Precious jewels symbolize hidden treasures of knowledge or truth, along with profane love and transient riches. Opals may be either precious or semi-precious, depending on their quality. Traditionally, opals represent fidelity, religious fervor, prayers and assurance. Opals are translucent silicas, coming in many different colors. The common opal is milky in color, while the so-called black opal is really a very dark green. Like their name, fire opals reflect blazing colors.
The crimson color of the blood opal is symbolic of enmity, and absorbs the power or life force of its foe, rendering him or her harmless unto death.
Carole Sutton’s latest whodunit takes the symbolic aspects of precious jewels – hidden treasure, truth, profane love, greed – and combines them with the malevolence of the blood opal into a gripping murder mystery.
The novel – called Blood Opal – goes like this: Patricia Germaine – a.k.a. “Pug” – arrives home, expecting everything to be normal… well, as normal as they can be. You see Pug’s husband is somewhat less than a knight in shining armor. In fact, he’s an unfaithful jerk. As she walks through the front door of her house, Pug is greeted by what appears to be a scene right out of a disaster movie. The interior of her house looks as if a tornado has ripped through it.
If that’s not bad enough, Pug discovers her husband – whose name is Dom – in the embrace of another woman. What’s more, her husband and his lover are dead. Blood is everywhere. There’s no doubt in Pug’s mind that both people were viciously murdered.
The police arrive. Their conclusion is the same as Pug’s. Murder. Just when it looks like things can’t get any worse, they do. Not only has Pug’s murdered husband been adulterous, he has also left her penniless. Pug’s only remaining possessions are a sailboat and her dog.
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