The Etruscan Chimera (Lara McClintoch Archeological Mystery, #6) by Lyn Hamilton

The Etruscan Chimera (Lara McClintoch Archeological Mystery, #6) Reviews

• 
  C. (Never PM. Comment, or e-mail if private!)

  I loved Lyn Hamilton upon her first novel. I am sad that she died of cancer in 2009, with more novels planned. I savour them by leaving two years in between these precious eleven. I was younger when I started but thought it high time we meet an adventuresome 40 year-old, who is intelligent and single. Lara McClintoch sells antiquities in Toronto. The weakest novel by Lyn is better than many! In consideration of her brisk writing, engrossing atmosphere, tricky twists, and demonstration of real knowledge, from Ontario's cultural department; I bestow four stars. She artfully teaches of a different civilization every time. "The Etruscan Chimera" entails ancient Italy. Her originality is especially gratifying. Not only do Lyn's mysteries scurry outside any blueprint: she consistently furnishes uniqueness within her own series.
  
  The two less successful aspects are these. This outing comprises a wild goose chase, dampening its capacity to project Lyn's usual mystical aura and mysteriousness. Those traits generate the tone archaeological readers seek. They would sense its absence. The tantalizing ingredient of searching for something rare flickers fleetingly but lacks the thrill of breeching secret places. The axis is not discovery. It is character-driven; not about where Lara might unearth a relic. When her patron doesn't care which Etruscan artifact Lara obtains, thrill and urgency dim, except the distrust arising from this commission.
  
  The denouement is preposterous. Reading why the artifact was wanted, we imagine easier modes of obtaining it than zigzagging. However, continuous action keeps interest in this adventure taut; culminating in murders that darken the atmosphere and suddenly supply urgency and an elevation of feelings. Lara sees the flaws we do. Her determination to sift out answers from an elusive source is my favourite sequence. Begin in order and see why Lyn's Canadian series is my favourite!
• 
  Bill

  
  The Etruscan Chimera by
  Lyn Hamilton is the 6th book in Hamilton's Lara McClintoch Archeological mystery series and the 4th I've completed so far. I will never claim that they are the best mysteries I've ever read but at the same time I enjoy them whenever I pick one up. Lara McClintoch owns an antique store in Toronto Ontario and her mysteries find her in various parts of the world, searching for unique items to add to her store.
  
  In The Etruscan Chimera, we find Lara in Italy, in Rome, having been hired to purchase an Etruscan artifact for a reclusive billionaire, Crawford Lake. Even the introduction to the recluse, requiring that Lara has to be blindfolded before she is taken to him puts her back up somewhat. Everything about the man and his requirements are mysterious. She only communicates with his assistant, Antonio. She is sent to France to try and purchase a statue of Bellerophon from another reclusive individual. On the way, Lara meets a number of mysterious people, other antique dealers and even an old friend.
  
  Bodies start to fall and Lara finds that a stolen Etruscan artifact has been hidden in her luggage. The Italian police are after the theft of this artifact and arrest a woman who has met Lara. It's all very confusing at times and the story is somewhat convoluted. But at the same time, it moves along and holds your interest. There are many potential suspects and at times Lara seems to wander through things and manages to keep her head above water.
  
  The story is entertaining. You do learn a bit about the mysterious Etruscan culture that was destroyed and assimilated by Rome, just enough to pique your interest. The story keeps your interest and ultimately is resolved satisfactorily. Always a fun series to dig into. (3.5 stars)
• 
  Inkling

  The subject and ideas behind the book are intriguing. I love history and am fascinated by the Etruscans. I enjoyed the trip through France and Italy and the descriptions of architecture and artifacts.
  At the heart of the book is the point that private collectors, nefarious dealers and auction houses are to blame for the ruination of culture- these artifacts should be in their rightful place in museums.
  However- the plot was VERY convoluted, the characters were numerous and confusing and it took about ten pages too long to untangle the mystery at the end. By the end, I wasn’t sure I cared who stole what.
  Overall, it was original and raises some very thought provoking questions. Three strong stars.
• 
  Terri Lynn

  I really loved this book in Lyn Hamilton's series of archaeological mysteries about antique store owner/designer Lara McClintoch. Lara's ex-husband is now divorced from his rich wife and goes back into the business with Lara when Lara's partner Sarah wants out.
  
