There are certain books that I find are surefire escapes. The plot includes a mystery with supernatural overtones and a fair amount of factual material that I can absorb through the story. Usually the lead character is female and there's a developing love interest but the primary story is not the romance. I suppose it says something about me that I like some interesting intellectual puzzle as the main meat with a love story on the side but I digress.

Believe it or not, it's difficult to find books in this group. Barbara Michaels has always been a reliable pick. After that, it's catch as catch can. Good mysteries don't usually have that supernatural overtone. Some bestselling authors, such as Sue Grafton and Patricia Cornwall, have romances that go so badly that I can barely focus on the rest of the story.

I was delighted to find the Goddess of Sumer by Jenna Smith. So delighted that I passed it on to my daughter and then asked to interview the author [coming soon!]. Set in modern day, the characters nonetheless find themselves caught in mysterious events in Sumeria, a civilization that existed 4000-6000 years ago that is unrelated to any other civilizations that we are aware of. Perhaps it's ancient memories, perhaps there's some time shifting, perhaps it's all a remarkable set of coincidences. Well, that last part is unlikely.

About three chapters in, I thought I saw where the story was headed but I decided to relax and enjoy the ride. Forty pages from the end, I realized there had been more twists than I expected and I still was not sure how it would end. I also realized it was 1 in the morning and I was working the next day. That's a good book.

There were some problems. The number of plots made it unnecessarily complicated. The main plot was intricate enough to carry the book. There were subplots, most of which come as a little surprise so I won't share them. While they are all dealt with well, I would have preferred to just stay in the main mystery. Remember I do not want a romance that distracts from the mystery. Other subplots just do not deserve the space. One was so noticeable that at some point, my daughter put down the book and said, "What's with this Susan? Why do I have to keep reading about her?"