The Book of Air & Shadows

The Book of Air and Shadows by Michael Gruber.
Hardcover: 480 pages
Publisher: William Morrow;(March 27, 2007)
ISBN-10: 0060874465 

 

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In this ingenious literary thriller from Gruber (The Witch's Boy), the lives of two men are changed forever by William Shakespeare and the letters of Richard Bracegirdle, a 16th-century English spy and soldier. Jake Mishkin, a Manhattan intellectual property attorney and a bit of a rake, goes on the run from Russian gangsters. Albert Crosetti, an aspiring filmmaker working for an antiquarian bookstore, finds that life is more exciting than movies—perhaps too exciting. Together, Mishkin and Crosetti travel to England in search of a previously unknown Shakespeare manuscript mentioned by Bracegirdle. Though the pace sometimes slows to allow Mishkin, Crosetti and Bracegirdle to divulge interesting aspects of their personal lives, these digressions only make the story more engaging. The suspense created around the double-crosses and triple-crosses works because of the close connection readers forge with Crosetti in particular. The mysterious murder of a Shakespearean scholar, shootouts in the streets of Queens and an unlikely romance all combine to make for a gripping, satisfying read.

I was beginning to wonder if I would ever finish this book!  As you can read, the review above made this book sound pretty good and when I found it on sale for like about 5 dollars I figured I'd give it a shot.

Most of the book confused the heck out of me.. too many people to keep straight, sometimes using first names and other times last names, that doubled the problem for me.

I felt as if I kept loosing who was being talked about and where did this one come from etc.. but I persisted!  The book was broken up a bit with ciphered letters at the end of most of the chapters. In the beginning, reading them can be quite a challenge, but after a bit I could read them without a problem. (except they were italic and I hate reading pages of italic.)
And I will say I liked the idea of this story even if it isn't a new one and  as many mysteries do, the last 1/4 of the book came alive with action and I was pleased with the ending.

I think others who don't have the difficulty I seem to have with too many names will find this quite a decent read, so I don't want to leave you all thinking it's a "stinker".. it's not.  But I do feel I kept loosing touch with the book, putting it down and not rushing to pick it up again. (that and finishing making the afghan probably had something to do with it..heh) 

My reading is about as fast a molasses flowing  in winter!  I can't believe this is only my second book in January! Needless to say I won't be posting a "what I read in January" post!