By Dan Brown

In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces . . . Dante’s Inferno.

Against this backdrop, Langdon battles a chilling adversary and grapples with an ingenious riddle that pulls him into a landscape of classic art, secret passageways, and futuristic science. Drawing from Dante’s dark epic poem, Langdon races to find answers and decide whom to trust . . . before the world is irrevocably altered.

Dan Brown has a special place in my heart. I know he’s one of those authors you either love or you Hate with a capital H. But I personally love him. My reading of The DaVinci code all those years ago turned me on to some of my favorites and stories I’ve read to-date. For me, nothing beats a good, fast-paced thriller with decent to good writing, a great plot with twists and turns, and a historical/literary/cultural center that the whole hinges on. Case in point: Inferno revolves around Dante’s Inferno.

I took a class on Dante when I was in college so this was fun shaking some of the dust off and remembering what I learned and adding that to my reading experience.

I also enjoyed the villain’s “why” – it’s something I think about a lot and I’m exploring in the book I’m currently writing.

I love a good thriller when I’m getting on an airplane/going on a vacation/sitting on the beach/home sick. I was home sick for this book and feeling quite terrible and that’s what escapist reading is all about: allowing you to escape. I don’t much care if I’ve seen it before or if it feels like the same plot as the other books. I just want to be entertained.

This is Dan Brown at his best. Some might argue his best isn’t nearly good enough, but it’s more than enough for me.