BEAUTIFUL SACRIFICE

Archaeologist Lina Taylor is a specialist in Mayan culture, with a stellar professional resume and a personal history that links back to ancient Mayan royalty rooted in sacred lands in Mexico. 

When some spectacular artifacts surface, then disappear, she teams up with a sexy, mysterious acquaintance who has knowledge of and affinity to the Mexican culture but also knows his way around a gun. As she and Hunter Johnston track down leads and uncover the existence of an eerie, shadowy, murderous figure known only as El Maya, they will follow a bloody trail across Mexico that brings them to her ancestral home, a frightening cult worship of a furious god, and a dangerous, demanding blood thirst that rests in the hands of a madman who interprets the end of the ancient society’s calendar as the portent of a new Mayan Empire. Lina and Hunter race against time and insanity, fighting criminals, superstition and fear, while giving into a deep, electric attraction that might just lead to a forever-love—if they can stay alive. Romantic suspense-favorite Lowell offers a generally intriguing, mostly fast-paced story set against the backdrop of Mexican warlords and the mythical end-of-the-world Mayan calendar. 

With a twisting plot, and some moments of inspired dialogue and sizzling romance, this book will keep most readers engaged, but some pacing and plotting missteps keep it from being great—not Lowell at her finest.