Rob Samborn

After receiving a head injury while playing hockey Nick and his wife Julia are off to Venice for a romantic vacation and to potentially book Julia an art gallery showing. While visiting the Doge's Palace, Nick is entranced by Tintoretto's painting, Paradise. While looking at the masterpiece, Nick hears a voice of a woman speaking to him from the painting. He tries to shake the voice, but after Nick is run out of the Doge's Palace, can suddenly understand Venetian, finds that the name of the woman that he heard was a real person and is having memories of a past life, Nick can't deny the voice is real and Julia knows there is more to the painting. As Nick and Julia uncover secrets, they draw the attention of a powerful and secret Venetian Order that wants them out of the picture.
The Prisoner of Paradise is a fast paced thriller connecting past and present through one of the largest canvas paintings, Paradise. From the beginning, I was engrossed in the story as Isabella was pulled away from her soulmate, Angelo in 1589. In the present, Nick and Julia's story took a little more time to get into as they explored Venice and introduced some of the members of the Order. I loved the vivid descriptions of Venice that were able to transport me to the colorful alleyways and canal system. I was fascinated by the Order with their combination of religions, belief in the justification of their actions, knowledge of the afterlife, and use of the painting to trap souls. The danger and suspense grew slowly throughout the story until the very end as Nick and Julia uncovered more secrets. The ending of the story left many more questions to be answered with the promise of a sequel that I will definitely be reading.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.… (más)