A colorful well-written murder mystery
Murder mysteries abound in our modern day bookcase, but this one, The Apothecary, the first book in The City of Dreams series by Joan Fallon, takes the reader back a thousand years ago, in Moorish Spain, to the city of Málaga, where the mysterious death of its ruler, amidst a power struggle between himself and neighboring states, sends a single family down a very dangerous and treacherous road as they are forced to hunt down the real assassin, in order to save one of their own. Besides the plot itself, a twisted one, the quality of the writing is colorful and detailed, conjuring up both the beauty and the brutality of the times. This well-crafted narrative inexorably draws the reader into a world where the synthesis of different cultures coexist in a delicate balance, one where power-hungry leaders, driven by greed and ideological fanaticism, threaten the equilibrium that most people, despite their differences, are trying to hold together. As far as murder mysteries go, the book will hold you to the end to find out "who done it".
Review by International Writers Inspiring Change
About Joan Fallon
The Scottish author, Joan Fallon, began her career as a writer after moving to Spain at the start of the new millennium; her first published work was a social history, 'Daughters of Spain', inspired by the women she met in her new home. The research for this book in turn encouraged her to write the following two novels: 'Spanish Lavender', which is set in Malaga during the early years of the Civil War and 'The House on the Beach', the story of two young women growing up in Franco's Spain. Her subsequent novels have grown out of her experiences living and working in Spain. She is a member of the Society of Authors and the Alliance of Independent Authors.
