The Prisoner of Paradise (Painted Souls Book 1) by Rob Samborn – Review by Jennifer Gordon

The Prisoner of Paradise by Rob Samborn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A gripping dual timeline, historical thriller, set in Venice, both in the present day and in the 16th century. I was hooked from page one by this novel and could not put the book down! Nick and Julia O’Connor are having a trip of a lifetime in Venice, when Nick hears a haunting voice coming from the world’s largest oil painting, ‘Tintoretto’s Paradise’. Nick believes the voice is that of his soul mate, a 16th century woman, from his previous life. Whilst Nick is adamant that the voice is real, Julia worries that her husband is suffering from a delusion. Nick’s infatuation with the past starts to effect his relationship with Julia, as he is determined to destroy the painting in order to liberate his soul mate. Nick discovers a religious order going back centuries who developed a way of extracting people’s souls, which they then imprison in Paradise.
The order have judged thousands of souls, sentencing then to eternal purgatory. In order for Nick to free his soul mate, he must destroy the painting. However, by freeing her he would also be allowing all the other souls to be reborn, and the order will never let that happen. This has a intriguing storyline which I thoroughly enjoyed, at the heart of this thriller is a love story which lasts for centuries. The descriptive narrative really brought the setting of Venice to life both in the present and in the past. The added historical details made me feel I had been transported to the 16th century, and the author has obviously done his research. The dual timeline element worked well, and I felt engaged with the main characters. The plot kept me happily turning the pages, and I definitely recommend this novel.

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