The Master Cratsman by Kelli Stuart REVIEWED

About the Book:

In 1917, Alma Pihl, a master craftsman in the House of Fabergé, was charged to protect one of the greatest secrets in Russian history--an unknown Fabergé Egg that Peter Karl Fabergé secretly created to honor his divided allegiance to both the people of Russia and the Imperial tsar's family. When Alma and her husband escaped Russia for their native Finland in 1921, she took the secret with her, guarding her past connection to the Romanov family. 

Three generations later, world-renowned treasure hunter Nick Laine is sick and fears the secret of the missing egg will die with him. With time running out, he entrusts the mission of retrieving the egg to his estranged daughter, Ava, who has little idea of the dangers she is about to face. As the stakes are raised, Ava is forced to declare her own allegiance--and the consequences are greater than she could have imagined.

My Thoughts:

"Mrs, Andrews,....I believe you just made your first big breakthrough."  (p.265)

It's hard for me to believe that there are folks who thrive, chase and even capture the lifestyle of a treasure hunter, but I've watched enough reality television to know that such people do exist.  Kelli Stuart builds an entire novel on the premise that all of us seek treasure in this lifetime...and some are fortunate to realize what that treasure is, long before others.  Stuart weaves present day and history into a very realistic, and somewhat tragic tale of a family caught up in a treasure hunt that takes them far beyond the goal they thought they were headed toward.

Ava and Carol have built a life without including Nick Lavine - father to Ava and husband to Carol.  The life of a treasure hunter didn't allow the luxury of a family.  Although world renowned, Nick's fame and fortune do little in the face of terminal disease.  What begins as an attempt at a final reconciliation turns into the adventure of a lifetime for this estranged family.  As they look across time into the lives of the Faberge family of royal jewelry fame, they begin to seek a jeweled egg that may or may not exist.

Existing or not, this unlikely team sets out on one last treasure hunt that spans the globe in search of a jeweled egg with a history they couldn't begin to imagine.  Stuart masterfully weaves the past with present-day and tells the tale of two families seeking much the same thing - relationships that ground them in truth, love and meaning.  The journey is both dangerous and rewarding, but in ways the reader cannot possibly anticipate!

This was not an easy book to lay aside!  I encourage anyone who likes a healthy mix of history and mystery to pick up a copy of this book today!!  You will be well satisfied in all the ways that matter!! Enjoy the search!!

About the Author:

Kelli Stuart is the author of the Carol Award-winning Like a River from Its Course, as well as A Silver Willow by the Shore and Life Creative: Inspiration for Today's Renaissance Mom (with Wendy Speake). Stuart has written for The Huffington Post, 5 Minutes for Mom, Tonic.com, Disney, American Girl, The MOB Society, Extraordinary Mommy, God Size Dreams, Short Fiction Break, and (in)courage. Kelli is a storyteller at heart, fluent in the Russian language, and has spent the last two decades studying the Russian and Ukrainian culture. Kelli lives in Tampa, Florida, with her husband and five children.