Concurrently the story of the Dutch master, Johannes Miereveld, the creator of The Chrysalis, is recounted. Johannes had labored diligently for his mentor until his talents were noticed and his mentor became seriously ill. He was then commissioned by the burgomaster to paint a portrait of his family. Amidst his conflicting religious feelings, Johannes falls in love with the burgomaster’s daughter and she with him. Such a union was not meant to be in the rigid class society of Europe in the seventeenth century.

Hilda Baum’s family fortunes are recounted in the third thread of the novel. Her staunchly Catholic family was surviving nicely in Amsterdam during World War II until it is discovered that her father had a distant relative who was Jewish. From then on the family is branded, and because Erich Baum had a substantial collection of valuable art works, he gets the attention of money hungry Nazis.

Unlike many novels where stories in the past are linked with those of the present, in The Crysalis Heather Terrell clearly delineates each through the use of separate chapters with headings indicating time and place. She further uses the present tense in speaking of events in the past and the converse for present day occurrences. Since the chapters are interspersed in the narrative, it helps the reader to be certain of what is being related when pronouns rather than given names are utilized.

Ms. Terrell has chosen an intriguing premise for the focus of her first novel. Her heroine is faced with a dilemma. Although she is able to find a legal basis for her client which will allow them to win the case, as the story unfolds she begins to understand that morally Hilda Baum should be the owner of the painting. As a lawyer or as a human being which side should she be on? There is no simple answer here and Ms. Terrell gives her readers ample food for thought.

The characters stand out as legitimate people not cardboard characters with stereotypical traits. Mara is a bright young woman with aspirations, though at times she wonders whether she is trying to fulfill her father’s dreams or her own. Lillian Joyce, the highest ranking female employee at Severin, appears at first to be the typical old maid devoted to her career and her company above all else but is revealed to be a much more complicated individual worthy of deeper consideration. Likewise Michael Roarke, Mara’s love interest proves to be a much different person than he first appears to be.

As an added bonus, the author educates as well as entertains her audience at a level anyone who is not a lawyer or an art student can understand. The concept of the provenance of an art work is explained as well as many finer points of law. The reader will certainly feel that a bit more knowledge has been added to his brain, justifying the time spent being entertained by a well told tale. This first novel is extremely well done and I look forward to other efforts by this talented author. Selfishly, I hope that Ms. Terrell is not committed to a series for the likable Mara Coyne. I would like to see the author utilize her talent with different protagonists and different venues.

--Andy Plonka