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The Lost Goddess: A Novel

3.12 of 5 stars 3.12 · rating details · 273 ratings · 79 reviews

From the internationally bestselling author of The Genesis Secret comes a seductive, exotic new thriller

In the silent caves beneath France, young archaeologist Julia Kerrigan unearths an ancient skull—with a hole bored through the forehead. After she reveals her discovery, her mentor is brutally murdered. Deep in the jungles of Southeast Asia, photographer Jake Thurby is o...more

Hardcover, 448 pages

Published February 2nd 2012 by Viking Adult (first published January 19th 2012)

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Dec 22, 2011 Justin rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Readers of archaeological thrillers

Shelves: first-reads, thriller

I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy through Goodreads' giveaways program. I'll refrain from any commentary on the formatting or syntax, since it is an unproofed copy and will inevitably change shape come publication.

As the book description outlines, The Lost Goddess takes Julia Kerrigan, an archaeologist working in France, and Jake Thurby, a photographer in Southeast Asia, through a harrowing journey of ancient mysteries, genocide, and murder. It is a thriller, fast-paced, and grim....more

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Feb 02, 2012 Bob Milne rated it 1 of 5 stars

Never having read anything by Tom Knox, I will freely admit that it was more the cover here than the cover blurb itself that attracted my interest here. Unfortunately, what I had hoped would be a fun archaeological adventure (akin to Matthew Reilly), and was even willing to accept as yet another pale imitation of Dan Brown, simply got bogged down by way more religious fanaticism and politics than I cared to wade through.

The Lost Goddess starts out interestingly enough, with an archaeological dis...more Never having read anything by Tom Knox, I will freely admit that it was more the cover here than the cover blurb itself that attracted my interest here. Unfortunately, what I had hoped would be a fun archaeological adventure (akin to Matthew Reilly), and was even willing to accept as yet another pale imitation of Dan Brown, simply got bogged down by way more religious fanaticism and politics than I cared to wade through.

The Lost Goddess starts out interestingly enough, with an archaeological discovery in a French cave, followed by a mysterious assault in the dying artificial light deep underground. For me, that opening scene was the highlight of the novel, which is a definite problem - that level of tension and suspense is simply never recaptured anywhere else within the story. A lot of the action seemed to be mere padding, such as the extended tangent of police chases and family squabbles that nearly brought the middle of the book to a halt.

Where it completely lost my interest, though, was with its heavy-handed approach in equating 'faith' with all that is good and pure in the world, and 'atheism' with all that is evil and cruel. There is actually a line towards the end of the novel where one of the characters calls atheism “a form of dementia . . . a mental illness.” Curious (and more than a little annoyed), I did a little research and stumbled across an interview with Knox where he backs up that sentiment, and actually says "Maybe there is something slightly inhuman about atheism? I certainly believe we are meant to believe, and science shows that our brains are probably “adapted” for faith—we are hard–wired for religiosity."

I could go on, but I won't dignify that kind of narrow minded fanaticism and intolerance with a response . . . not even in the throes of my secular dementia.

It's a shame, because the Hands of Gargas and the Plain of Jars are definitely unique MacGuffins to explore (maybe Rob MacGregor or Steve Perry can 'borrow' them for their Indiana Jones novels), and there are hints of competent writing here. If only the the history hadn't been wasted in info-dumps, and then overshadowed by the social/political commentary and religious fanaticism, it could have been an average thriller.

All-in-all, a rather disappointing read, and an author I certainly don't care to revisit.

Originally reviewed at Beauty in Ruins(less)

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Dec 31, 2011 Tammy rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who enjoy thrillers and horror books

Shelves: first-reads, thriller-suspence

I really enjoyed this book.I guess its pretty fast paced thriller. A thriller with a good dose of horror, archeology, science, mystery. Julia in Champs des Bondons France and Jake in Plain of Jars Cambodia run into tre panned skulls, murder, love, terror to meet up together in Bankok. They not only face horrors unbelieveable but they have to face themselves and mankind. I will definetly keep a lookout for any other book by this author. the book I read was an advanced uncorrected proof, I wasnt s...more

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Oct 03, 2012 Steve rated it 2 of 5 stars

Tom Knox’s latest scientific-historical thriller, The Lost Goddess, creates constant tension through the use of dual narratives that eventually come together in a rather disturbing, and unfortunately, unfulfilling manner.

