The Magyar Venus (Lara McClintoch Archeological Mystery, #8) by Lyn Hamilton

The Magyar Venus (Lara McClintoch Archeological Mystery, #8) Reviews

• 
  Alexis

  This book is set in Hungary which is why I picked it up. With that being said, the author’s description of both Budapest and the hiking trails of northern Hungary are lovely. I appreciate how she incorporated the local language when describing roads, landmarks, and local places and the main character made an effort to pick up some Hungarian on her trip. The setting was my favorite part of the book.
  
  My second favorite part was the history of Hungary and the Hungarian Revolution and how that tied into the mystery. I wish we got more time to learn about the background of the mystery and less about the reunited college friends’ drama. The drama makes up the meat of the book where they’re all speculating while the actual sleuthing and details of the mystery are reserved for the last 4th of the book.
  
  Overall, not a bad read. This is the first of the series that I’ve read and it will probably be my last though.
• 
  Loraine

  Lara McClintock is one again off on a mysterious adventure. Museum curator, Károly Molnár a friend of Lara's from college, has announced his discovery of the Magyar Venus, an ivory statue discovery from the Upper Paleolithic period discovered in Hungary. But Lara questions if it really as that old after reading the diary of the man who supposedly discovered it. Her research sends her to Hungary to try and hunt down some clues that will collaborate whether this statue is real or a fake.
  
  Once again, Lyn Hamilton sends the reader to a country that is full of history and her historical research brings the country to life as one twist and turn after another sends her main character, Lara McClintock, collecting clues until the truth finally outs.
• 
  Karol

  The beginning of this book was contrived - but after getting past that I thoroughly enjoyed the story.
• 
  Terri Lynn

  I have to say that while I sort of liked this book, it definitely was not as interesting and exciting to me except for the historical and cultural info about Budapest,Hungary.
  
  In this story, antiques store owner (with ex-husband Clive Swain) Lara McClintoch has just dumped her boyfriend Canadian Mounted Police Officer Rob Luczka, much to his shock, because "It's not working for me. We see the world from different viewpoints." Frankly I have considered Lara to be a complete idiot throughout the entire series when it comes to men. She is too difficult for any man and really too selfish. It's all about her.
  
  After the lovelorn Rob, bewildered by being dropped over nothing, tries to discuss the situation with rude Lara, she runs into an old college classmate Diana. She and Diana and a few other young women lived in the same apartment complex during college and called themselves the Davenport Divas after the apartments. Diana is off to a meeting of the other divas so Lara goes along.
  
  Anna is agoraphobic after the death of her young son and now hides in her mom's tiny apartment after losing custody of her 2 little girls to her husband. Vesta, now called Morgan, was a model who is now married to money. Cybil is still putting herself down as a frump and as poor while acting protective of Anna who has come out for the first time. Diana is a freelance bookkeeper for the museum. Grace is a surgeon.
  
  They all leave and go to a museum exhibit involving a man they all had the hots for in college, a hungarian named Karoly Molnar who was known as Charlie Miller in college but has gone back to his real name. He is a charmer and able to get millions of dollars in donations. He is an art historian/curator and has a huge find- a Magyar Venus. The event is tense. One gets fired for stealing. Another has a face off with Karoly and runs out. Lara is holding a drink every time anyone looks at her but only drinks a few sips out of each yet seems drunk because someone slipped her a date rape drug. She tries to proposition gay Andrew.
  
  Later that night, someone drives a car into the museum window but leaves before stealing the Venus. Anna is found dead in the river. Lara wakes up the next day with no memory of what happened after leaving the party nor how she got home and especially not how her car got a huge dent in it and was left outside the store parked illegally. She later finds silver paint from her car on a barrier of the bridge an old man saw Anna running from a car on.
  
  Unbelieveably, the Divas decide to ruin Karoly for perceived slights by proving there was something wrong with the Magyar Venus. They want Lara to try to prove it is a fake and because she feels guilty about the night she can't remember and what she might have done, she goes to Budapest to look for answers. The Divas show up. She also fell madly in love with Karoly!
  
