Strands of Bronze and Gold
Gr 9 Up-Sophie, 17, is still in mourning for her father when she receives a letter from her godfather inviting her to live with him at his estate in Mississippi. With both parents deceased, the family is now penniless, so establishing a relationship with the wealthy Monsieur de Cressac could benefit Sophie's brothers and sister as well as herself. During the long trip from Boston to the luxurious estate of Wyndriven Abbey, Sophie is drawn to this handsome, charismatic man. Once at the Abbey, however, it is not long before she begins to question Cressac's motives for inviting her. As her legal guardian, he has placed himself in total control over her life. She's not allowed to leave the estate or even wander the grounds unaccompanied. His mercurial nature soon becomes evident. She discovers that his four wives died under mysterious circumstances, and that they all shared the same striking feature of beautiful red hair-just like Sophie. It's only a matter of months before Cressac proposes marriage, threatening to ruin Sophie and her family if she refuses. With her only chance of escape dependent on her ability to prove that he murdered his previous wives, Sophie puts her own life in jeopardy as she searches for evidence. Caitlin Prennace does an excellent job of giving voice to a wide range of characters, but her slow, careful enunciation further decelerates an already drawn out plot in Nickerson's reimagining (Knopf, 2013) of the Bluebeard legend.-Cary Frostick, Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, VAα(c) Copyright 2013.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.--This text refers to theAudio CDedition.