The Portugal Sapphire

Ainsley Walker Gemstone Travel Mystery #5

by J.A. Jernay

After months of unemployment, her bank account dwindling, Ainsley Walker is starting to wonder if her career as a gemstone detective will ever take off.

THEN

Her life changes when she accepts an offer from a handsome importer to travel to the country of Portugal—the gorgeous but overlooked jewel of Western Europe—to search for a sapphire azulejo that has been stolen from an historic chapel.

On her fast-paced adventure, Ainsley explores thieves’ fairs, antique trams, ancient Roman ruins, and the dangerous roads of rural wine valleys. She finds joy, pain, friendship, duplicity, and murder—and, most importantly, a renewed sense of purpose in life.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Amazon

304 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 10, 2013

Reviews

[Lucinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Johanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Helena · Rating 1 out of 5]

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!

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Jan Bandich · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Vicky Coughlan · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Beverley Emmott · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Patricia R.]

Fun mystery that is a travelog of Portugal.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Marilyn Dahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[marsha everett · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 Kara B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Definitely will download the others in the series!!!

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Michelle Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took me a bit to get into but have really enjoyed it, learning about Portugal and was surprised by the ending.

[Marjie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, interesting, informative.