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    		•  New paperbacks for reading groups

    REVIEWS BY JULIE HALE

    Cover A Venetian Affair
    This seductive page-turner from Di Robliant, a journalist based in Rome, is a glittering nonfiction account of real-life passion set in the 1700s. The author is distantly related to the book's hero, Andrea Memmo, a Venetian statesman who belonged to one of the Republic's most prestigious families. Andrea is desperately in love with Giustiniana Wynne, a young woman of exceptional beauty and intelligence whose questionable lineage—she was the illegitimate child of an Italian mother and a British baronet father—made it impossible for her to become his wife. Drawing on a collection of recently discovered letters written by the two lovers, Di Robilant offers a lavish reconstruction of their romance and the controversy that resulted. To woo openly was to risk ruin, and so the couple's affair was characterized by intrigue from the start. The smitten Andrea employed agents to obtain information as to Giustiniana's whereabouts and to deliver messages to her, and the pair's correspondence—engaging, lively and poetic—forms the backbone of the book. Di Robilant draws on a variety of scholarly sources to flesh out their story, producing an atmospheric, opulent narrative—the ultimate valentine to two lovers whose forbidden desire nearly destroys them. A reading group guide is available in print and online at www.readinggroupcenter.com.

    Cover The Last Day of the War
    With her debut novel, Mitchell—a graduate of the prestigious Iowa Writers' Workshop—has produced a dazzling work of historical fiction set at the end of World War I. When Yael Weiss, an 18-year-old Jewish girl, falls for Dub Hagopian, a soldier of Armenian-American descent, she is determined to listen to her heart. Although the pair only meet for a brief moment, Yael decides to change her name, pose as a Christian, and sign up with the YMCA in order to follow Dub, who is working somewhere in Europe. During her time overseas, Yael befriends another girl from the Y named Brennan and, with her help searches for Dub. Meanwhile, the elusive young man has been working as a translator and has become involved with an underground group whose goal is to avenge the massacre of the Armenian people sanctioned by the Turkish government in 1915. When Yael finally finds Dub, she joins him in his pursuit of Turkish war criminals, and together they enter a world of dizzying political intrigue. Mitchell based the novel on letters written by a friend's great-aunt—a woman who served as a YMCA volunteer in France after World War I. Using history as her foundation, she has crafted an authentic set piece, blending elements of romance, humor and suspense into a broad, ambitious narrative. A reading group guide is available in print and online at www.readinggroupcenter.com.

    Cover The Queen of the South
    The sixth novel from this celebrated Spanish author is an edgy tale of international drug trafficking that takes place in Mexico, Spain and Morocco. The queen in question is brave, resourceful Teresa Mendoza, whose boyfriend Guero Davila, is a drug dealer. When Guero is murdered, Teresa fears for her own life and flees to Morocco from Mexico. With a new boyfriend, she transfers shipments of cocaine and hashish but soon ends up in prison. Once she is free, however, Teresa educates herself, employing her business knowledge and sharp instincts to become the head of one of the largest drug outfits in the Mediterranean. Her remarkable ascent in a brutal world dominated by men occurs over the course of a 12-year period and is recounted by a journalist named Oscar Lobato. His narration blends with scenes from Teresa's journeys—adventures which are enlivened by a number of unsavory individuals, including Patricia O'Farrell, Teresa's drug-addled prison mate and business partner. Intricately plotted and richly detailed, the tale of her survival in the dangerous world of drug running is characterized by Pérez-Reverte's trademark use of tension and suspense. With his wide-ranging vision and flair for larger-than-life characters, he crafts a novel that's international in scope and significant for its portrayal of an indomitable female heroine who is perfectly at ease presiding over the macho subculture of the drug world. A reading group guide is available at www.penguin.com.


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