I found this a good enough light read, well paced and not completely implausible (although you do have to ignore the lead character making some major choices without very clear or plausible motivation). The historic storyline dragged in the first half; there simply wasn't enough plot to justify the word count. The London setting is well drawn without getting overblown. Don't expect too much and you may well enjoy it. ( )

Sadly, this was a difficult read. It had a very slow start and I struggled to stay focused. The two parallel storylines were okay, but I found the modern day one with Ellie far more interesting although I was continually shaking me head at the stupid mistakes she kept making. When it came to the 12th century story, I soon found myself skimming those sections as they didn't hold my attention at all. Personally, "The Lazarus Vault" felt like a Dan Brown wannabe which failed. ( )

An enjoyable, fast-paced thriller. It's no Da Vinci Code, but it's of the same genre and has an interesting and original plot.

The story alternates between the present day and the twelfth century, and ties the two parallel stories together nicely towards the end. ( )

This is a "da Vinci genre" book with the usual hunt for the holy grail: there is also a lance ...

There are two different time zones, the 12th century and the 21st century with parallel stories; an interesting concept.

However, all the characters, with the exception of the 21st Century boyfriend, were rather unpleasant people who spent their lives making the wrong choices, mostly with fatal results.

So, OK, there is a cipher. Unfortunately it is necessary to have a knowledge of Norman French in order to solve it and since the original Norman French poem is never presented to us it is not possible to even have an honest try at the solution.

I found my eyes glazing over after a time and only finished it because my copy is in e-book format and I have to get to the last page for the book to consider itself read.

I would say "Don't bother" but if you like blood and guts and some insights into medieval jousting then you might enjoy it. ( )

Dan Brown fans are not fussy about mangled history and disjointed writing, so might enjoy The Lazarus Vault, a story of characters on the run trying to crack a code, with the prize being nothing less than the Holy Grail, hidden in the vaults of an ancient and sinister private bank.

Dual parallel worlds jumping between 2009 and the 12th Century rather irritated me, although the skullduggery of the banking world through the ages proved mildly entertaining. Harper is a gifted writer – as evidenced by the brilliant ‘Mosaic of Shadows’: he can do better than this. ( )