  I ran into a believability issue here. What is the likelihood that a group of well-educated women who are attractive and well-off for the most part decide to ruin a guy they had a thing for 20 years earlier in college? Why would Lara spend money to go to Hungary to be involved in this madness? And why would she suddenly fall madly in love with a man who didn't care about her 20 years ago and didn't even remember who she was at the museum opening?
  
  There is murder, mayhem, fraud, secrets, and cheating. Unfortunately this story really didn't click for me very much.
• 
  Alicia

  It took me a fourth try at reading this book to make it past the first chapter. Interesting topic, but written so poorly! The excerpts from some "diaries" regarding a prehistoric artifact bored me to tears and were completely unnecessary. The only time I was interested in this book was when the main character was out and about, investigating, but even then, dialog was was flat. The worst part was how she worked on piecing the bits of info together, but the reader was not exactly clued-in. As in a Parry Mason show, the final chapter was "the story is over but this is how it ended". Little was discovered along the way and then it was over. Lame.
• 
  Erin

  I have to agree with the reviews that compared this book to Nancy Drew! Fortunately I remember Nancy fondly and enjoyed this for what it was- a fun, easy read.
• 
  Kate

  "During a night carousing with her old college gang, Lara McClintoch attends an opening at a museum where an extraordinary artifact is revealed. The Magyar Venus is the head and torso of a woman carved from mammoth ivory during the Upper Paleolithic period. But after its appearance leads to the suicide of one of her friends, Lara determinedly traces its provenance to Budapest -- and discovers a truth that arises from the secrets of the past ..."
  ~~back cover
  
  This was a great little romp of an archaeological mystery! We get to follow Lara as she sets out to determine once and for all whether the Magyar Venus is a fake. There are a lot of archaeological fakes so it's a distinct possibility. Lara attempts to determine the provenance, which on the surface looks legitimate but after a murder dressed up as an accident, she grows closer to finding out the truth. Which is very unexpected ...
• 
  Frederic

  Two-and-a-half stars, but rounding down because I had higher hopes for it. As an archaeologist and curator who has worked with Paleolithic materials, how could I not go for a mystery involving a "Venus" figurine? There are no real howler mistakes, but lots of little things that just didn't feel right – nothing I'd point out specifically, just lots of little things. The real problem for me was the central group of "Divas", old college chums who fill in every cliche and stereotype of college-girls. I actually like the way gender issues played into the mystery itself, but not those of most of the characters. A very disappointing read.
• 
  Kate

  In the end, when you see the whole picture and understand the idea that must have given Hamilton the spark for the story, it's actually a really fascinating concept. The problem is, I nearly quit several times LONG before I got the reveal. I found the "old college friends reunited" shtick a little hard to swallow, and the "Lara is single again" was clearly an excuse to give her old college beau an opportunity. Plus, I've read enough of these by now to know that Lara tends to have bad taste in the men she allows to flirt with her.
• 
  Charlene

  Short mystery that takes place mainly in Budapest (my motive in reading it). Enjoyed the setting and the bit about the prehistoric statue.
• 
  Sue

  Loved the historical aspect of the mystery.
• 
  Cheryl

  I have many books in progress at the moment and the best of intentions to finish them before the end of the year. So, of course, I picked up this book this morning and read it. It is one that I have promised to send to a friend (who is in no hurry to get it), which is why it was within reach.
  
  This series is good and I have enjoyed the various installments I have read in no particular order. I remember my interest in them was piqued by an author I met at the Gaithersburg Book Festival who had been a friend of Lyn Hamiliton's and remarked how much she had been missed since her death. The fact that they have a link to Canada and a travel aspect also helped. And now, in this book, Lara visited Budapest.
  
  I visited Budapest 10 years ago with my (now decesased) dear friend and her sister. Like Lara, I fell in love almost instantly. I remember we were just a few hours into exploring the city when one of us said, "The next time we come here . . ." because we all knew we wanted to come back. I enjoyed very much walking the city with Lara and sitting at the Fisherman's Bastion and looking over the Danube again in my mind. That was the best part of the book for me, because it was written in a way that made my own memories of the city tangible again.
  
