Sometimes, I start reading books and can’t really see myself continuing it. However, once in a while, I pick it back up, and it’s like it changes. It’s now magical, enrapturing, different.

The Eight by Katherine Neville was one such book for me. Recommended to me by my mother, the first time I started reading it, I had no big expectations. Mystery books are practically the Mcdonalds of books. You can find them everywhere, and once finished, they never really leave you satisfied. Despite knowing that, I started it, and inevitably put it down a few days later. I let it sit for a long, long time, almost a full year before really picking it up again. This time, I was waiting at an airport, and felt like I should be doing something productive. I pulled out The Eight, and tried to get back into it, but quickly realized I was going to have to start again from the beginning.

This time, it wasn’t just another mystery book. It ignited feelings of excitement for reading that I have not felt from a book in a long time. It was suddenly the most interesting book I had read in maybe years. When I picked that book up again, I didn’t realize I wouldn’t be able to put it down until I was done. I was walking through the airport, using my peripherals to avoid running into people whilst reading this book. My favorite thing about the story was how the book splits itself into two different time periods, allowing the book to explore different elements, and it keeps the reader interested in what Neville is writing.

In The Eight, Catherine Velis is a computer expert in the early 70’s, one of the first women to be so. However, she does not let people, especially the men in her field push her down, and this lands her in some trouble, ending with her being sent off to Algeria on an assignment. Before she leaves, though, she winds up in a bit of trouble involving a soviet, a bicycle, and the game of chess.

But back in 1788, Mireille de Remy has just left France’s Montglane Abbey with her cousin Valentine, the two holding onto a treasure so great that the whole of the French court are willing to spill blood to obtain it. They are to keep it a secret, but how can they when the entire country of France is about to be thrown into a bloodbath, leaving the two separated and easy prey for those who wish to use them?

Now, the way that Neville uses time to illustrate the different aspects of the story is one of the most notable parts of the story. She switches between the French Revolution and the early 1970’s smoothly, keeping the parts interesting enough that the switches don’t impede the experience whatsoever. The two coincide well, allowing you to follow aspects of the story easily, and seeing Catherine learn of events from the Revolution that one is simultaneously reading about, is an experience that you won’t find elsewhere.

The incorporation of historical events also caught my eye. Almost every single person in the French Revolution part of the book is real, and most of the actions of the characters and the consequences of those action have actually happened. This, especially for history buffs, is a fun kind of bonus part of the book, as you can relate the actions of the fictional characters to real life.

Overall, The Eight is a book that--at first--I wasn’t expecting much from. Promises of a fantastic story from my mom aren’t always the kind of reviews that are the most trustworthy, or the ones I try to listen to. However, this time, listening to her recommendation absolutely payed off, as I was taken on a literary journey that reawakened a love for reading that has been slumbering inside of me for a few years. Generally, this is a book that will pleasantly surprise maybe even the most stubborn of readers, convincing those who, like myself, had sworn off mystery stories, preferring to stay comfortable in their fantasy stories and romance novels, that sometimes, a good story can be found right in history, but in the parts you’d never think to look.