Product DescriptionPraised by writers from Clive Cussler to Sue Grafton, Gayle Lynds has emerged as a leading star of suspense fiction. Her bestselling debut novel "Masquerade" was hailed as "gloriously paranoid, immensely satisfying" "(The Los Angeles Times)." Now Lynds brings the international thriller to an electrifying new level with this bullet-fast tale. While giving a gala performance at London's Royal Albert Hall, blind concert-pianist Julia Austrian's sight returns as mysteriously as it disappeared ten years earlier when she was struck by a rare psychological disorder. But her euphoria shatters when she witnesses her mother's murder -- a trauma that hurls her back into her dark and lonely world. Blind, yet the only person who can identify the killer, Julia abandons her celebrated life, regains her sight through hypnosis, and joins maverick CIA analyst Sam Keeline to piece together a series of seemingly random acts that form a vast and terrifying puzzle that threatens America's political system.Review"Compelling." -- Allan Folsom"Eloquent." -- Michael Connelly"A cyclone of a thriller." -- Elizabeth Lowell"Nonstop action, roller-coaster thrills..." -- "The Los Angeles Times""Readers won't be able to put this one down." -- Tess Gerritsen"A breathless, pulse-pounding ride....From London to New York, "Mosaic" takes us on an adventure of a lifetime." -- "The Literary Times""Writers Write""Mosaic" is a fast-paced, suspenseful thriller with enough plot twists and turns to satisfy even the most jaded reader. The subplot about the stolen Nazi treasure is intriguing and the action never stops. Another complex, exciting and very readable tale from the author of "Masquerade.""Library Journal" The excitement of the chase and the deviousness of both sides are satisfying. Fans of Robert Ludlum, Linda Howard, and Tami Hoag will find this an exciting read."Murder Ink" [A] winner...Part Gothic, part political thriller, and all action, this novel is every bit as exciting as its predecessor "(Masquerade)." I can't wait for Lynds' next one.The Literary Times A breathless, pulse-pounding ride...From London to New York, "Mosaic" takes us on an adventure of a lifetime with enough twists and turns to keep the plot going full steam ahead until the very last page.From Publishers WeeklyA punchy prologue to this disappointing romantic thriller pits ex-spy Sam Keeline, psychosomatically blind concert pianist Julia Redmond Austrian, and her peppery grandfather, Lyle Redmond, against her wealthy, wicked Redmond uncles. The plot coils around the final four days of Uncle Creighton's race for the U.S. presidency, during which Julia suddenly regains her sight but loses it again after witnessing a horrendous crime. Two mysteries are buried in the heart of this overcomplicated story: What originally caused Julia's blindness? And what happened to Russia's famed Amber Room, a treasure from the Winter Palace that disappeared from a Nazi train at the end of WWII and for which Sam, Julia's love interest, has long searched? Lynds (Masquerade) writes splendid action scenes, but though she expertly rides the roller coaster of Julia's alternately blind and seeing states, the off-again on-again affliction is hard to believe. Clever twists keep the fast-paced plot going for a while, but eventually it's weighed down with too many characters and too much repetition.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Chapter 17:58 PM, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3LONDON, ENGLANDJulia Austrian was blind. Her blindness wasn't caused by birth defect, nor by tragic accident. Instead it was almost as if the hand of God -- or perhaps Satan -- had reached into her bedroom while she'd slept and squeezed the life from her eyes. Her blindness had no known physical cause, the doctors had told her. It was a psychological problem: She was terrified of her audiences.She'd never gotten used to being blin