On Saturday, Sept. 17, JMS Books will publish “Riddle Me This,” Westfair writer/editor Georgette Gouveia”™s new historical thriller. It”™s a timely tale about the ”˜”rivalry” among the United States, China and Russia and the story behind the opera “Turandot,” which has been thrust into the news again with the fallout from the invasion of Ukraine.
In the near future, tech whiz Milo Warwick, an MIT grad student, is murdered, and the laptop containing his Ph.D. thesis”“ a program and a hearing aid-like device that would think for you and recall your past if you couldn”™t ”“ is missing.
His best friend, rising tennis star and American “prince” Alex Darlington ”“ the stunning, coddled son of the late President and first lady Kenneth and Catherine Darlington ”“ suspects Chinese espionage and interjects himself into the investigation, led by his godfather, CIA China Bureau chief Mitch Abramson.
But the more immersed Alex becomes in the investigation, the more he is drawn into the past ”“ the historical one as well as his own ”“ and onto the path of Tamara Chen, the cool Chinese cultural attaché whose staging of Giacomo Puccini”™s “Turandot” for China”™s One World Festival may hold the key to why the opera-crazed Milo died and the whereabouts and password of his computer.
Set amid the continuing conflicts of East and West and men and women, “Riddle Me This” ”“ the sixth novel in Gouveia”™s “The Games Men Play” series and the sequel to her “Burying the Dead” — is about our longing to create and to see our creations live. Ultimately, though, it is a story about storytelling, particularly the way a story changes over time. Like a theme with variations, this romantic thriller riddles the reader with three stories ”“ the origins of “Turandot,” which lie in the sexy legends of Alexander the Great; the development of the opera, inspired by a tragic love affair and the idea of self-determination for women; and a futuristic tale of rivalry, jealousy and revenge that would make Puccini blush.
Says Gouveia: ”˜In many ways, this is my most satisfying work to date, as it delves into what I love most — culture and storytelling — and how the two connect over time.”
A longtime, award-winning cultural writer and luxury magazine editor, Gouveia is now a writer/editor with Westfair Communications Inc.”™s Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journals. For more on the novel, the book series and its related blog (about culture”™s power dynamic), visit thegamesmenplay.com.