The book opens with archaeologist Julia Kerrigan excavating the limestone cave systems in a remote part of France. She unearths a hopefully career-defining discovery: ancient skulls marked by one distinct feature. They all have small holes, purposefully drilled in the frontal lo...more Tom Knox’s latest scientific-historical thriller, The Lost Goddess, creates constant tension through the use of dual narratives that eventually come together in a rather disturbing, and unfortunately, unfulfilling manner.

The book opens with archaeologist Julia Kerrigan excavating the limestone cave systems in a remote part of France. She unearths a hopefully career-defining discovery: ancient skulls marked by one distinct feature. They all have small holes, purposefully drilled in the frontal lobe area, prehistoric trepanation. Thus Knox's first narrative revolves around Kerrigan trying to solve the mystery of the skulls, which leads her on a scientific path of discovery that is bisected at every turn with misdirection and murder.

The second narrative arc deals with British photojournalist Jake Thurby, who is traveling through Cambodia on a quest both to find "the story" that will allow him to finally make his mark as a journalist, and to bury a very haunted past. Jake's life is turned upside down when he meets American-educated Chemda Tek. Chemda is a Cambodian attorney who is investigating the truth behind the horrors of the Khmer Rouge. These communist rulers of Cambodia in the 1970's are remembered primarily for their policy of social engineering, which resulted in brutal atrocities including the genocide of over 2 million Cambodians.

Chemda takes Jake to the mysterious Plain of Jars where the remnants of many of these hideous acts can be found. Many of the victims hidden in the plain of jars share the same trepanations as those Kerrigan has found in the ancient French caves. As Chemda and Jake begin to piece together a horrifying secret revolving around neuroscience, human hybrids and ancient history, they become targets of some very powerful people in Asia who want to keep their secrets hidden. Here begins the roller coaster of chase scenes, grand historical revelations and killings that populate the majority of this fast-paced novel.

Tom Knox clearly knows the ingredients for creating this kind of novel that has been perfected by the likes of Clive Cussler, James Rollins, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.

1. One male lead in his 30's but who is emotionally immature and somehow holding on to his teenage angst.
2. Two competing female leads, beautiful and academically inclined.
3. A historical puzzle that potentially leads to supernatural revelations.
4. Modern science to either refute or confirm #3.
Stir together with an ample dose of frenetic chase scenes until plot has reached near boiling point.

The Lost Goddess incorporates all of the above, but fails to reach the heights of his fellow authors. While good genre fiction relies on stereotypes to a certain degree, they succeed when those stereotypes elicit the reader's sympathies. These characters just don't. The formula itself is too transparent to allow us to become invested in them. I wanted to see how everything was solved, how it all came together and that kept me reading. But,while the plot moves along at breakneck speed, and the mysteries involved are intriguing and fairly original, I never really cared what happened to those involved.

The writing at times borders on amateurish. The setting of much of this novel is Cambodia, by all accounts a very beautiful and lush landscape. However, some of the descriptions are overly poetic for this kind of book . Knox also seems to write with his thesaurus at his side and falls into the trap many writers do wherein he substitutes a $100 word for a simple term that would have done the job just as well. This kind of verbal gymnastic serves only to distract the reader.

What I find most intriguing about the novel are the snippets of history detailing the short prominence of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. While I was alive during their reign, I was too young to have ever heard much about them. I knew Pol Pot was a Hitleresque character, but beyond this vague analogy I did not have any real knowledge of the absolute horrors committed there in the 1970’s. Here Knox succeeds as am curious enough to explore this a little further and plan on reading up on this regime in the near future.

So overall, I found the story entertaining and worth reading even though the characters left much to be desired. And most importantly, The Lost Goddess has pointed the way towards future reading adventures, as I now want to know more about this brief period of asian history.(less)

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May 04, 2012 Robin Carter rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-thriller

As per the review by other reviewer this book is "Tom Knox's book Bible of the Dead" under a different name.

That said if you have not read Tom Knox's book Bible of the Dead, then its a good pool side read, the characters are well written, the plot is interestingly implausible. Basically its a good poor mans Indiana Jones crossed with your everyday Dan Brown style conspiracy.

Fun , Lots of action, and no real brain power required.

