The book is set in the 1950’s.  The main character is Flavia de Luce.  She is an 11 year old chemistry wiz and detective. She has two older sisters she doesn’t particularly like and an aloof single father.  They live in a crumbling old English estate.  I know that description sounds like this book is gonna be pure drivel but trust me here.  Flavia’s  character is written so cleverly.  You will love her face off.
 

So there’s a dead guy.  There’s a famous stamp.  Some other stuff happens.  Go read it.  You won’t be sorry

 

Bender pondered the wine in his hand.  “A writer needs four things to achieve greatness, Pasquale:  desire, disappointment, and the sea.”

“That’s only three.”

Alvis finished his wine.  “You have to do disappointment twice.”

 

“Stories are people.  I’m a story,  you’re a story…your father is a story.Our stories go in every direction, but sometimes, if we are lucky, our stories join into one and, for a while, we are less alone.”

If, after reading those two quotes, you have no desire to read this book, I honestly don’t know what the heck is wrong with you.

Beautiful Ruins is a great story.  It has interesting  characters and it moves back and forth between stories and time periods pretty seamlessly.  Lots of authors can’t pull that off.

This is the story of a young Italian man, an American actress and Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

No, seriously.  Part of the story is set during the filming of Cleopatra.

It’s part love story, part coming of age novel, part Hollywood gossip stuff.  It’s just good.  Read it 🙂

More Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell.  I love these books but I gotta take a break.  I am at maximum saturation with Sherlock.  I will probably read the next one when Elementary goes on hiatus for the summer.  Have you watched Elementary?  You seriously should.