The Lafayette Sword

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 show more there are more coming in this series in translation. show less

This is just a fun, page turner. The story zips along at a frenetic pace, and the plot is intriguing enough to keep you guessing and to keep you wanting to read more. You don't get much in terms of character development or motivation of the protagonists, but that's all secondary to delving into Masonic lore, which I personally am a sucker for.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher for an unbiased review.

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 show more 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! show less

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

This book revolves around the Freemasons and the desire for alchemists to make gold from metal. It starts off with two strands to the story, the murder of two Freemasons (one an initiate) in modern day France; the second strand takes place in 1355 with the execution of a man by fire observed by one Nicholas Flamel. In the book a French policeman and Freemason seeks to hunt down the killer and to do this he must discover the reason for the murder, this takes him across Paris and eventually onto New York.

The book is fast paced, with short chapters in the main, until the end, alternating between the modern day story in France and the back story which took place in the mid 14th show more Century and centres around the well known alchemist Nicholas Flamel. Good links within it are made between alchemy and the American Revolution, as well as taking the reader to the two biggest monuments in France and New York. The book held my interest throughout, and I certainly learnt a lot more about Gold! As the book marched towards its culmination the tension was ratcheted up and I felt I couldn't put the book down as I had to find out how the story ended. I thoroughly recommend this book and look forward to reading the first book in the series and hope more books in this series are translated into English. Despite being the second book in the series, it reads very well as a standalone and I didn't feel I'd lost anything by not having read the first one.

I was given an advance copy of this book for a fair and honest review. show less

The Lafayette Sword is a Masonic puzzle passed through the centuries. The sword itself simply adds to the clues; the story itself concerns that fanciful notion of alchemy and the philosopher's stone -- material that can transmute any metal into gold.

This novel bounces back and forth between modern times and 14th century France. Two modern Freemasons are murdered, and the killer shows every sign of being a high-level member in the cult. Antoine Marcas, a Mason and an investigator with the Paris police, is engaged as a cop, as a friend of one of the murdered, and as a Freemason himself. In parallel, we are also told the story of Nicolas Flamel, a scribe in Paris in 1355. Flamel is brought in by a torturer to record the confession of a show more young lady who was traveling companion to a Jew burned at the stake. The Jew had a book, a book that contained the secretes of alchemy -- just what a broke France needed to continue during the 100 years war with England.

The story is nicely paced, engaging in both timelines. We wind up in familiar territory, the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty; both which have been the source of Masonic intrigues in other novels involving this cult. The translation from its original French is superb. This would make a good script for an crime thriller. show less

Fast paced book that is almost very good. It moves along well has just enough character detail and a good story. Like many thrillers it keeps a little outlandish and trite at times but that doesn't detract from the story.

I enjoyed the story but not the reading. Translating is a thankless job and I do not mean to be hard on Anne Trager but I kept feeling I was watching a foreign movie with subtitles. The language was technically correct but the reading enjoyablity suffered. Like a cluttered closet, I itched to clean it out and reorganize.