Even though spring break is over and classes are starting up again, here are a few good reads to snag during your downtime. Whether you’re interested in history, action and thriller, comedy or romance, there’s something here for everyone.
“The Last Templar” by Raymond Khoury
If you liked “The Da Vinci Code,” you should check this book out. The Knights Templar or the Order of the Temple was formed after the First Crusade of 1096. The Templars, being both monks and soldiers, took part in many battles of the Crusades and protected European pilgrims who traveled to Jerusalem after it was conquered. There are many rumors and legends that surround the history of the Templars, the main one being that they found and kept in secret the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant when they occupied the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. In the novel, horsemen dressed as Templars break into the Metropolitan Museum of Art, raiding a display of Vatican artifacts and stealing a coding device that can unveil the Templars’ secrets about early Christianity and its dogma. It’s up to archeologist Tess Chaykin and FBI investigator Sean Reilly to hunt down this missing device and to decode the message it contains.
“The Other Boleyn Girl” by Philippa Gregory
Before Anne Boleyn, there was her sister Mary. A young and na’ve girl at the age of fourteen, Mary Boleyn is swept up into the intrigues and secrets of the Tudor court when she becomes Henry VIII’s mistress. The innocent Mary is no match for the flirty, witty, Anne-both Mary’s confidant and rival-in the competition for Henry’s love, and Mary must step into the background as Anne takes the center stage. With the growing realization that both she and Anne are merely pawns in her father’s and uncle’s machinations to achieve favor and power in the Tudor court, Mary struggles to control her own fate while at the same time witnessing the growing scandals surrounding the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn.
“The Ambler Warning” by Robert Ludlum
An interesting read to pick up if you’re looking for a spy thriller. Written by the same author who penned “The Bourne Identity” and “The Bourne Supremacy” comes the story of a Consular Operations agent Harrison Ambler who was put into the Parrish Island Psychiatric Facility by the government due to the secrets he knows about its highly-classified information. With the help of a nurse, Ambler is able to escape and must discover the truth about who he was and why the government wants him put away before it is too late.
“One for the Money” by Janet Evanovich
She’s Italian, from New Jersey and hides a gun in her cookie jar. Stephanie Plum, fired from her job as a lingerie buyer, persuades her cousin Vinny to hire her as a bond hunter. Joined by her crazy grandmother and spandex-wearing ex-hooker Lula, Stephanie must track down a murder suspect worth $10,000. The only problem is, the guy she has to bring in-local cop Joe Morelli-is the same one who looked up her skirt in high school and has been continuing to do so ever since. This is just the first book of a series and is a good choice if you’re looking for a quick, fun read.
“The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger
Imagine that you were born with a chromosome that enables you to jump back and forward in time to bump into your past or future self. However, you have no control of when you’re going to time-travel or how long you’ll stay in that period. Imagine your 36 year-old self meeting your six-year-old wife, but having no clue who she is when you run into her for the first time at 28. This is the predicament of Henry DeTamble, a librarian at the Newberry Library in Chicago, and his wife Clare Abshire when their lives intertwine as Henry travels involuntarily through time. Both face trials and obstacles as Henry disappears into another time period while Clare must wait for his return.
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