Worth reading by the pool or on the train, but not for serious readi...more

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Mar 09, 2012 Terri Lynn rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, fantasy-sci-fi

I hated giving this even one star because it doesn't deserve it. What a muddled mess this is. I love well-done sci-fi and fantasy a lot and this is not either.

Bigot alert- the author comes from the point of view that it is preferable to believe in religious mythology and that Atheists are mentally ill and have problems with leadership. As a lifelong Atheist who has dedicated my life to helping others less fortunate including victims of domestic violence, at-risk kids, Downs Syndrome kids and ad...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Dan Goodman rated it 1 of 5 stars

If you don't want spoilers, stop reading my review NOW.

This is a technothriller, using what could be a science fiction idea. And, of course, using it differently. There's a whole lot of action and mystery before the idea is revealed; the story ends not long after the revelation; and the world is put back together the way it had been.

I'd have preferred having the Mystery revealed much sooner; the results of the Evil Plot explored in rather more detail; and the world to have undergone some changes...more

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Feb 04, 2012 Maxie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Lost Goddess By Tom Knox

Lost Goddess by Tom Knox captivated me by the publisher's highlights.

Lost Goddess starts out providing a great deal of knowledge about the legends, cultural and religious history. This is very insightful of this prolific author which gives the reader the enriched prior knowledge necessary to enjoy and relate to the mysteries of the country of Cambodia and the caves in France. Mr. Knox's descriptions of the scenery, people, the pain and suffering in the lives in Lost Godd...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Meghan Tracy rated it 3 of 5 stars

While this story is certainly fast paced and fascinating in a morbid way, I found the ending to be somewhat dissatisfying. For all the talk of cross-breeding and hybridization, I really wasn’t expecting the religious slant it took. I quite enjoyed the pace of the story and found myself periodically subsumed by the action and my need to know that everyone would be okay, but it became somehow tarnished with the twists. Although the pages flew by, I was left with a pervasive feeling of ambivalence...more

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Apr 26, 2012 Paul Pessolano rated it 3 of 5 stars

“The Lost Goddess” by Tom Knox, published by Viking.

Category – Mystery/Thriller

This novel has two different stories that merge into one.

In France, Julie Kerrigan, on an archaeology dig, finds a skull with a hole bored in its forehead. She brings this find to the attention of her mentor Ghislaine Quoinelles. Instead of becoming excited about the find he claims the find is worthless. Several days later Ghislaine is found dead. Julie, feeling her find is a major find starts to investigate.

In Southe...more

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Dec 06, 2011 Daniel rated it 1 of 5 stars

I won this book in Goodreads First Reads.
I am giving this book 1 1/2 stars. The book started out great but in the middle it lost my interest. It revolved around Jake and Chemda in Asia and Julia in France both groups find similar skeletons and start solving the same mystery of what happened in South east Asia in the 70's.
Great premises but the middle just seemed to falter with the telling of this adventure. Jake and Chemda are on the run from a Police and also from her family, which, adds to...more

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Feb 25, 2012 Stalworthy rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is my first review on Goodreads and heck it might be my last, but I had to counter some of the previous reviews. It seems to me everyone admits that this is a fast-paced, exciting thriller with a ravishing setting: and that it is. But a few people then take issue with the ending just because it upsets them - and therefore conclude that the book is unworthy. This is ludicrous. The ending is entirely unexpected and, sure, it is challenging, but what do you want from a book? Something that con...more

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Apr 10, 2012 Matt rated it 3 of 5 stars

The third in the Knox collection had its moments, from interesting to historical, to dull, and rounded out with highly philosophical. We steer clear of the 'hidden messages in the Old Testament' and move on to the horrors of the Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot and ancient mysteries surrounding the area. Toss in some highly disturbing plans that Stalin had for his military and you have the crux of the book.

I found myself interested in most of what Knox discussed, from a historical point of view. Wh...more

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May 20, 2012 Linda rated it 3 of 5 stars

After reading another review of this book, I chose to read it but was disappointed in the book. The whole idea was to link the discoveries of skulls found with holes in their foreheads to brain surgeries carried out by the Khmer Rouge.

