Chris Kuzneski: The Lost Throne

Hewn into the towering cliffs of central Greece, the Metéora monasteries are all but inacessible. The Holy Trinity is the most isolated, its sacred brotherhood the guardians of a long-forgotten secret. In the dead of night, the sanctity of the holy retreat is shattered by an elite group of warriors, carrying ancient weapons. One by one, they hurl the silent monks from the cliff-top - the holy men taking their secret to their rocky graves. Halfway across Europe, a terrified academic fears for his life. Richard Byrd has nearly uncovered the location of one of the Seven Ancient Wonders - the statue of Zeus and his mighty throne. But Byrd's search has also uncovered a forbidden conspiracy, and there are those who would do anything to conceal its dark agenda...

An interesting approach to Greek history and the history of the Spartan culture. Another great and enjoyable, pacey read about antiques and lost cultures.

Trisha Ashley: Twelve Days of Christmas

Christmas has always been a sad time for young widow Holly Brown, so when she's asked to look after a remote house on the Lancashire moors, the opportunity to hide herself away is irresistible – the perfect excuse to forget about the festivities. Sculptor, Jude Martland, is determined that this year there will be no Christmas after his brother runs off with his fiancée and he is keen to avoid the family home. Suddenly, the blizzards come out of nowhere and the whole village is snowed in. With no escape, Holly and Jude get much more than they bargained for – it looks like the twelve days of Christmas are going to be very interesting indeed!

What a nice Christmas story! The book started as a great mystery and romance women's fiction book and I was keen to find out more about Holly and Jude. Only, towards the end the story was too predictable and flat. A shame, really, but it still helped to get into the Christmas mood...

Richard & Rachael Heller. The 13th Apostle

36AD: Micah -- Jesus' friend, trusted confidant, and the 13th Apostle -- inscribes a message, upon which mankind's fate would one day be determined. Present day: Internet forensic specialist, Gil Pearson, is recruited to decipher an ancient diary and reveal Micah's hidden message, which may lead to the most mysterious of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Working with the enigmatic Sabbie Karaim, Gil becomes embroiled in an international mystery spanning two thousand years, and for which others would gladly give their lives -- or, more willingly, take his.

This is a great story and interesting theory about Jesus and his 13th Apostle. I liked the pace as well as the philosophical aspects. However, some parts of the storyline were too far-fetched for my liking. It's a good read, but not in the league of some of the other conspiracy stories around....

Chris Kuzneski: Sword of God

Tunnelling deep under one of the most holy cities in the world, an ambitious young archaeologist slowly works her way towards an unthinkable goal. Somewhere ahead is a chamber containing the collected fragments of an ancient scripture, a find of unimaginable significance. Meanwhile, halfway around the world, a covert military bunker holds a macabre secret. An elite special-forces officer seems to have been brutally murdered – but how, and more disturbingly, why? Any hope of solving the mystery rests on the grisly clues that remain. As the race to uncover the truth begins, a plot unfolds that could burn all of civilization in the fires of holy Armageddon. THOSE WHO LIVE BY THE SWORD...

An enjoyable, pacy and exciting read with a lot of humour, and not too gory in its details. Some sections were slightly confusing, e.g. the connection to the Sword of God is not clear to me. But I'll continue to read the remaining books of Kuzneski...