Monk Killing and Greek Secret's (The Lost Throne - Chris Kuzneski)

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	The Lost Throne - Chris Kuzneski
Date:	08/06/09 (29 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A throughly enjoyable page turning read

Disadvantages: None at all

When a Monastry high on the hills of a Greek Island is attacked and the occupants are killed there seems to be no reason for the horrid act. Each of the Monks had been beheaded and their bodies thrown from the cliff, taking the secret they'd been killed for their grave. Across Europe in Russia Richard Byrd fears for his life and calls upon the help of ex Special forces operatives Jonathan Payne and David Jones. He is about to discover the location of an ancient treasure but the protectors of the treasure will stop at nothing to prevent its discovery.

This is the second of Kuzneski's novel's I've come across recently and I have to admit that I have thoroughly enjoyed both of them. Having picked up his first novel Sign of the Cross on a 3 for 2 offer I asked my fiancé to get me The Lost Throne for Christmas last year. This is the third in Kuzneski's novels following the adventures of Interpol agent Nick Dial and former American Special Forces agents Jonothan Payne and David Jones.

While this is the third book in the series following these characters I was still quite impressed with Kuzneski's character descriptions. He seems to accept that this will be the first time some people come across his lead characters. Rather than rehash all the information about them he gives you enough information so as not to re hash it all for anyone whose read his previous books but enough to give newcomers a good idea of his leads. He also adds in some new bit of information or background on them to give returning readers a little extra information for having to read the introductions again.

This tactic works well for me and gives a brief recap on the main characters. I've found with similar books that authors just assume you'll remember every detail about the main characters, but the way he does it gives you a nice reminder of who they are. He sees to build his characters well and gives them an easily accessible personality that makes them all incredibly easy to read about. The introduction of the new characters for the purpose of this story works well and again like his leads he seems to have given them a personality and appeal of their own. He makes you interested in the fate of his characters and I feel this makes for a good read.

By making you care about his characters and the plot they've got themselves wound up in it keeps your interest. I found myself on many occasions picking the book up whenever I could, even if I could only fit a couple of pages in. His writing style flows quite easily and draws you into his story making it a pleasure to read his novels rather than a chore. He sticks to the subtly religious subjects and his work could easily be compared to that of Dan Brown and Sam Bourne. I fell however that Kuzneski has found a good formula with his leads that work well and while there are similarities to Brown et all he does stand out on his own very well.

Just like his first novel it seems that Kuzneski has kept up the high standards he set himself in his debut. There is a real feeling that these books would make good movies as well and perhaps it's only a matter of time before we see one of Kuzneski's books making it to the big screen. It is a very addictive read and one of the few books I've read recently that I just couldn't put down. There were no real disadvantages to the book and I think anyone who enjoys the current trend for mystery solving and ancient treasure hunts will thoroughly enjoy The Lost Throne.

Amazon: £4.05
Amazon Marketplace: £0.01
ISBN - 978-0141037073

Summary: The third installment in the Payne and Jones series