Elizabeth Kostova is the author of one of my favourite books of all time, The Historian. Despite releasing The Swan Thieves in 2010 (which I didn't read), it was with some trepidation and high expectation that I picked up her 2017 release, The Shadow Land after winning a copy in a GoodReads giveaway.
I love the cover design and the 450+ pages promised to be a juicy read, but sadly it didn't live up to my expectations. The plot device is interesting: set in Bulgaria, the female protagonist accidentally picks up a bag containing an urn of ashes and then attempts to track down the owner.
The book definitely picked up in the entertainment stakes when the owner of the urn's contents was revealed and his life and time in a detainment camp was brought to light in the first person. That section of the book was incredibly moving and inspirational, but I didn't care much for the protagonist, her new friend and her obsession with the urn's owner, so all in all it wasn't the ripping yarn I was hoping for.
My rating = **
Carpe Librum!
