Cry to Heaven is the best of all of Ms. Rice's novels. The amount of research that went into developing the vivid backdrop of Naples, Rome, and Venice must have been enormous. She paints the time period so clearly you can hear the choirs, smell the waters, and feel the vibrations of the harpsicord. The unsual topic of the Castrati is the most interesting, however. Very few people outside of Opera scholars have ever even heard of the castrated boys that made up the great Operatic houses from 1200 to the turn of the 20th century. The lost majesty of their voices is reflected in the rich work Ms. Rice has graced us with.

Shannon