The Book of Illumination: A Novel from the Ghost Files

by Mary Ann Winkowski, Maureen Foley, Maureen Foley

Book Overview

The criminal underworld meets the spiritual otherworld in this thrilling debut collaboration between the inspiration for television's The Ghost Whisperer and an award-winning writer/director.

Anza O'Malley is in most ways a typical single mom. She lives a happy, busy life with her five-year-old son in Cambridge, Massachusetts, juggling the joys and challenges of life as a doting parent and a freelance bookbinder. But there is more to Anza than meets the "ungifted" eye: she can see and speak with ghosts.

Although she's been solving cold cases for the police for years, Anza has been hoping to focus her energies on her son and her bookbinding career. But when an exquisite and priceless illuminated manuscript is stolen from the Boston Athenaeum, and when its desecration spurs the appearance of some very unhappy spirits, Anza can neither look nor walk away. With an unlikely trio of ghosts by her side-a charming butler and two medieval monks-Anza leads us on an urgent journey through Boston's winding, cobbled streets to uncover a trail of deceit, danger, and ghoulish intrigue.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307452441
• ISBN13: 9780307452443
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

What a great read

I want everyone who enjoys a mystery OR ghosts to read this....it's perfectly fun....and wonderfully refreshing...when's the next one coming to alleve our boredom?

A very enjoyable read

I highly recommend this book to anyone. If you love the city of Boston and are a fan of paranormal, then this is a book you must read. The writers Winkowski and Foley make you feel that you are right there with them as Anza O'Malley searches for the lost manuscript through the streets of rich historical Boston. Their writing style is very personable, powerful and most important, believable. You will not be disappointed.

Couldn't put it down!

"The Book of Illumination" is a must-read for mystery lovers, paranormal enthusiasts, working moms and dads, and everyone in between. Anza O'Malley, the book's spunky and appealing narrator, balances the demands of single motherhood and her job as a bookbinder with candor and wry wit. Her matter-of-fact temperament belies the secret that she keeps from all but her dearest friends: she can communicate with ghosts. When a colleague solicits her help with some spirits who are stirring up trouble at the Boston Athanaeum, causing a priceless manuscript to go missing, Anza is plunged headlong into both the criminal underworld and the spirits' otherworld. Suspense and twists of the mystery plot are juxtaposed with moments (both tender and humorous) involving Anza's son, Henry, her best friend Nat, and Declan, Henry's father, which round out the narrative and give the book depth and humanity. Foley and Winkowski have created something far greater than a typical suspense novel: they offer us a touching portrait of a modern woman finding the balance between family, work, and the ghosts who clamor for her attention. The result is a beautifully written and highly engaging page-turner "from the ghost files." I thoroughly enjoyed "The Book of Illumination" and hope that Anza has many more adventures to come!

A charming supernatural ride.

I thoroughly enjoyed this first effort by Winkowski and Foley. Narrator Anza O'Malley becomes embroiled in the theft of a priceless Celtic manuscript, encountering a varied cast of characters, both alive and otherwise. The race to track down the manuscript unfolds with plenty of twists and turns, each chapter making it more difficult not to go on to the next. What separates Foley and Winkowski's debut from your run-of-the-mill mystery novel, however, is the quality of the writing. Their characters are charming and three-dimentional and their dialogue and prose is crafted with a keen eye for situation and a sharp whit. Overall, a very enjoyable read. Highly recommended.

Ghosts and the single Mom

The "Book of Illumination" is a great mystery story with a supernatural twist. It plunges the reader into the world of the ghosts, while also depicting the joys and challenges of a single mother living near Boston. While raising five-year-old Henry, Anza is also trying to establish her career as a free lance book binder. But since she was a little girl, she's had a special talent that brings her into unusual situations: she can see ghosts. Anza is called in when volumes begin flying off the shelves of the Boston Athenaeum. She learns about the theft of a legendary illuminated manuscript, the Book of Kildare. And she also meets two ghostly monks and the ghost of an English butler who worked for a prominent Boston family. While chasing clues to find the stolen book and help the butler, Anza keeps up a busy life as mother to Henry, daughter to her stoic Irish father, and unofficial member of a large Italian family that lives in Boston's North End. And when her investigations get her in a pinch, she can call on Declan, a detective with the Boston Police Department, who also happens to be Henry's father. The book gives the reader a deep look at the world of spirits and ghosts. And it includes a disarming and funny look at parenthood and even a pinch of romance, in the form of a dashing English manuscript curator. "The Book of Illumination" is a fun ride, mixing the supernatural, a mystery story with many twists and turns, and a well rounded picture of a modern woman's life.