A leisurely but entertaining finale to a rewarding treasure-hunting series.
In this conclusion to an adventure trilogy, two intrepid friends comb western Asia for the legendary holy robe of Jesus.
In years past, writer Granger Lawton has sought fortunes with his treasure hunter best friend, Bobby McAllister. While the rewards have been sizable, Lawton has never liked the near-death experiences that seem to accompany their escapades. But McAllister assures Lawton that his latest quest will be risk-free. McAllister wants to find the robe of Jesus. The treasure hunter feels this is his destiny; he was born on Christmas Day. Lawton, McAllister and his wife, and assorted bodyguards and archaeologists sail to places like Jerusalem and Istanbul for leads on the robe’s location. Sadly, the danger Lawton hoped to avoid finds the group, as one team member winds up with a bullet in the head. Meanwhile, retired American cop Frank Kipper has eyes on the expedition. He may be more invested in vengeance, as he blames McAllister for his niece’s death years ago and an injury that “resulted in his early retirement from law enforcement.” The already arduous task of tracking down a religious artifact becomes increasingly precarious, especially with a mole planted by Kipper on McAllister’s team. While this novel showcases less action than earlier installments, Ferguson makes up for it in suspense. For example, Lawton suspects a team member’s suicide is actually a second murder and that someone is furtively stunting his attempts to investigate it. Armed religious zealots also prove a menace as the group seemingly gets close to discovering the robe. The author livens up the tale with Lawton and McAllister’s constant but often affectionate bickering, which returning readers will surely expect. Although this story is the series’ most deliberately paced, it lingers on stunning scenery, including in Istanbul: “From the Dolmabahce Palace to the green parks and imperial pavilions of Yildiz Palace…ornate and marble facades” were reflected “in the swiftly moving water.” Furthermore, Ferguson delivers a satisfying ending to both this installment and the trilogy.
A leisurely but entertaining finale to a rewarding treasure-hunting series.Pub Date: June 11, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5255-4820-8
Page Count: 486
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
A vivid, exciting page-turner from one of our most interesting authors of historical fiction.
When a man accused of rape turns up dead, an Early American town seeks justice amid rumors and controversy.
Lawhon’s fifth work of historical fiction is inspired by the true story and diaries of midwife Martha Ballard of Hallowell, Maine, a character she brings to life brilliantly here. As Martha tells her patient in an opening chapter set in 1789, “You need not fear….In all my years attending women in childbirth, I have never lost a mother.” This track record grows in numerous compelling scenes of labor and delivery, particularly one in which Martha has to clean up after the mistakes of a pompous doctor educated at Harvard, one of her nemeses in a town that roils with gossip and disrespect for women’s abilities. Supposedly, the only time a midwife can testify in court is regarding paternity when a woman gives birth out of wedlock—but Martha also takes the witness stand in the rape case against a dead man named Joshua Burgess and his living friend Col. Joseph North, whose role as judge in local court proceedings has made the victim, Rebecca Foster, reluctant to make her complaint public. Further complications are numerous: North has control over the Ballard family's lease on their property; Rebecca is carrying the child of one of her rapists; Martha’s son was seen fighting with Joshua Burgess on the day of his death. Lawhon weaves all this into a richly satisfying drama that moves suspensefully between childbed, courtroom, and the banks of the Kennebec River. The undimmed romance between 40-something Martha and her husband, Ephraim, adds a racy flair to the proceedings. Knowing how rare the quality of their relationship is sharpens the intensity of Martha’s gaze as she watches the romantic lives of her grown children unfold. As she did with Nancy Wake in Code Name Hélène (2020), Lawhon creates a stirring portrait of a real-life heroine and, as in all her books, includes an endnote with detailed background.
A vivid, exciting page-turner from one of our most interesting authors of historical fiction.Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2023
ISBN: 9780385546874
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Aug. 12, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
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