The Book of Air and Shadows

Original title: The Book of Air and Shadows
Author: Gruber, Michael
Publisher: New York, NY: William Morrow, 2007 (hardcover)
This thriller features an intellectual property lawyer, a cache of 17th century letters and a previously unknown
literary work by William Shakespeare. This novel bears comparison with What Time Devours (2009), a thriller by A.J. Hartley.

The Bellini Madonna

Original title: The Bellini Madonna
Author: Lowry, Elizabeth.
Publisher: New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009.
A debut novel, this novel's protagonist, down-and-out art historian Thomas Lynch, does not sound very likeable. He's on a quest for a vanished painting of the Madonna by the Italian artist Giovanni Bellini and ends up at the home of, so he believes, its last owner.

Codex 632

Original title: Codex 632: The Secret Identity of Christopher Columbus: A Novel
Author: Santos, José Rodrigues dos; translated from the Portuguese by Alison Entrekin.
Publisher: New York: William Morrow, 2008.
First published in Portugal in 2005 as O Codex 632, this novel references several archives and historical manuscripts, all of which the author assure us, exist, including Codex 632 of the title. The author attempts to solve the mystery of Christopher Columbus' true identity. Unfortunately, the book reads more like a journalistic expose than a novel. I only managed to finish it because I wanted to read all the references to archives.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Original title: Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Original movie release date: January 23, 2009; DVD release date: May 12, 2009
In this prequel movie starring Bill Nighy as the vampire king Viktor, there's a scene where Tannis (Steven Mackintosh), one of the vampire leaders while vacating their stronghold from an overwhelming werewolf attack, is attempting to retrieve scrolls from what appears to be an archives or office chamber. To Tannis Viktor angrily says word's to the effect, You don't have time to collect your precious scrolls.

The Illuminator

Original title: The Illuminator
Author: Vantrease, Brenda Rickman
Publisher: St. Martin's Press, 2005
Novel about a 14th century (medieval) manuscript illuminator.

The Book Of God And Physics: A Novel of the Voynich Mystery

Original Title: The Book Of God And Physics: A Novel of the Voynich Mystery
Author: Enrique Joven
Publisher: William Morrow, May 5, 2009 (hardcover)
Considered the world's most mysterious manuscript, the Voynich Manuscript, named after its discoverer, is the subject of at least three novels published early in the first decade of the 21st century. The manuscript is preserved in  Yale University's Beinecke Library.

The Lost Symbol

Original Novel Title: The Lost Symbol
Author: Dan Brown
Publisher: New York: Doubleday, September 15, 2009

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Given that Brown returns to familiar ground with his heroic professor Robert Langdon from Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code, I think it's safe to assume that this novel will contain references to museums and archives.

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