In the book, an archaeologist find skulls in an ancient cave in France. Each of the skulls appeared to have a hole through the forehead. Then, murders of her colleagues begin and she feels the killer is after her but doesn’t know why. In Cambodia, a photographer i...more

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Dec 14, 2011 Carol rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ad-his-mys, fiction, first-reads

3.7 stars.
I was drawn to this title because of the archeological sources, then the adventure.
There is a lovely use of words and phrasing, which I really enjoy, ie: "The only exit from childhood is survival", and "scorpion of fear".
The characters deal with trial and hardship and still try to find meaning in their lives.
There was a great comparison of the characters escaping their memories by possibly escaping to another country. These countries are another world far away from my own. They've en...more

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May 19, 2012 Randy Daugherty rated it 4 of 5 stars

In caves of France a young archaeologist Julia Kerrigan finds some skulls, the strange thing is the holes drilled in the middle of their head, she also finds bodies riddled with arrows.
In Cambodia a photographer Jake Thurby is asked to accompany a young attorney activist to the Plain of Jars where they find similar skulls.
What do the skulls in France have to do with the ones in Cambodia? What was the strange reason top French and American scientist were taken to Cambodia in 1976?What were they...more

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Feb 06, 2012 PopcornReads rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: archeology, action-adventure, bestselling-author, cross-cultural, fiction, mysteries-thrillers, politics, suspense, tom-knox

International bestselling author Tom Knox’s latest novel is The Lost Goddess (published as Bible of the Dead in the UK). This story combines archeology, political intrigue and horrors, neurological surgery and exotic locations to provide us with an edge of the seat non-stop thriller. Whether you like action-adventure, international political thrillers, science thrillers, or just highly complex intellectual puzzles, The Lost Goddess is worth checking out. Read the rest of my review at http://popc ...more

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Feb 17, 2012 Katy rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of archaeological thrillers

Recommended to Katy by: NetGalley

Shelves: ebook, galley-for-review, net-galley

Disclosure: I received a free e-ARC copy of this book from netGalley.com in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book!

In France, an archeologist discovers Neolithic skulls in a cave – many of them with holes drilled in their forehead, others with flint arrowheads still stuck in their bones. In Cambodia, in one of the many fields of jars in the Plain of Jars, ancient skulls are re-discovered – all with holes drilled in their foreheads. Now old intellec...more Disclosure: I received a free e-ARC copy of this book from netGalley.com in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book!

In France, an archeologist discovers Neolithic skulls in a cave – many of them with holes drilled in their forehead, others with flint arrowheads still stuck in their bones. In Cambodia, in one of the many fields of jars in the Plain of Jars, ancient skulls are re-discovered – all with holes drilled in their foreheads. Now old intellectuals – former Marxists, all – from all over the world are being murdered horrifically – is there some connection between all the skulls? What was it that the Communist regimes in Russia and Cambodia were trying to accomplish – the Russians in the 1920s, the Cambodians in the 1970s?

This is really a mixed bag. On the one hand, the information about Cambodia and the Pol Pot regime is chilling and quite interesting. The descriptions of the locales were well-done and created lush landscapes in my mind. On the other hand, the author has a real problem with meta-exposition. You know what I mean; it usually goes something like this: “OK, fellow [whatever it is they are doing]; while we are in the car traveling to [wherever they are going] to do [whatever they are doing], tell me the plan again.” At which point the characters have a discussion about things they obviously already know and have planned, but which needs to be provided to the reader somehow. Similarly, characters will say something like: “OK, I know you know all about [event in history/personage of interest] but I’m going to tell you all about it anyway” and proceeds to provide a didactic and annoying lecture. There were also several weird and quite confusing descriptions given, including one case where a water buffalo was “belligerently munching ferns.” *scratches head* How one would belligerently munch ANYTHING, let alone ferns, I have no idea. There was a scene where one of the characters went to a former Soviet province near the Black Sea – it was described as sub-tropical, but cold – with palm trees. My husband, who grew up in the Soviet Union, says that area is warm enough to swim in the sea in January, and sees snow maybe once a year. Obviously this part of the book was not very well-researched; there is mention of the ice cream stands being closed for winter, which is absurd – Russians eat more ice cream in the winter!

To make it even more interesting, there were a series of “umm, what??” moments that were enough to make me make faces like: @@ o.O and other such. For instance, we learn about a Cambodian family who were high-level members of the society – practically royalty – before Pol Pot, and afterward they fled to the US, returning to Cambodia when things calmed down a little. In their house, they display various Hindu and Indian demons. This was very confusing to me. Also, at one point the author mentions something that really blew my mind – picture this: Muslim rappers. O.o right?

