Story Description:
Touchstone|April
30, 2013|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-1-4022-7663-7
Whoever dares to
seek the firebird may find the journey – and its ending – unexpected.
Nicola Marter was
born with a gift. When she touches an object, she sometimes sees images, glimpses
of those who have owned it before. It’s
never been a gift she wants, and she keeps it a secret from most people,
including her practical boss Sebastian, one of London’s premier dealers in
Russian art.
But when a woman
offers Sebastian a small wooden carving for sale, claiming it belonged to
Russia’s Empress Catherine, it’s a problem.
There’s no proof. Sebastian
believes that the plain carving – known as “The Firebird” – is worthless. But Nicola had held it, and she knows the
woman is telling the truth and is in desperate need of the money the sale of
the heirloom could bring.
Compelled to help,
Nicola turns to a man she once left and still loves: Rob McMorran, whose own
psychic gifts are far greater that hers.
With Rob to help her “see” the past, she follows a young girl named Anna
from Scotland to Belgium and on into Russia.
There, in St. Petersburg – the once
- glittering capital of Peter the Great’s Russia – Nicola and Rob
unearth a tale of love and sacrifice, of courage and redemption…an old story
that seems personal and small, perhaps, against the greater backdrops of the
Jacobite and Russian courts, but one that will forever change their lives.
My Review:
Nicola Marter was
born with the gift of psychometry. She
could touch or hold objects and then see visions and images about that item
like who owned it, where it came from or where it had been. She didn’t like using her gift but when
presented with a wooden figure of a bird called “The Firebird” she became more
involved than she ever thought she would.
Nicola worked at
the Galerie St. Croix, Fine Russian Artefacts and Art on the 3rd
floor of the building on Bond Street in London.
She held a master’s degree in Russian Studies and the History of Art and
spoke fluent Russian. Her boss,
Sebastian had chosen well when he hired her.
A woman named,
Margaret Ross was sitting in Sebastian’s office when Nicola arrived for work
one morning. She had brought in a
carving of “The Firebird” that had been in her family for 300 years and she
wanted them to authenticate it so she could sell it and use the money to travel. Margaret said it had been given to one of her
ancestors by Empress Catherine of Russia who was Peter the Great’s widow
sometime in the 1720’s. However,
Sebastian couldn’t authenticate it for her as it had no marking on it anywhere
and she had no documentation of any type.
Margaret was sorely disappointed because she just spent years taking
care of sick relatives and her mother before they all passed away. She’d put her whole life on hold and was
hoping “The Firebird” was going to be her ticket to travel. She left Sebastian’s office quite
disappointed. Just before she left,
Nicola held it for a moment and felt a warmth and then saw a vision of two
women, one “aging but lovely, with heavy black eyebrows; the other respectfully
bent, perhaps kneeling, her young face upturned in uncertainty. My darling Anna, the first woman said to the
other in elegant Russian, and smiled.
You were never a nobody.” Nicola
opened her eyes quickly hoping Sebastian or Margaret hadn’t noticed.
After, Margaret
left the office, Sebastian told Nicola he was sending her to St. Petersburg,
Russia to purchase a piece of art for a client of theirs. An exhibit was taking place there and he
wanted her to purchase the piece of art known as the Surikov for a very
well-known client.
Before leaving for
Russia, Nicola decided to get in touch with, Rob an ex-lover and an old friend
who also shared her “gift” but his skills were much more advanced than hers
were. When Rob heard the story of “The
Firebird” he decided to travel to Russia with Nicola to see what the two of
them together could find out. Plus,
there were some very obvious romantic sparks between Nicola and Rob.
Once in Russia
tracking down the story of “The Firebird”, the story just exploded into
mystery, intrigue, secret relationships, disappointments, and a deep richly
fascinating history that will surprise you.
The further you get into the story, the more you want to know.
I thoroughly
enjoyed the developing relationships of the characters in the story and
especially the relationship between Rob and Nicola. I did stumble along with some of the Scottish
language and had to look up a few terms just so the story would make more sense
to me.
The Firebird was definitely an adventurous
read and gracefully unravels how tradition, culture and sense of place affect
the human heart.
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