Publisher’s
write-up:
‘The Molina Curse is the sequel
to Tainted Dish and the fifth book in
the Charles Stone Travel / Mystery / Thriller series. The protagonist faces
several assassination attempts and a life threatening encounter in Australia’s
Outback. His dog, Daisy is reintroduced along with characters from previous stories.
The reader will be reminded of our country’s history through walks on Boston’s
Freedom Trail. The Molina Curse provides
tantalizing moments “Down Under”, as well as aboard a cruise ship from Sydney
to New Zealand, Tahiti, Fiji and Hawaii. A love affair is tested and Charles
Stone’s life is in peril throughout until the curse is lifted by complying with
mysterious forces within the Vatican. Stone’s final act of involvement with the
dark side of the Papacy is one of the most bizarre in all works of fiction.
Unfortunately The Molina Curse ends
on a sad tragic note.’
The Molina Curse is the fifth novel in
Charles L. Fields’ Charles Stone series. It
is not ideal when you choose a book off the shelf, and it happens to be the
sequel to some book, especially if it is as far as five. Unfortunately, that is
exactly what I did, falling for the global and historical elements in the
publisher’s write-up without paying attention to the fact that it was the fifth
in a series.
Nevertheless, I can assure you, that this
could pretty much be a stand-alone and I enjoyed the challenge of imagining a
prologue, which I believe isn’t too difficult. Coming to the plot, Charles
Stone, an advocate who has had several adventures across the world in the past,
is finally beginning to put it all behind him and concentrating on his love
affair with Janice – with whom he has planned a trip to Australia and New
Zealand. But, he lures trouble again – with Charles having a role in Frank
Molina’s assassination, the latter’s associates are desperate for revenge and
chase him to ensure that his trip Down Under would be his last.
As a history enthusiast, I loved
conversations during the walk in Boston’s Freedom Trail – highly informative,
especially for a foreigner like myself. This book could also be intriguing for
travellers – as the story goes across several picturesque locations in the
world such as the Ayers Rock, Great Barrier Reef, and Tahiti among various
others. And for those who’ve already read the series, you may enjoy Daisy’s return.
The food lovers too, might enjoy the description of the various cuisines that
is described in this book (unfortunately, I happen to be a vegetarian). The
last, it had the thriller element too, with a good cat and mouse game between
the deceased Frank Molina’s associates and Charles Stone.
The pace of the novel might be the only
demotivating factor for those who are reading this as a stand-alone because
till page 100, the story was going nowhere and was only concentrating on
characters from the previous books. The other issue is not the story but the
publisher’s write-up which effectively is a short summary of the whole story
and if you plan to read this book, don’t read too much into that write-up.
From what I could understand, I guess there
is still room for a sequel and it’d be interesting to see Charles Stone again.
For its thriller plot mixed with other
diverse elements such as history / travel, I’d award this book a seven on ten.
Rating
– 7/10
Have
a nice day,
Andy
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