This book is like a Christmas hamper: There is so much good stuff in it, I hardly know where to begin and I won’t even attempt to repackage it in a short review. I will have to content myself with a brief list of the most delectable items. Such as, mother/daughter relationship; malicious sister-in-law; death of a loved one; family business on the brink of bankruptcy; ageing spinster giving up on love and then finding it; sexual dysfunction with compassion; a deep dive into the world of Peruvian Paso horses.
The main character is Malina Yarza, who agrees to try to rescue the family business, Casa Yarza, to prevent her sister-in-law from declaring bankruptcy. It is a gigantic undertaking as there is only $3000.00 in the bank with a towering debt of 8 million and the repair shop and warehouses are filthy and need repairs. Malina overcomes crisis after crisis with her ingenuity and intelligence while struggling against uncooperative family members and a culture that doesn’t take businesswomen seriously.
Love interest is Ramir, an American whose modern ideas sometimes gently clash with the traditional values of the culture in which Malina was raised. Nevertheless, he is always there to support her, and she has a wide array of loyal friends and employees.
Another aspect of this book is that it introduced me to the history of a country I knew little about, which is always interesting. The author, however, has spent a lot of time there and has learned a great deal. He writes authoritatively about the law, business, and customs.
My only critique is the cover that doesn’t do justice to the story. I require only two things from a good historical fiction book – entertainment and education – and this book gave me both. I highly recommend it to readers who are keen to try something different.
*****
About the author.
FLASH: My novel “Playing Chess with God” was voted Online Book Club’s 2019 Book of the Year. Order copies for yourself or to give as gifts.
“My earliest memory,” six foot, nine inch Verne Albright remembers, “is of an English class where the teacher assigned a one-page story. The other students’ reaction was summed up by a boy who exclaimed, ‘how will I ever write a whole page!’ I however, wrote twenty and in the process discovered my life’s first passion.”
At twenty-one Verne traveled to Peru and was enchanted by the country and its people. During that first visit he, his wife, and their year-old daughter traveled by jeep in the Andes Mountains of four nations. Over the next half-century he returned to Peru sixty-four times and imported over two hundred of its Paso horses—including a pair he took overland to California, a nine-month trek of more then five thousand miles in eleven nations. Riding much of the way he came face-to-face with killer deserts, witch doctors, bandits, avalanches, poisonous reptiles, vampire bats, and a violent revolution.
“Finding a true calling is a miracle experienced by few,” he once said, “and Peru provided me with two. I promoted its Paso horses worldwide for over fifty years and more recently began writing historical fiction set in its fascinating past and rich culture.”
Verne is a master story teller and his novels are so well written that they’ve already begun appearing on Best-Seller Lists. And why not? He has lived adventures at least as exciting as the ones he writes about.
DIGGING INTO THE PAST 