Book collector turned adventurer August Adams returns for a second outing, and while the body count is high, there's never any doubt about who's going to survive – or the inevitable outcome. Bronleewe is growing as a writer, making the dialogue feel less forced and allowing suspense to build in some of the subplots. It's a nice step in the right direction, and Bronleewe should continue to work on his craft, but he's not quite there yet.  

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While historical fiction usually sells well, most of it (this book included) falls into the same trap: the history ends up much more interesting than the fiction. The dialogue smacks of plot-forwarding convenience and the lead character's powers of intuition (after mere hours with the pieces of the puzzle) make you wonder how something so seemingly obvious could have remained a mystery for so many centuries. A decent first effort from an aspiring writer, but lacking.

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