  It looks like a reclusive billionaire wants Lara to go to France and get a statue from a collector for him. When Lara arrives, she begins meeting some odd characters and facing massive confusion over who is really who. This one has a lot of info on the Etruscans which are a great interest of mine . You will marvel at the twists and turns in this one where the good guys are bad guys and the bad guys aren't who they say they are. She is in the UK, France, and Italy in this book and I loved the descriptions. Even the police are not to be trusted and the person who hired her wasn't who she thought at all. Dead bodies keep turning up but Lara has a very complicated mystery to solve.
  
  I really loved this one.
• 
  Marie Parsons

  Although this novel came out in 2002, it is a wonderful read any time, and right now. I may be biased, because it centers around Etruscan antiquities, and I have a personal fondness for Etruscan history. When two characters briefly discussed the Etruscan Lars Porsenna I actually cheered aloud.
  
  Putting all that aside, this fascinating mystery moves well through the Tuscan countryside, into France, and back into Italy, as the protagonist seeks a piece of Etruscan art. She, Lara McClintoch, seeks a piece of Etruscan sculpture, and discovers, along the way, an odd collection of individuals--none of whom can really be trusted, some of whom are actual villains.
  
  A definite must-read.
• 
  Writerlibrarian

  Interesting and intricate mystery inspired by the object everyone wants in this book : The Chimera.
  
  As always, the historical, archaeological information is interesting and not put down our throat in info dump paragraphs. Lyn Hamilton successfully merges her mystery plot point with her historical information. The plot is a bit too fancy for its own good but in the end it's a good read.
• 
  Sarah

  As with the other books I've read from this series, this one was interesting and quite a good read. I love the characters and the story as well. The ending of this one was a little more complex than usual, but it was pulled off quite well. All in all, if you like mysteries, you'll probably like this.
• 
  Julie

  Clean mystery, with travel & some archeological data thrown in. Similar to the Vicky Bliss series by Elizabeth Peters.
  
• 
  Linda

  I know very little about sculptors but love archeology and would like to know more about civilizations so this book nicely filled the bill for all of the above. Best yet, I got the book in a remaindered store. I had not read this author before and I was very happy with this book.
  
  If I had a complaint it would be that there were a lot of characters, most with Italian names, so that I had to sometimes go back to figure out who they were. But that might be my fault- my brain is getting old. The story takes the reader and Lara, an antique dealer, from Italy to France and back to Italy again as she chases after an elusive Etruscan Chimera sculpture. The object keeps mysteriously appearing and disappearing from her car and hotel room. After a few murders occur along the way Lara realizes that she has been duped. I certainly didn't guess the answer to the plot.
  
  Luckily I have another Archeological mystery bought the same day waiting for me to read.
• 
  Kate

  The first 2/3 of the book, I felt like the main character didn't DO anything. Stuff kept happening to her, but she just kind of bobbed around between stuff happening and didn't have a lot of say in what was going on. And then, in the last third of the book, while she WAS trying to DO something an figure out what was going on, I was so lost because there were too many people whose names were all too similar, and I couldn't keep track of everyone.
  
  Honestly, I feel like this plot was a little TOO convoluted, TOO ambitious, a few TOO MANY double crosses and plots going on.
  
  That's not to say it wasn't an interesting read . . . but I was a little frustrated trying to follow all the threads.
• 
  Henri Moreaux

  This would be the sixth Lara McClintoch book, and I would go as far as to say possibly the best in the series so far, it has just the right mix of all the required elements in a good mystery novel.
  
  It takes us initially into the orbit of a reclusive billionaire who hires Lara to track down a rare bronze statue, however upon following up the leads Lara finds the statue is a fake and it's here where things begin to get messy and the eccentric owner of said statue turns up dead.
  
  Worth having a look at if you were interested in the earlier novels but turned off by the pace or structure of them as both are vastly improved here.
• 
  Laura Larson

  I've read 6 books in this series now, and I think I have finally found one I enjoyed. I was surprised by the ending ... But the cast of characters is so large I'm pretty sure some of my surprise was more confusion than anything. Unlike most of the previous books, this one didn't feel like a research paper thinly disguised as a mystery. I'm still only awarding 3 stars, as most of what I can compliment about this book is only accomplished through comparing it to previous (not very good) books in the same series.
• 
  Kathy Sebesta

  Not the first in the series, merely the first I've read in it.
  
