Robert Masello Bestiary

Bestiary

Robert Masello

Berkley, Nov 2006, $7.99

ISBN: 0425212807

In Iraq, Saddam Hussein and the affluent mysterious al Kalli family share an uneasy truce. However, at a state dinner, Hussein poisons all the members except for Mohammed and his son. They escape while all the others are dead. The duo takes their most prized possessions, the animals pictured in the illuminated manuscript the Bestiary known by some as the Beasts of Eden. They move to Los Angeles, but the creatures of myth and legend are not thriving in California and al Kalli fears they may be dying.

A desperate al-Kalli contacts art curator Beth Cox at the Getty Museum to restore the Beasts of Eden Bestary. He hopes the book will enable them to heal the ailing beasts by giving them some ideas how to achieve this lofty goal. He also talks with Beth's husband Carter, a paleontologist who recently found an identical male skeleton at the La Brea Tar Pits. He persuades Carter to work with him to restore the animals to health; faced with such an amazing discovery, he agrees. However, there remains a human serpent who places the Bestiary, Carter, and his family in danger.

Using historical facts from the times of the First Crusades, Robert Masello weaves a tapestry of events into a magnificent story line complete with creatures that were said to have resided in the Garden of Eden. Part psychological suspense and part horror the novel is filled with many unexpected spins that will appeal to readers from different genres. Whereas Beth and Carter are dedicated to their respective jobs, they also love one another; while the other characters are fascinating as even the antagonists have redeeming qualities adding to the complexity of the thriller.

Harriet Klausner