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Ainsley Walker Gemstone Travel Mystery #5
The Portugal Sapphire: An Ainsley Walker Gemstone Travel Mystery
A faraway country.
A desperate investigator.
And a priceless missing tile.
After months of unemployment, Ainsley Walker is wondering if her career as a gemstone detective will ever take off.
When suddenly…
A handsome importer asks her to travel to Portugal—the gorgeous but overlooked jewel of Western Europe—to search for a stolen tile with a priceless sapphire baked into it.
She’s broke. This is her way out.
It’s another fast-paced adventure. Soon Ainsley is racing across the country—
—from thieves’ fairs to antique trams—
—from the dark spirits of Roman ruins to the dangerous roads of rural wine valleys—
Ainsley faces pain, financial ruin, and the loss of her dream …
…unless she can solve this twisted, mysterious case.
If you love whodunits, foreign adventure, and quick pacing, you may lose sleep over this hard to put down travel mystery! Find out why Jernay’s fans call this “a true pleasure to read” that “kept me glued to its pages” with “captivating characters, interesting plots, and a super good heroine”.
A desperate investigator.
And a priceless missing tile.
After months of unemployment, Ainsley Walker is wondering if her career as a gemstone detective will ever take off.
When suddenly…
A handsome importer asks her to travel to Portugal—the gorgeous but overlooked jewel of Western Europe—to search for a stolen tile with a priceless sapphire baked into it.
She’s broke. This is her way out.
It’s another fast-paced adventure. Soon Ainsley is racing across the country—
—from thieves’ fairs to antique trams—
—from the dark spirits of Roman ruins to the dangerous roads of rural wine valleys—
Ainsley faces pain, financial ruin, and the loss of her dream …
…unless she can solve this twisted, mysterious case.
If you love whodunits, foreign adventure, and quick pacing, you may lose sleep over this hard to put down travel mystery! Find out why Jernay’s fans call this “a true pleasure to read” that “kept me glued to its pages” with “captivating characters, interesting plots, and a super good heroine”.
352 pages, Paperback
First published September 10, 2013
35 people are currently reading
243 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 27, 2013
2 1/2.
The story is okay, but the main character doesn't stand out much.
What I had problems with was all the Portuguese phrases, translations, etc. For an English-speaking reader, I guess it would be okay, but I'm from Portugal, born and raised, and it was hard to get over all the inconsistencies. Cork is 'cortiça' in Portuguese; João is not Joseph, it's John; Fátima needs an accent on the A, and I could go on and on about these, not to mention the Spanish words instead of Portuguese ones. It would have been really easy to hire a native Portuguese to edit all of this and make sure it was right. Which leads me to assume that the other mysteries set in other countries might have similar inconsistencies.
The story is okay, but the main character doesn't stand out much.
What I had problems with was all the Portuguese phrases, translations, etc. For an English-speaking reader, I guess it would be okay, but I'm from Portugal, born and raised, and it was hard to get over all the inconsistencies. Cork is 'cortiça' in Portuguese; João is not Joseph, it's John; Fátima needs an accent on the A, and I could go on and on about these, not to mention the Spanish words instead of Portuguese ones. It would have been really easy to hire a native Portuguese to edit all of this and make sure it was right. Which leads me to assume that the other mysteries set in other countries might have similar inconsistencies.
December 17, 2013
I just never liked or believed the main character. She seemed to stumble through the plot in a not particularly endearing fashion. The romance seemed like an afterthought and did nothing to improve the story. I was very disappointed.
July 24, 2015
I just can't like a book with so many errors and stereotypes about my country!
If you want to learn about Portugal don't read this... There are some facts right but a lot wrong! The Marquês do Pombal statue is a glaringly mistake! It definitely isn't in the riverfront... The square where it stands bears his name... The statue in the riverfront is from the king who ruled during the time of the Marquês, D. José I. And that's just one of the things that bugs me... The other that's just annoying is the errors in the portuguese... If you don't know the language don't use it, especially when using it on portuguese characters!
Ohhhhh... And Lisbon is marked on the wrong side of the Tagus river in the map! Unforgivable!
