Lara joins the Divas at the Cottingham Museum for the unveiling of the Maygar Venus, a female figurine carved from mammoth ivory believed to be nearly 25,000 years old. However, the new director of the Cottingham is of more immediate interest to Lara – Károly Molnár, formerly Charles Miller, is her handsome Hungarian college ex. However, things quickly get complicated as Lara inadvertently discovers a tangled web of secrets amongst her old friends and former lover. Unfortunately for Lara, her night only gets worse – she wakes up the next morning to a damaged car and no memory of what happened the previous night.

Following the adage of bad news coming in threes, Lara flips on the morning news only to learn that one of the Divas has committed suicide under strange circumstances and someone attempted to steal the Venus from the Cottingham. Desperate to piece together the events of that night and get to the truth, Lara and the remaining Divas travel to Hungary to trace the Venus’ origins and try to understand what drove their friend to take her own life.

The Magyar Venus marks the eighth entry in Lyn Hamilton’s series of archaeological mysteries featuring Lara McClintoch. In this instance, “archaeological mystery” is something of a misnomer – there’s only a little bit of archaeology to be found here. Instead the reader will find an interesting investigation into the concept of provenance, a term used by antique dealers to describe the ownership history of an object. Hamilton does an excellent job demonstrating how dealers establish provenance and the importance of doing so.

Another of Hamilton’s strengths in this novel is her wonderful use of setting, both in the beautiful descriptions and as a plot point. Her depiction of Hungary’s Budapest is sure to spark the imagination of armchair travelers. Hamilton’s characters also benefit from her ability to capture the essence of a person or place in a descriptive but concise manner. Her economy with words allows Hamilton to keep the action moving at a swift pace without compromising character development.

While Hamilton is clearly a talented writer and knowledgeable about her subject matter, the mystery element of her story is somewhat disappointing. The denouement seems rushed, especially given the quick but even pacing of the rest of the novel. Hamilton’s strong characterization also suffers towards the end as some of her characters behave in ways that simply don’t fit with their prior behavior and the descriptions of their personalities. The use of a somewhat clichéd and rushed resolution is an unfortunate ending to an otherwise strong book. That said, there is still plenty in this book for readers to enjoy, particular for those interested in antiques and travel.

--Jessica Plonka