  After the initial flashback, the story starts with "It struck me, as the cell door clanged shut...." It's not a spoiler to say that there is no cell anywhere else in the book, the author apparently having forgotten to tie the front in with the back.
  
  That having been said it's an interesting book. Lots of history, which I appreciate. A little deus ex machina for an ending but not bad.
• 
  Sue

  This book in the Lara McClintoch mystery series is a much more complex mystery than the first five books in the series. There are quite a few characters but not so many as to make it confusing. Besides that, the characters are well written and interesting.
  
  If you're interested in a good mystery story, especially one that deals with history/archaeology, then this is the book for you.
• 
  Karla Huebner

  This was not a bad find at the local book exchange, but I wasn't totally satisfied with it either. I liked the fact that the author had done some research on archaeology and Etruscan art, but ended up finding some aspects of the book hard to swallow as I neared the end.
• 
  el_quijote

  The Etruscan Chimera by Canadian writer Lyn Hamilton is the latest in her series of murder mystery novels that take place in interesting foreign locations and which deal with the theft of archaeological antiquities.
  This story takes place in the Tuscan area of Italy, once inhabited by people known as Etruscans, who were eventually conquered and assimilated into the Roman Empire. The heroine is a Toronto antique dealer Lara McClintoch, also featured in Hamilton’s previous five novels. Reclusive billionaire Crawford Lake hires her to find and buy an ancient Etruscan artifact. The plot includes mystery, murder, intrigue and travel throughout northern Italy, all ingredients for an exciting novel. The exact regurgitation of which is not relevant.
  I would compare Hamilton’s writing to a more exciting form of the Agatha Christie novel. This comparison is especially relevant when Lara McClintoch brings together all the possible suspects into one final climatic, revelatory scene, in true Hercules Perrot fashion.
  I thing anyone that is interested in Rome or Tuscany, archaeological antiquities or just loves murder mysteries will find this novel a simple, fast-moving, enjoyable read.
  
• 
  P.D.R. Lindsay

  The Etruscan Chimera
  Lyn Hamilton writes archaeological mysteries starring Lara McClintock, her Toronto antiques dealer. This one is a pleasant read, a bit farfetched for me as I am not a fan of the secret society a la Dan Brown stuff.
  
  The plot is nice and tight. The murders are not too gruesome and the information about antiques is interesting. Lara’s commission turns into a nightmare as she hares around Europe losing and then finding and then losing the wretched stolen hydria. As for her ‘friends’, with friends like these no wonder she never knows who to trust. But Lara sorts it out and all is satisfactorily round up, loose end tied off.
  
  No star rating because I cannot keep it from being attached to the public book ratings. This is not fair to Hamilton who is not a bad writer. SHe's a good one. Many people will enjoy her novels and she does not deserve to suffer because I personally do not find her a 5* writer.
  
• 
  Cheryl

  I think this book was my least favorite in the series so far because I just wanted to slap Lara several times. After the first couple glitches, I would have told the client to take a flying leap, cut my losses, and gone home. I would never have gotten as far as meeting Lola and thus feeling some responsibility for her fate. And the lies she told!!! Considering that it observed several times that she was chosen because of her honest face and reliability, I had a hard time with the lying that went on.
  
  The mystery was decent and the solution made quite a bit of sense. I enjoyed the traveling and the info on history and art and such. Was a little (pleasantly) surprised by the Societa and its ultimate purpose, although not by a lot of the ending.
  
  I will pass this along shortly to a friend who has an interest in the Etruscans.
• 
  Susan

  I'm not sure how it's happened that I've been reading the books in this series out of order, but it seems not to matter. Canadian amateur detective Lara McClintoch again takes a trip looking for antiques for her store, and again finds herself embroiled in a murder mystery in a fascinating setting. Like the others in the series, it was lightweight but thoroughly enjoyable. Unlike many of the others, this book didn't really focus much on the current culture of the locale, but on the Etruscans in its past.
• 
  Aprilleigh

  Wow, is this one convoluted! As Lara herself eventually discovers, some things are too coincidental to be coincidences, and some things are too good to be true. This story was a little more complicated than usual for this series and was somewhat a comedy of errors in places. At least one death will be a little upsetting, and possibly several, but Lara's misadventures lead her to at least one new friend, too.