If you want to learn about Portugal don't read this... There are some facts right but a lot wrong! The Marquês do Pombal statue is a glaringly mistake! It definitely isn't in the riverfront... The square where it stands bears his name... The statue in the riverfront is from the king who ruled during the time of the Marquês, D. José I. And that's just one of the things that bugs me... The other that's just annoying is the errors in the portuguese... If you don't know the language don't use it, especially when using it on portuguese characters!
Ohhhhh... And Lisbon is marked on the wrong side of the Tagus river in the map! Unforgivable!
February 16, 2015
Another Ainsley Walker gemstone mystery, this one set in Portugal. Since I know little about the country, I enjoyed the travel commentary as much or more than the mystery itself. As usual, Ainsley is soon over her head but forges on. I wasn't as fond of the supporting characters in this volume as I have been in previous adventures, but that is a minor quibble. Oh, and I learned a lot about the port wine industry. I'm happy to see there is at least one more in this enjoyable series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in order to review it.
January 29, 2018
I am surprised by the low ratings this book has gotten. Yes, it has typos and grammatical errors, but most books nowadays do, especially ebooks. While it is not the best mystery story I have ever read, my rating is in large part due to my enjoyment of it as a travelogue. I feel much more knowledgeable about Portugal and port wine now. This is the first book I have read in the series. I may read more.
December 26, 2013
A fine travel mystery. Travel to Portugal where a sapphire azulejo has been stolen from an historic chapel. Ainsley Walker explores thieves’ fairs, antique trams, ancient Roman ruins, and the dangerous roads of rural wine valleys while searching for this gem.
March 5, 2019
Another delightful adventure with Ainsley Walker which gave me a great overview of Portuguese history and geography before I left for my tour of the Back Roads of Iberia with Overseas Adventure Travel!
June 19, 2024
The mistakes in this book with regards to the Portuguese language were endless. The mistakes in name translation were simply showing the lack of good research that went into this book. Big waste of time. Don’t bother reading this book.
August 20, 2019
Not my style of book. The plot seemed a bit confusing. More like one of the romance fictions. Maybe for some fine but I would not read it again.
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May 24, 2022Fun mystery that is a travelog of Portugal.
July 7, 2014
Very light reading which doesn't require much thought-- good on a plane or at the beach or pool. I did learn a few facts about Portugal. This book is part of a series but I don't plan to read any others.
I must be old fashioned but too many books include sexual encounters between people who have only just met--seems unrealistic. Ainsley's love interest sets her heart racing, palms sweating and tummy aflutter from day one. Thankfully they don't have sex for several days and it's non graphic.
I must be old fashioned but too many books include sexual encounters between people who have only just met--seems unrealistic. Ainsley's love interest sets her heart racing, palms sweating and tummy aflutter from day one. Thankfully they don't have sex for several days and it's non graphic.
August 22, 2015
This book was a very slow read. For a mystery there was no real suspense. It just kind of plodded on and made it difficult to get into any of the characters. The ending felt like the author realized that some parts of the book weren't tied in so decided to throw something in at the last minute. Nothing surprising and not a series I will continue to follow.
December 25, 2013
It has its moments (i.e., flashes of brilliance), but they are offset by underdeveloped areas and kind of a letdown ending. On a 10-scale, I'd rate it a 5;so I'm rounding up by giving it a 3 on this 5-scale.
April 27, 2014
Travel Mystery
The ending was very disappointing. The characters lacked validity and the storyline . faltered. There was no way that a person could take a job for only 3000 euros. it just did not right g thru.
The ending was very disappointing. The characters lacked validity and the storyline . faltered. There was no way that a person could take a job for only 3000 euros. it just did not right g thru.
December 6, 2013
Loved it! Definitely will download the others in the series!!!
January 4, 2014
Lots of loose ends. Ainsley is hired to recover a stolen tile with a gem in it. The characters are not believable. Or maybe she isn't. In any case, it falls flat.
May 15, 2014
This book took me a bit to get into but have really enjoyed it, learning about Portugal and was surprised by the ending.
December 2, 2014
Good story, interesting, informative.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews