Night Crossing by Mary E. Martin Shares Suspenseful, Surprising Ending to Excellent Trilogy

Later, on the train, he brought his
drawings of her to her cabin and
made a curious confession. She was
his muse. Although greatly flattered,
she was unsure just what such a
relationship entailed. Was it love or
something more complicated?
~~~

 Putting my umbrella up, I plodded on my way. Actually, I was pleased with the direction of my thoughts--and myself. I am not usually given to philosophic pondering and this, for me, was quite a dissertation.

You can't expect an
artist like Alex to limit
his talent to one source
of inspiration.
But it hurt...
!!!

I began thinking more about Alex and Daphne. When they first met on his trip to Venice, Alex was enchanted. His muse--he called her! After meeting her, he produced that stunningly evocative painting, The River of Remembrance, in which he painted twelve human figures resplendent in his numinous light. Each one of them represented a person he had met on his travels--including Daphne,  who was at the very centre of the composition. On his canvas, Alex was creating the human being as a portal for his divine light. Just think how difficult that might be! Human being? Divine light? Now wonder he had trouble...

Walking freed her mind, which wandered back to her first meeting with Alex on the Orient Express. By chance he had been seated at her breakfast table. His gaze upon her had been so intense that she had resented the intrusion. But his eyes reflected a rare kindness and attentiveness. A peculiar restlessness stirred within and she became attentive...
But now, she was afraid she had been supplanted by another. No longer was she an inspiration to him--or so it seemed. In his studio, Alex showed her beautiful drawings of a willowy, young woman lifeless like a store mannequin wearing a stupid floral hat! His eye was cool, critical and professional in assessing his own work. Never once did he express any emotion about the woman--this new muse. And he seemed oblivious to the pain he was causing her, the rejected muse. At first, she felt jealous fury boiling up inside, but then felt foolish. She tried to reason...
Memories came flooding back. Days later, when they made love in Venice she realized that his art was his true mistress. He had already made love to her with his drawings made in his cabin after dinner. Could such a man ever lie--flesh and blood--beside her as her lover? She had no answer and suspected neither did he. After that, they parted for a time...

~~~

Night Crossing

Third in Trilogy of Remembrance

By Mary E. Martin

After two such intriguing books, The Drawing Lesson and The Fate of Pryde, (Click over for my reviews if you haven't read), I was almost prepared for what happens in the final book.What I didn't expect, however, was that the last book brought the total Trilogy into such an illuminating and, yes, I have to say, inspirational conclusion.

While readers met Rinaldo, a jealous artist and Pryde, a deceiving patron of the arts in the first two novels, the third brings, you might say, the fate of Wainwright into his own special light...

And it all comes about by a fantastic set of characters Alex was fated to meet...

Do you believe in fate--or. what I call God Incidents? Could this story have ever been true in this world? I don't know, but I like to think so.... The key thing is that, for Alex, he had always been looking for, and open to his light. I've had moments of being open to it...but never really chose to constantly be aware--to search for it... Perhaps there is still time for all of us...

"What on earth's wrong?" I asked.
Alex groaned. "Good God! There's a message
from Daphne. She was coming  to my studio to
go out for dinner." Again he slapped his fore-
head, a gesture becoming all too frequent.
"And I completely forgot! What an idiot I am!"
Rapidly he called her number. No answer.
He left his message. "Daphne! Forgive me! I'm
so stupid. I'm at Jamie's looking at a fantastic
painting...no...no that doesn't matter. I should
have remembered. Please call me back and I'll
meet you wherever you are right now..."
He shook his head and spoke sadly, "It's
not the first time, Jamie...She deserves someone
much better than me...I get so wrapped up
in this world of mine that I forget the most
important people..."
~~~

Alex and Daphne had become close but two things happened that caused confusion, for both of them...

Alex had been so excited about heading out on one of his adventures and wanted to include Daphne--taking her to Paris with him... But, as always, Alex had not been able to gets his words right with her... He had talked of their going to Paris, of togetherness, only to then announce it was a business trip. Daphne was crushed for she had been hoping for exactly what Alex had presented at first--a romantic trip and perhaps more...

Daphne withdrew and later left the message she had to return to New York. As an aside, while she was there, her partner began telling her of his feelings--feelings she'd never known he'd had... But, she decided it was maybe time for her to consider what he was offering. 

For Alex, the adventure started, first from just watching the skies...

The jewels in the sky seemed to be forming, taking on a shape...


"Do you ever wonder, Mr. Waitwright, what's in those empty spaces?...You know, in a painting, you think there's nothing but air between a horse in a meadow and the barn but is that really true? Is it really empty?"

His art was renowned for its light. A magical sense of the beyond enthralled his viewers. Sure some marvelous secret of life must lie just on the other side of his fields and streams. With his brushstrokes, he transported viewers into the beyond where they could imagine eternity upon eternity. Quickly, he painted over the farmer who seemed angry at being awakened into existence. Satisfied with his handiwork, Alexander thought, Can the light shine through something new--not physical objects or people?
In his tiny kitchen, he put on a pot of coffee. From the corner of his eye, he caught some movement--a shadow or shifting shape dancing on the wall. As he turned toward the shadows, his mouth grew slack. His breath deepened and a blissful, innocent smile spread across his face. His legs grew weak and he staggered toward his vision as if drawn by irresistible but unknown forces.

As presented by Jung

Against the tall windows, now blackened in the night, a golden egg rose up, shimmering with beautiful gems--diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds which sparkled like the purest sunlight. Turning slowly, this marvelous object throbbed with life as if it contained all the energy in the world. His lips parted and he spoke three words--"the cosmic egg."
It was perhaps three feet in height and, at its widest point, two feet in breadth. It rotated majestically several times and then drifted upward toward the ceiling. Although stunning, it was as insubstantial as a rainbow and began to dissipate before his eyes.
Awe struck, he stood motionless. The cosmic egg was the seed heralding new creation. Everything necessary was at hand and contained within that egg. For eons, it had tantalized humankind with the secret mystery of creation, life and death and the promise of immortality...

!!!

 

Of course, Alex immediately began to sketch the egg that had appeared in his vision... But not too long after, Jamie called about something he'd found in Pryde's files. Alex was astounded and then greatly excited to see that it was a picture of exactly what he'd seen as The Cosmic Egg. If somebody else had seen it, Alex just had to meet him... You know, if I had been Alex in such an exciting situation, I, too, would have forgotten about a dinner date... You can see where my sympathies lie...

Another jolt caused the old
woman to topple directly
onto the seat across from
Alex. He hoped it was not her
place...His first impression
was that she was ever so
slightly unkempt. A hem lung
down and a coat button was
loose. Under her arm, she
clutched a ragged, rolled up
newspaper leading him to
speculate that she was a
reader of the more
sensational tabloids. He
opened his own newspaper and
tried to concentrate.
"Sir?"
~~~

The first  encounter with fate was when he received a confirmation for a ferry trip in his name...which he had not scheduled... At this point, I have to stop and say that the steps which followed had me totally enthralled. I'm still not sure whether somebody was actually behind things, but it was very clear that there was a guiding force...

For the next thing that happened was that he met a woman on the train as he began his planned trip to Paris... Or, I should say, two women and one child. The mother and child he had helped when the child had hidden and was lost in a place where there were bats! The second was an older woman who sat down opposite Alex's seat on the train.

By now readers know that, instead of ignoring the woman, Alex kindly responded to Miss Trump's overtures. What he didn't realize, though, that he would soon be so engrossed in her story, that she soon presented him with strong feelings for her...
The young woman provided entertainment on the ferry and had done a Tarot read for the old woman, while Alex had asked, instead, for a song and listened to her wonderful voice singing Barbara Alan...

A huge, rogue wave roared up like an angry
tongue lashing the ferry broadside. For long
moments, the vessel seemed suspended in a
silent mid-air space, threatening to capsize.
A deathly groaning and an eerie whistling
came and they were flung downward. Water
rushed onto the deck nearly sweeping the
tables and chairs overboard. But then the
ferry heaved upward finally righting itself...
~~~

That was when the four of them all found themselves on the same ferry and in neighboring cabins... At least until the storm! The location was on a low deck. Alex quickly took action to save them, first carrying the young child to the top and handing him over to be placed in the lifeboat.

Going back down under protest, he first tried to save Miss Trump, but the woman refused,
indicating that Alex should save the mother so that her child would not become motherless...

Miss Trump was the only casualty...but her death set up the main story that will thrill and delight readers. One that is both memorable and heartwarming...one surely designed just as it should be by fate...???

I loved this one and added it to my new list of personal favorites for 2015! Do check out this Trilogy of Remembrance. It will surely stir your own memories, your inner life's thoughts, and provide inspiration to see and acknowledge what fate might have in store for you... Highly recommended. Mary E. Martin has presented a brilliant trilogy which could not have been anticipated by blurbs, front covers... Readers must experience it! Kudos For an Incomparable Conclusion!


GABixlerReviews

Enjoy a Taste of the Ending Wonders...

Mary E. Martin is the author of two award-winning trilogies: The Osgood Trilogy and The Trilogy of Remembrance. She grew up in Toronto, Canada, where she lives with her husband. They have three children and two grandchildren.

The Fate of Pryde, Second in Extraordinary Psychological Suspense Trilogy by Mary E. Martin!

"Good Evening Mr. Helmsworth. Mr. Pryde would very much like to be introduced to Mr. Wainwright."
I nodded enthusiastically and hunted Alex down...
(Jamie Helmsworth is Alexander Wainwright's associate and narrator of the stories)
"Alex?" I tugged on his sleeve. "Jonathan Pryde is here and wants to speak with you."

 Alex accompanied me to the foyer. Jonathan stepped forward flanked by Fizzy and another man."
Mr. Pryde," I began rather formally. "I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Alexander Wainwright.
Alex took Pryde's hand. "Thank you for coming this evening. I understand we have business to discuss.."
Pryde smiled warmly. "It's a very great honor sir. I have admired your work for many years particularly for its visionary quality...."
"May I ask you a question, Mr. Wainwright?"
"Of course..."

Painting Selected by BRH

"The River of Remembrance is your first painting in which the human figure is the focus. How on earth did you paint such numinous figures in such a dramatic landscape?"
At first, Alexander was at a loss for words. Jonathan had touched upon the problem that had bedeviled Alex for much of his career. Why can't I paint the human figure in my landscapes with the same light emanating from within? His painting on the next wall, The Hay Wagon, had stunned the art world with the sheer beauty of its light, which promised other worlds to behold. This light came from within the landscape itself--comprised of a broken-down hay wagon in front of a dilapidated barn, behind which an old horse limped about. Then, just last year, he began to paint ugly, misshapen creatures on a beautiful landscape. The trolls, he called them. Until The River of Remembrance, Alex had been unable to create the same glorious light emanating from the human figure and for this, he suffered greatly.

Alex had not replied. Pryde looked closely at him. "Forgive me if my question is impertinent, but I sense there's been a major change in the painter of those two works of art...

Alexander paused on the top step of the National Gallery. He loved the sweep below him of Trafalgar Square with the fountains and mermaid lit up and with Nelson's Column rising ever upward into the night sky. Although he had lived most of his life in London, the city remained forever magical to him. He breated in deeply and tried to remember every detail his eye perceived from the church portico of St. Martin's in the Field far to the left and Canada House to the right.

Beyond--underneath or behind--each detail pulsed a vibrant energy, which assured him he was a part of a wonderful creation. That lovely sense was so often lost in the din of daily life, but sometimes, when he least expected it, it was there filling him with sublime joy. When he saw the world this way he knew his muse was not far off...

~~~

The Fate of Pryde:

The Second in the Trilogy of Remembrance

By Mary E. Martin

It was a routine introduction of an artist with a possible patron that begins this novel, but what Martin presents to readers is so well hidden... Reading along of normal actions within the art world may seem boring for some, tedious to others...But what that means is that you are missing the sense of mystery, the touch of the mystic and even sometimes the paranormal that surrounds this amazing merge of a fight between good and evil that will not only keep you in suspense until nearly the end but will have readers totally on edge wondering--What in the world is going on...

While the first novel certainly introduces readers to the artists' world, the main characters and a sense of how the main character, Alex Wainwright, lives--somewhat in a cocoon of aloneness where he interacts with none, other than his muse--sometimes to the detriment of some of his personal relationships. The Fate of Pryde is much darker, devious. Think Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, except that Jonathan Pride is fully aware of his actions, spending his life trying to accept and justify his two faces...

Throughout the novel, readers meet individuals who speak against Pride, mainly wondering where his money is coming from and, even more, how he's choosing to spend it.  He meets Alexander, however, in his own world--art, beauty, and his own contributions and quickly wins him as an interested participant in his next, desired project...

He wants to commission Alexander Wainwright to move into the creation of stained glass windows! Something about which he knows nothing and has never even thought of as a medium...

Alex was intrigued enough to consider the project, even to the extent of exploring how the craft was done and what materials he personally would need to use. I was intrigued, more, with why an award-winning artist would take a challenge to start anew in an entirely alien medium...

At about the same time period in the novel, Peter, Alex's friend, is involved with trying to adjust to his mother's loss of her husband and moving into a personal care facility. Alex, on the other hand, was invited to Pryde's home where he discovered that his home had also become somewhat of a personal care facility. Except that the individuals were all brilliant individuals who had been invited to Pryde's home...and wound up staying... They stayed years, still claiming they were free to leave at any time. Fortunately, Alex's own strength immediately put him on alert as he meets with other "guests" and recognizes their former fame in their professional fields...

Except readers discover that both of these facilities have a fourth floor...in which many are imprisoned.  A strange comparison between Peter's and Alex's responses may make readers sit up and take notice, especially if you have family members in this type of retirement home...

Alex accepts the commission for the windows and one by one he has visions of what he would create for the windows... One of the issues that readers will be taunted by is the whole matter of whether or not people have had visions... What role this has in questions which arise from the title of the novel is ever present as we read, but even at the end we are left wondering... Alex had had visions before, which normally led to something inspirational in his work... But was that the same for all the people who were now living in Pryde's home?

This second novel is so complex, you will need to be alert to any nuance, no matter how small an issue it might be...Clues are hung tantalizing, caught only if the reader has fully engaged and entered into the novel. If you don't you will miss a brilliantly plotted story menacingly dark--but in the midst of the natural light that comes from the main character, Wainwright, a man who seems almost like an anti-hero but shares his light through not only his artistic endeavors, but in his dignity, grace and personality.

Enter into this fantastic novel openly willing to allow it to possess you, to watch a world that contradicts anything you may believe is real...only to face our own reality at book's end...


GABixlerReviews

MARY E. MARTIN graduated in Honours History at the University of Toronto and in law at Queens University, Kingston. She practised law for thirty years in Toronto. She and her husband live in Toronto and have three adult children, one grandson and one granddaughter.

Note: This author has a high presence across the Internet and provides pics of characters, etc...Do check to find her wherever you may visit! She's bound to be there sharing!