The Curator of Provenance

by John Ratti

Sue Haranfot’s eyes widened at the SEIZED notice shouting out in fluorescent red on the door of the old homestead. Her jaw dropped and she threw hands on hips before ripping the sign off the door. Staring at it, Sue discovered the property was slated for auction over a past due tax issue. She slapped her forehead—how did I miss this? Sue thought she had handled all the necessaries during the two years she took care of her ailing grandmother before inheriting the centuries old New England homestead. Wasn’t there an escrow or something taking care of this? Now Sue had a problem, a devastating one considering that as the last of the Haranfot line she’d spent the past year painstakingly restoring the property, making it ready to be her home and to re-open the Comfort Haranfot Memorial Library & Museum, an ode to family and community history run out of the adjacent barn.

Almost fifty thousand dollars? Sue’s mother Stella shook her head when she learned this after Sue discovered just how long her grandmother went without paying the property taxes on the five hundred plus acres of land. Sue was hoping her step-father George, the man who helped raise her since her father died, might help, but he was having his own financial problems with a failing business. He advised Sue to consider selling at least some of the land, but she refused to part with the Haranfot’s almost four hundred year old legacy. Besides, she reminded him that due to a later conservation restriction nobody could develop the land, the grandfathered exception being Haranfot blood, and she was the last. Stella urged Sue to then consider partnering with a developer—it would still be yours, in a way, she pointed out. Maybe a compromise you can live with? But even the suggestion left Sue fuming. The family backed-off, at least for now, well aware of Sue’s quirky and fragile history, hoping it was an idea she might come back to if she found no other alternative.

Thirty days. That’s all Sue has and the ideas and proposals she and her friends come up with aren’t panning out until one day Sue receives a visit from a woman looking for something that was once on display at the Haranfot Memorial Library and Museum. A rock, an unusual mineral specimen that inspired her dying father and something he wanted to glimpse one more time before passing. The woman offers Sue a large sum of money for it, enough to save the homestead, but there’s a problem—Sue had never seen the rock, never heard if it, and newspaper clippings the woman provided were from over fifty years ago.

With a zeitgeist evoking recent popular female protagonist-themed modern fiction, The Curator of Provenance tells the story of Sue Haranfot, the last of an almost four centuries old American family who is forced to embark upon a search for a mysterious stone called The Serendipity Queen to save her ancestors’ property. Knowing what she wants but not sure how to get it, Sue’s journey encompasses a series of striking events, including participation in something called the Bone Game, pairing with a smuggler to move a rare coin across a border, accepting help from mobsters and a series of mysterious encounters associated with the long-ago children’s book House Without Windows all while those back at home conspire to wrestle the Haranfot homestead away from her. Sue’s race against time and journey thru the Empire of Lies to the Republic of Truth brings her to understand that the dream is free, but the journey isn't and everyone must have their war to taste the blood and chaos of the world, something Sue learns at the price of her innocence. The Curator of Provenance is a psychological thriller wrapped inside the tale of a quest—a journey that veers into an exploration of our private realities, the treachery inside a wounded heart and the cost for the privile

Genres: Fiction

490 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 29, 2016

Reviews

[Andrea Thrasher Davis]

I was very disappointed in this book. The spelling errors, omissions of entire lines, and poor grammar indicate an unforgiveable lack of editing. There was a lack of headings between sections of chapters that made the total switch in the story line very confusing. In addition, it took quite a few separate instances of reading seemingly nonsensical dialogue to realize the main character's history with "alternative" characters.

Beyond that, the plot was interesting: a woman has spent a great deal of time setting up a memorial to her family's history in the area. However, she discovers that the previous relative did not pay property taxes and she has a very short amount of time to raise a significant amount of money. In a little too-pat plot twist, someone appears offering to buy a family relic, only for the protaganist to realize that this relic is not among the treasures in the memorial museum. She meets up with another character (confusing introduction of this other character who also intersects with other significant characters). Family plots to interfere with her plans to save the family land, a hazardous trip with her best friend, and a side story about her family's ambitions, eventually result in a surprising ending. The book was more interesting in the second half. But ONLY because I never put down even a terrible book was I able to get to that.

[Quinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this Kindle version from Goodreads.com in exchange for an honest review. The prologue to the story was more interesting than the next 50 pages. Written very simply this Kindle had more than a couple of typos which were distracting. Of what I read the storyline jumped around and didn’t hold my interest. DNF.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Long and quite involved saga with several backstories which honestly hindered my enjoyment of the book's tale. Numerous typos became annoying as did a few repetive descriptions. Too many characters involved, several of which added no value. Overall okay at best, 3 star read.

My thanks to goodreads and the book’s giveaway sponsors for the opportunity to obtain and read a copy of this book.