Review of CLARION OF MIDNIGHT: MEGALI IDEA by Kristina O'Donnelly

LANDS OF THE MORNING #2

Rose International Publishing, September 2004

Archeologist Mark Cohen is investigating an ancient shipwreck off the Turkish coast when he runs into two beautiful women on a bus. One of these, the powerful Anika Alkibiades, takes an instant liking to Mark, teasing him with her sensual body--and with archeological treasures she claims have been in her family for generations but which he suspects may have been illegally looted from Turkish digs. The second woman, whose identity he does not learn for some time, is the daughter of the Turkish Interior Minister Burhan Bey.

Mark soon finds himself caught up in Anika's plans to restore Greek rule to Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) and to recreate the ancient Byzantine Empire--the Megali Idea. Yet as Mark gets to know Leyla Kayhanoglu, Burhan's half-American daughter, he realizes that Anika's dangerous plan may be the worst thing that can happen to Turkey--and to the anti-Communist alliance. A continuing investigation into past lives and a look into the political turmoil in the Middle East and between Turkey and Greece adds interest to an exciting story.

Author Kristina O'Donnelly (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by O'Donnelly) continues her LANDS OF THE MORNING series with an action-packed look into a Turkey torn between communists and right-wing Islamists, with a few leaders attempting to hold onto Ataturk's idea of a modern, democratic, and westward-leaning Turkey. Anika's plan is doubly appealing because another empire, the Turkish Ottoman Empire, once ruled virtually the same territory as the Byzantine Empire and, as Burhan points out, Turks, not Greeks, form the heart of what Anika would claim.

In CLARION OF MIDNIGHT, O'Donnelly combines romance with action in a page-turning thriller. You don't need to read THE HORSEMAN (see our review), the first novel in this series, but those who have will enjoy seeing Burham continue to deal with his energetic but high-maintenance wife and daughter, as well as the sweet romance between Mark and Leyla.

Four Stars

Reviewed 7/02/06

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