However, there is also a great deal of very interesting information; I don’t know how much, if any of it, was based upon factual events, but the historical bits are very interesting and I did learn some new things. Also, there were some really interesting ideas presented about guilt, the conscience, and belief – belief in deities, belief in superstitions, belief in ideologies – just belief – that I found fascinating and while I wish these ideas had been more developed, presented earlier in the book, etc., I still enjoyed that a great deal.

I’m not sure why I was so hyper-sensitive to so many things - I think that normally I would not even notice them. But for some reason, they jumped out and bit me when I was reading this book, and for that reason I found it less enthralling than I perhaps normally would have. However, folks who enjoy thrillers, especially ones based upon historical events and archaeological findings, should enjoy this book.(less)

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Feb 03, 2012 Rhonda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Review: The Lost Goddess by Tom Knox
4 STARS
I have mixed views on this book. Their is a lot of history in here that I really did not know about. All the violence of the past is painful, scary and the numbers are hard to believe. But if we do not learn from the past we will repeat it.
The mystery and suspense some of it or a lot of the science bits I did not totally understand and I really hope that part if pure fiction but know some is probably true.
Their are two parts of the story and how they s...more

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Dec 08, 2011 Chibineko rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: disappointing, male-lead-character, murder, mystery, netgalley, thriller, get-it-from-the-library

If you're looking at this book and expecting a read along the lines of Dan Brown or James Rollins, look elsewhere. While Knox does try to expand on the wildly popular idea of the anthropological thriller, he fails to deliver the compulsive read his fellow authors have managed to bring to the table.

Now I do have to give credit where it's due. Rather than attempt to bring out the same ideas that have already been well trod, Knox manages to find a historical mystery that nobody seems to have writt...more If you're looking at this book and expecting a read along the lines of Dan Brown or James Rollins, look elsewhere. While Knox does try to expand on the wildly popular idea of the anthropological thriller, he fails to deliver the compulsive read his fellow authors have managed to bring to the table.

Now I do have to give credit where it's due. Rather than attempt to bring out the same ideas that have already been well trod, Knox manages to find a historical mystery that nobody seems to have written about yet: the Hands of Gargas and the Plain of Jars, two fascinating anthropological and social finds that are woefully underused in the world of fiction. In this aspect, Knox did a good job since these are things that would make for a good anthropological/sociological thriller.

However, where Knox flounders is in his penchant for overstating to the point of tedium. We're given themes, histories, and info dumps, which I admit are unavoidable in any book, but we're browbeaten by these elements until we're rolling our eyes at the occasionally overly dramatic and unnecessary prose. A good example would be how Knox uses the horrific atrocities that the Khmer Rouge made against the people of Cambodia. These elements are stated time and time again, occasionally at the expense of character development. We're told how communism is bad and how horrible the Khmer Rouge was, meanwhile the main characters seem to be little more than a platform for these views. While these viewpoints are valid, they just kept me from getting as invested in the characters as I'd wanted to be. That the plot jumps between different groups of characters doesn't help out either.

Then there's the ending. I won't elaborate, but I'll just say that the message in the end will be controversial to some readers. If it wasn't as subtle as Gallagher smashing a watermelon, Knox could have gotten away with it to where I don't believe anyone would have complained. Sometimes less is more and a briefer revelation with less exclamation would have driven the point in more than pages of exposition. It just diluted everything and made it more overzealous and annoying than thought provoking, making the ending (and the book in general) more of a chore to read than a joy.

Now, it isn't all bad. There are some good scenes in here and the general idea of the book is pretty darn intriguing. If Knox could have gone back and eased up on the overstating of ideas and focused more on the character development, this would have been an amazing read. It could have had at least 40-60 pages shaved off to make a tighter narrative. It's just that the book failed to deliver on its promise and while it might make for an OK library read, Knox still has a long way to go before he gets to Douglass and Preston levels.

