Jacques Ravenne

I read the previous book, Shadow Ritual last year and I was thrilled to get the chance to read the sequel to it. If I understand the translation order is this book 4 and the previous book translated is book 2. But, it doesn't matter, this book was easy to get into and you don't have to have read Shadow Ritual before you read The Lafayette Sword.

So how was this book? I do admit that I was a bit less charmed by this book than the previous. It's still an interesting and fast-paced book and the mystery with the Lafayette sword was fascinating. And the historical angle with Nicolas Flamel's POV which gives the reader the clues to the present story was fascinating. However, I found that the story lacked the intensity from the previous book and I missed Jade that Antoine Marcas was teamed up with. I liked their chemistry and just having Marcas, well it felt like something important was missing. However, I did find the alchemy angle fascinating and Flamel POV really intrigued me.

The Lafayette Sword may not have intrigued me as much as the Shadow Ritual did. However, I think that this series is definitely something you should read if you like adventurous treasure seeking books with a deranged killer.

I want to thank Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours for providing me with a free copy for an honest review! … (more)

Two murders, one in Rome and one in Jerusalem brings detective Antoine Marcas and special agent Jade Zewenski, the head of security of the embassy in Rome together. Jade's friend Sophie is killed by three blows to her upper body. Her shoulder, her neck and her head. In the same day a man is killed in the same way in Jerusalem.

Zewinski is in no way pleased about working on the case with Marcas. She doesn't like anything that has to do with Freemason and Marcas is a member of the group. But as they work together they slowly starting to open up to each other.

They discover that the sect Thule is the ones behind the killings, and the sect has a deep hatred for anything Freemason and it seems that Thule is after an ancient Freemason secret.

This is my kind of book. A fast-paced adventure with secrets and mysteries and, of course, an evil old sect. I enjoyed reading this book very much. It was especially nice to have the main characters non-Americans. It feels like the hero in adventure's books often are American and it was nice to have both main characters, French. It was also great to have a female character that's tough and capable of taking care of herself. Even when she's about to be tortured. By the way, this book has a really nasty torture scene. It was also very fascinating learning more about the Freemasons, I didn't know they accepted female member, I thought it was an all boys club.

This was book two in a series of ten books and I'm looking forward to reading the rest if they get translated to English.

I received a copy from the publisher and france book tours in return for an honest review!
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Murder. Torture. Alchemy. Now Antoine has to figure how it all fits as did Nicholas Flamel back in the 1300's. I enjoyed this story. I also enjoyed the entwining of the story from today with the story back in 1300's. I like Antoine and how being a Freemason entwines his whole life. Every time he is involved with a murder there is a Mason connection. It is up to him to determine how it fits and use the clues given to find the murderer. This mystery was good. I was interested from the beginning and interested in how the Masonic symbols were used by the murderer to find what he wanted. I also liked how the history of alchemy and the history of some of the founding members of the lodge Antoine belongs mixed together. A good story and I hope there are more coming in this series in translation.… (more)

Tightly written thriller. Marcas is a Freemason and a cop. He is to help investigate a murder that happened in the French embassy in Rome which has Freemason ties. His partner for the case, Jade, has no use for Masons so he has an uphill battle dealing with her. She comes to rely on him as the case proceeds.

I loved this! I was on the edge of my seat throughout the book. It was a page turner. The characters are good. Marcas and Jade are fun to watch. I liked that Marcas explained different Mason symbols and history as the investigation went on and had influence on the case. As everyone is trying to find the parts needed for the secret, as well as the murder, it turns out not to be what I expected. I cannot wait to read book 2 in the series. I highly recommend this.… (more)