik, one of her mother's rival colleagues, to help track down clues to her mother's quarry, the Queen Jade. If they can find the mythical artifact, maybe they will find her mother. Upon arrival, the group grows with the addition of a reluctant guide, Yolanda, who is bitterly resentful of her broken friendship with Lola. Lola's father, who has a dread phobia of the jungle since being trapped in quicksand, decides that love is stronger than fear and joins the search as well. To decode their path, they struggle with historical accounts of past searches and puzzling Mayan pictographs. Will they solve the mystery and avoid the dangers of the jungle? Murray definitely makes the jungle feel real and immediate; you can almost feel the sweat dripping and see the vibrant colors. Her characters are sympathetic and complex, and she balances the plot between action, scholarship, and relationships. My only complaints are that the romance feels a bit unreal at first, and her complex web of inter-relations too closely resembles a soap opera at times. In spite of that, The Queen Jade is compelling and I think Murray's pacing and plot twists were excellent.