I was really excited about reading this book. Unfortunately Ms. Baron is no Dan Brown. The plot is mediocre, the characters don't engage the reader, the descriptions of various countries in Europe and the Middle East are crude. The author is a former archaeology professor and provides plenty of historical background of places and artifacts, which is one of the few good things about this book.
Unfortunately the historical info is inserted into the story in a very artificial and forced way. In one scene, a character has to carry a suitcase with priceless ancient gold artifacts through a dangerous park frequented by thugs. The people who he considers friends suddenly find excuses not to help him with his precious cargo, but the only thing he asks is why a local church came to be named after a certain saint, creating an opportunity for the author to include a few sentences on local history (completely unrelated to the plot, the golden objects in the suitcase, or anything else in the book)
Unfortunately the historical info is inserted into the story in a very artificial and forced way. In one scene, a character has to carry a suitcase with priceless ancient gold artifacts through a dangerous park frequented by thugs. The people who he considers friends suddenly find excuses not to help him with his precious cargo, but the only thing he asks is why a local church came to be named after a certain saint, creating an opportunity for the author to include a few sentences on local history (completely unrelated to the plot, the golden objects in the suitcase, or anything else in the book)
