First
Sentence: The early winter evening was drawing in. In the
antiquarian bookshop well away from the High Street in Cambridge,
Monty Danforth sat in his room in the back, working on unpacking
and cataloguing the books and papers from the last crate of
the Greville Estate.
Monty
Danforth's boss is out sick so it falls on him to unpack the
shipment of books received from an estate sale. At the very
bottom of the box, is an incredibly old scroll written in
a language unknown to Monty. Thinking to have it translated,
he tries both photocopying and photographing it, only to find
blank images. Soon, three very different individuals come
to the shop insisting he sell the scroll to each of them.
He is also given a warning that the scroll could present great
danger.
How
delightful to have a contemporary story from Ms. Perry. Even
more delightful is that it is a combination of mystery, supernatural,
and spirituality. As well as the quandary in which Danforth
finds himself, and the increasing level of threat in the story,
as well an element of faith beyond any one religion, that
causes one to wonder what they would do.
"The
Scroll" is yet another example of Ms. Perry's writing
excellence. It's a tiny bit Di Vinci Code and a tiny bit Stephen
King in the best possible way, with just a touch of philosophical
questioning. The only problem with having it be a bedtime
read, is the ending leaves you contemplating long after finishing
the story. And isn't that the mark of an excellent book?
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