1.7 out of 5 stars

(ARC provided by Netgalley)(less)

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Aug 27, 2012 Connie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was frustrated with this book. I found myself distracted from the story many times by word choice. In the first 50 pages or so, we had oleaginous, plangent, fecundity, stridulating and karst. I guess he likes his thesaurus, but for me it was just random and awkward word choice. The story was interesting enough, but the characters weren't as fleshed out as I would have liked. One character...ah, continued to ah, say "ah" just about every other...ah, sentence. Another distraction. I do think it'...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Doug rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really did'nt care for The Lost Goddess, even though there was the essence of a good story. I simply don't care for Knox writing style. Although the second half of the book was better, I had to struggle to get through the first half. He seems to believe that if one adjective or adverb is good, several would be better and his use of them ranged from florid to totally meaningless. Then there was the pretentious diction - guess we were supposed to be impressed with his perspicacity and erudition....more

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Oct 03, 2012 Linda rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: archaeology-fiction, on-my-ipod

Good: information about a couple of interesting archaeological sites I had never heard of. The Plain of Jars in Laos, and the Hands of Gargas in France. And I guess, if you knew nothing about the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia, you would learn some horrendous stuff
Bad: everything else. Ridiculous plotting, cardboard characters, some fairly unpleasant scenes involving murder and near rape, spiffy stuff about attempts in Europe, Russia, and China to create human/animal hybrids.

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Mar 26, 2012 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

This thriller ties together standing stones in France, the Plain of Jars in Laos, the communism of the Khmer Rouge and animal experimentation. This page-turner isn't particularly well written, but it did prompt me to read more about Pol Pot and the atrocities wreaked in Cambodia. Learning more about that recent history worthwhile and sobering.

I never did figure out who or what the lost goddess was, and whether or not she was found again.

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Mar 27, 2012 Dan Leiske rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book came and went for me. It started out slow for the 1st 50 pages or so then got interesting then became slow again and then interesting and on and on like that. It ended rather odd, with a minor main character that seemed to end the book, instead of the 2 main characters through out. Plus it jumped you bcak and forth across the world from different characters to different characters, which I like, however I like it when the chapters are short when an author does that. these chapters were...more

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Sep 14, 2012 Randy Christopher rated it 1 of 5 stars

I received this from Goodreads as an advanced copy, and I wouldn't normally read this type of book anyhow, so this may be why I couldn't get through this. I tried my hardest to like this book, because I thought the premise seemed interesting. I only got through a quarter of the book and didn't feel anything for the characters, was bored with the plot, and was unimpressed with the writing style. I wanted to learn about Cambodia, but it didn't seem to be presented in a way that I could gather enou...more

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Feb 22, 2012 Stacia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult-suspense

It was not what I expected. I had thought it would be similar to some archaeology/suspense books I have enjoyed in the past. I don't think the science or historical facts are very solid which is a weak point. However, the characters were strong and interesting and the pacing was pretty nonstop - lots of action scenes. Another positive was the descriptions of Southeast Asia - very exotic and colorful. All in all, a pretty good read.

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Mar 09, 2013 Mollie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I can't believe I made it to age 30 without ever hearing of the Khmer Rouge. Because of the history contained in this novel, I would like to have rated it higher. It opened a world of Asian history previously unknown to me. But it reads like a Dan Brown novel; contrived cliffhangers at the ends of chapters, etc. That said, it was quite a page turner and I read the book rather quickly. It made me want to learn more about the era.

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Apr 24, 2012 Pamela rated it 1 of 5 stars

Pretentions of being literature when it's really just a thriller. Knox used the word oleaginous twice in 30 pages to describe the same character. Why not just say he was an untrustworthy man? His overuse of unnecessarily complex words like that put me off. There's nothing wrong with the language, per se, but I found it annoying rather than compelling in this context.

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May 08, 2013 Bridget rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book, the look into our societies dirty secrets was interesting. It was bizarre the jumping between 2 narrators at times. Loved the ending with it slightly open ended for the reader to imagine the few final details themselves. Good cross between a Dan Brown book and Indiana Jones!

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About Tom Knox

Tom Knox is the pseudonym of British journalist and writer Sean Thomas. His first novel, The Genesis Secret, focuses on the region known as Gobekli Tepe. His second novel, The Marks of Cain was published in 2010 and was concerned with the Basque Country. The front of the US hardcover dust jacket shows the title as Marks of Cain. A third book, titled Bible of the Dead was published in March 2011 an...more

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