The Sirena Quest - Softcover

Kahn, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1464203512 ISBN 13: 9781464203510

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, 2015

Synopsis

The New York Times Magazine piece famously opened: "She has pouting lips and high round breasts. Thousands of men have dreamt of her. Hundreds have chased after her. Two have died in pursuit. Her name is Sirena, she weighs 193 pounds, and she vanished in 1959. Without a trace."

Barrett College's legendary Greco-Roman sculpture's fate was still a hot topic in 1970 when four roommates began their freshman year at the New England school. They've gone their separate ways, but as the 1994 commencement approaches, they are about to reunite to meet a challenge thrown down by a Class of '59 billionaire. He has pledged a $25 million endowment plus a $3 million purse to her finder(s) if Sirena is restored to Barrett.

Although they are not alone in their pursuit - groups of alumni, including a pair of aggressive and highly financed classmates, are running down leads across the world - St. Louis lawyer Lou Solomon and his crew come upon an obscure but intriguing clue. It leads them to Chicago where a young lawyer called Rachel Gold may hold key information. As the men race to crack the Sirena puzzle, their quest will transform their lives in unexpected ways.

About this title

About the Author

Michael A. Kahn is the award-winning author of several novels, praised by Publishers Weekly for their “intelligent, breezy dialogue and clever plotting.” A graduate of Amherst College and Harvard Law School, Mr. Kahn began his literary career writing free-lance feature articles for Chicago Magazine while teaching fifth grade in the Chicago public schools. Now a trial attorney in St. Louis, he wrote his first novel on a dare from his wife, who got sick of hearing him announce, each time he finished a paperback thriller that he’d purchased at an airport newsstand, “I could write a better book than this.” “Then write one,” she finally said, “or please shut up.”

Review

Equal parts rollicking adventure, existential and spiritual quest, and coming-of-(middle)-age tale, this stand-alone set in 1994 from Kahn includes a cameo appearance from series lead Rachel Gold (Face Value, etc.). A wealthy alumnus of Barrett, a prestigious New England college, has challenged graduates to locate the statue of a beautiful woman, Sirena, that’s been missing from the campus for 35 years before Barrett’s upcoming 150th anniversary ceremonies. If the statue is returned, $23 million goes to the college and $2 million goes to its rescuers. St. Louis lawyer and widower Lou Solomon, as his 20th class reunion looms, agrees to join the quest―and begins a haphazard and, at times illegal, cross-country mission with his three former roomies that is both deeply nostalgic and profoundly transformative. This heartwarming misadventure isn’t so much about four middle-aged men finding a statue as about finding themselves. (Publishers Weekly)

About this edition

• Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1464203512
• ISBN 13: 9781464203510
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 432