The Medusa Amulet by Robert Masello (2011)

My colleague and fellow avid reader Michele L. told me about "the most random reference to Scranton" she ever came across in a novel--Robert Masello's latest book The Medusa Amulet.

Check out the description below and you'll see why:

"In this new spine-tingling thriller by Robert Masello, the critically acclaimed and bestselling author of Blood and Ice, a brilliant but skeptical young scholar named David Franco embarks on a quest to recover a legendary artifact: a beautifully carved amulet that was created by Benvenuto Cellini, the master artisan of Renaissance Italy. What begins as a simple investigation quickly spirals into a twisting, turning tale of suspense and intrigue, a race against time that carries Franco across continents and centuries in a desperate search for this ultimate treasure—and a work of unimaginable power . . . and menace.

Aided only by a beautiful young Florentine with a conspirator’s mind and dark secrets, Franco is soon caught up in a life-and-death struggle from which there is no escape. Relentlessly pursued by deadly assassins and demons of his own, in the end he must confront—and defeat—an evil greater than anything conjured in his worst nightmares."

The two Scranton references appear towards the very end of the novel:

p. 437 "Finally, the professor in front decided to pick up where he'd left off. 'I used to teach art in Scranton,' he said, and the group seemed to breathe a sigh of relief."


p. 439 "'That statue represents the apogee of Cellini's career,' the professor from Scranton was declaiming, and quite happily."

The Medusa Amulet is available to borrow from the Lackawanna County Library System; to place a hold, click here.

Much thanks to the ever-amazing Michele L. for this reference.