  The second best part was the personal growth and introspection of Lara as she wrestled with a self that felt untethered and a present and a future which were not appealing to her. The mystery was well done and the feminist aspects were richly layered. I remember what I felt about the writer of the historic journal entries when I began them and it was nice in the end to realize that I was right. I like the aspect of these mysteries which involves Lara righting wrongs, both modern and historical, and took great satisfaction in that aspect of the conclusion of the story.
• 
  Doina

  This book was a total miss. There was nothing believable about anything written, except maybe the descriptions of the landscapes. If I didn't need to count this for a reading challenge I would have given up after the first 20 pages. The main character was incredibly annoying and naive-I mean, come on, she's supposed to be a worldly woman who has an accomplished life, and has traveled the world. For a mature woman she was behaving worse than and had the gullibility of a teenager. The diary excerpts were completely unnecessary, just like all the flashbacks in the previous books. Too many characters, not enough development, and a story line which is completely unrealistic. I want the couple of hours spent reading this back. Unfortunately for me, I bought more books in this series before reading this one, but I'm not sure if I should even bother.
• 
  Scilla

  Lara has broken up with her boyfriend, Rob, and runs into her old college friends, The Dovercourt Divas, from the University of Toronto. They end up at the unveiling of the Magyar Venus at the Cottingham Museum. The museum curator is Karoly Molnar, who as Charles Miller, was Lara's flame in college (he also dated most of the Dovercourt Divas). Lara got drunk (or was slipped something in her drink) and doesn't remember the rest of the evening. Anna, one of the divas committed suicide, and there was an attempted break at the museum. Lara decides to trace the provenance of the Venus and heads for Budapest. She is soon followed by the Divas and Karoly, who would like to get back together. Lara is sure there is something not quite right, but isn't sure who to believe.
• 
  Aprilleigh

  I loved the underlying theme of female accomplishment and the disdain with which it was viewed, but I found the catty friends from college to be a very jarring counterpoint. The number of stereotypes presented here was almost as bad as
  The African Quest, although the story was better.
  
  If you're paying attention, you'll figure out part of what's going on pretty early, but the details that explain the rest won't be revealed until later, and it's definitely worth the wait.
• 
  Arthur

  This book was interesting enough to read it through discussions on the diaries, wars, and prehistorically old graves.
  The partial setting in Hungary was the mysterious surprise, and a description of the people and places to visit.
  With an additional exciting journey to England to dig up the truth about what was discovered by a skeleton. Lara McClintoch struggles with her personal life while trying to prove either the item is actually real or a fraud. It aims to save much of their respect for their friends as well as while they do not discover the untold truth.
• 
  Writerlibrarian

  The storyline is thin and the plot twists are a bit cliché. But the archaeological plot twists and points are still what make the novels in Hamilton's series worth reading.
  
  In this one, Lara connects with old college friends who have much to hide and much to lose. The mystery is centred around the find of a prehistoric ivory sculpture of a Earth Venus in an Hungarian cave in 1900. All of the mystery plot hinges on one thing and one thing only. It works or not. For me it worked until about midway through the book. The character development is practically null which is too bad.
• 
  Susan

  This wasn't quite as enthralling as I remember the others of Hamilton's series being. I still enjoy Lara McClintoch's explorations and investigations, which this time took her to Budapest. But the story moved a little slowly, and then all of a sudden was wrapped up quickly at the end -- I felt somehow like I hadn't gotten the chance to participate in the process.
• 
  Jane Dugger

  I like Ms Hamilton's stories but feel she sometimes has too many new characters in each installment instead of developing other recurring characters. I keep reading the series because I enjoy the history & the exotic locales.
• 
  NVTony

  Authors stories only continue to improve and entice reader into an exciting plot. More than enough twists for any well read mystery fan. Had several interruptions which did not lessen impact of story line.
• 
  Anna

  Goodreads Giveaway - 3.5 stars truly. It was a light, enjoyable read. The diary entries were extraneous and I found myself skipping over them. The mystery seemed to be solved entirely behind the scenes and I know little about the character. Despite all that, it was engaging enough to read through.
• 
  Margo

  Love books that are set in Hungary
• 
  Debrarian

  Totally dumb mystery novel that takes place for a few pages in Budapest.