With Boz's unsolicited help, she is learning to appraise her part in the unfolding drama differently. But with Prince Henry's death, that all changes.įifteenth Century protagonist Pero, and his erstwhile companions Dias and Zarco are being indoctrinated in cosmology, learning about navigational aids such as the compass and the wind rose, and dealing with the flatness of the earth, our less than intrepid modern heroine Jaq is being set up. The composition of Henry, the Navigator's supporters, includes a large contingent of Jewish intellectuals at a time when Portugal's near neighbor Spain was in the clutches of warrior queen Isabella and her henchman Torquemada. When Zarco is executed, Cristobal is assigned to Isabella's court, where his sexual prowess equals his potential as an explorer. When a fourth aspiring mariner joins the group-a Genoese named Cristobal Columbo, who meets the others while they are incarcerated, it is tempting to consider that portion of the puzzle solved, but when the most astute of the original trio, Zarco, is framed for a crime he did not commit so soon after Cristobal appears, something does not feel right. Quartermane’s fiancé Paul Merion, but I was equally curious to sort the Christopher Columbus angle. I was unable to close the book until I knew who had murdered Ms. The suggestion that the three somewhat inept aspiring Portuguese mariners were going to have something to do with the discovery of America was enough of a tease to keep me reading, although I had survived several of their misadventures without a sign of Christopher Columbus or the Pinta, the Nina, or the Santa Maria. While their misadventures are different than those of Jaqueline Quartermane and her mystery man, they deal with the same universal issues of truth, faith, betrayal and manipulation. The companion plot to the one which begins with the murder of Agent Quartermain's fiance is a tale set in the late 15 th century. I should have anticipated as much from its curious subtitle: A Christopher Columbus Mystery Thriller. The Virgin of the Wind Rose is a novel with parallel plots. Not not all of the Mind Benders in the novel live in the 21st Century. The parallel plot: Enter the 15th Century Jaq's mentor, the televangelist, utilizes them all, but so does his Muslim counterpart. Symbolism, mind-control, and an emotional appeal to God and Country are present in both the Christian and the Muslim leadership. Drugs are only one means of capturing the fertile minds of characters in Craney's book. Both he and Quartermane anticipated the End Days as coming soon, but from opposite sides of the Apocalypse. He wants you to have a taste of what is soon to come.' Just as Quartermane has a handler and a mentor, Jammal has the mysterious Yahya calling the shots for the Awaited One, The Mahdi.

The Awaited One asked me to bless you with these Leaves of Paradise from Yemen. The otherwise canny character Jamaal is equally enthralled by his idol Yahya's words, “Your home is not of this world. When I read further, I discovered Jaq Quartermane was not the only character in the book being manipulated by a charismatic leader. Since the character Elymas, also known as Moses Rosen, aka Boz, seemed to have the stamina to deal with Quartermane without closing the book on her, what right had I to write her off so casually? Read on, read on, the Muses commanded.īy that point, Craney had introduced a deliciously mischievous male co-protagonist named Elymas to counterbalance Quartermane inane naivete. He would not have made a True Believer like Agent Quartermane -a religious zealot with an unyielding belief in a fundamentalist dogma despite mountains of evidence to the contrary-unless he had a reason. Thus, my high expectations when it comes to Mister Craney kept the pages turning. Then, I remembered Wind Rose is a novel, not a Yucca Valley Town Council Meeting. Surely the Human Resources Team at Quantico had the wherewithal to filter out the nut cases. In my past life, I had many acquaintances with federal officers, a fact which made me skeptical. I was amazed that a writer I consider an enlightened humanist could create her. By page 38, I had endured quite enough of co-protagonist Jaqueline Quartermane.

In today’s socio-political climate, I have over-dosed on blind followers of charismatic leaders with hidden agendas.

Of the Glen Craney books I have read thus far, I found the first chapters of 'Wind Rose' to be the most challenging.

Wind rose puzzle