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The Cortés Enigma
John Paul Davis - The Cortes Enigma (The New Release from the best-selling author of The Templar Agenda)
1581: It appeared in the west as the sun was setting, a distant silhouette like a fire on the water. Twelve hours later it appeared again, this time much closer to the mainland…Who was on board or where they came from remained a mystery…No trace of the vessel was ever found…
1904: In an old graveyard in a remote part of the Isles of Scilly, a distinguished academic makes a surprising discovery. The inscriptions on the gravestones are unlike any he has ever seen, at least in that part of the world. The clues point to an astounding possibility: a maritime legend and a priceless treasure. And a four-hundred-year-old cover-up!
Present Day: History Lecturer Dr Ben Maloney is sitting in his office when the phone rings. A call from his cousin is rarely anything out of the ordinary, but today what he has to say is anything but normal. His great-great-grandfather’s ship has been discovered near a deserted island in the Isles of Scilly. Along with his murdered corpse!
Dropping everything, Maloney’s decision to visit the site of his ancestor’s demise soon proves to be one fraught with danger. With nothing but a hundred-year-old diary and legends from the island’s past to guide him, Maloney’s only chance to solve the riddle of his ancestor’s death is to unravel the pieces of an altogether greater mystery. An unimaginable treasure remains unfound. And some will stop at nothing to find it…
1581: It appeared in the west as the sun was setting, a distant silhouette like a fire on the water. Twelve hours later it appeared again, this time much closer to the mainland…Who was on board or where they came from remained a mystery…No trace of the vessel was ever found…
1904: In an old graveyard in a remote part of the Isles of Scilly, a distinguished academic makes a surprising discovery. The inscriptions on the gravestones are unlike any he has ever seen, at least in that part of the world. The clues point to an astounding possibility: a maritime legend and a priceless treasure. And a four-hundred-year-old cover-up!
Present Day: History Lecturer Dr Ben Maloney is sitting in his office when the phone rings. A call from his cousin is rarely anything out of the ordinary, but today what he has to say is anything but normal. His great-great-grandfather’s ship has been discovered near a deserted island in the Isles of Scilly. Along with his murdered corpse!
Dropping everything, Maloney’s decision to visit the site of his ancestor’s demise soon proves to be one fraught with danger. With nothing but a hundred-year-old diary and legends from the island’s past to guide him, Maloney’s only chance to solve the riddle of his ancestor’s death is to unravel the pieces of an altogether greater mystery. An unimaginable treasure remains unfound. And some will stop at nothing to find it…
300 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 9, 2014
19 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
John Paul Davis
31 books69 followers📚 John Paul Davis is the international bestselling author of fourteen thriller novels. His debut, The Templar Agenda, cracked the UK Top 20 and claimed the #1 spot in Historical Thrillers. Since then, he has continued to keep readers on the edge of their seats, with hits like The Cortés Trilogy, which reached the UK Top 40 and US Top 20, and the White Hart series, starring a secret black ops group with origins dating back to the Middle Ages.
🖊 In addition to thrillers, JPD has authored seven works of nonfiction. His debut work, Robin Hood: The Unknown Templar, sparked international press interest, while Pity For The Guy, the first full-length biography of Guy Fawkes, was featured on ITV’s The Alan Titchmarsh Show.
🏠 JPD is an active member of International Thriller Writers (ITW) and an Associate Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He holds a BSc from Loughborough University and resides in Warwickshire, where he enjoys sports, history, reading, contemplating the meaning of life, planning book-related travels and pondering plot twists.
Checkout his official Website: www.johnpauldavis.com
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 25, 2015
"A Fact And Fiction Interesting Mystery"
Author John Paul Davis weaves an incredibly intriguing story which begins in 1581 in Mexico. It historically describes Sir Walter Raleigh observing a glowing ship, "Santa Estella," reflecting itself as flames upon the sea. Then it disappears into the night. In 1904, on British Isle of Scilly, a dark coated man, Dr. Thomas Frances Maloney, approaches an old man digging a grave near the Church of St. Lide's. He's looking for ancestral relatives. He comes across many overlooked grave stones laying flat on the ground covered in shrubs, many bearing a double headed eagle, a Spanish symbol. He also discovers one marked with an Aztec Serpent God. He continues to pursue more information and then becomes missing. It's now in the present day, and Ben Maloney, 32 years old, a lecturer of European History at the University of Dartmouth learns of the finding of the vessel "Dunster" which his great-great grandfather TF Maloney, had been aboard when the vessel disappeared in 1905. The amazing thing is that his grandfather's body was still aboard when the wreckage was removed. He and his cousin, Chris Maloney, a freelance journalist of dozens of articles on the Spanish colonization of America, fly to England and begin to delve into many puzzling mysteries. But their main concern is to find out why the grandfather had been murdered. But then, Chris becomes missing and others are wanting all the information from Ben to help them locate missing treasures. This author has gone to great lengths in researching the plots of this story. He has a pleasant, comforting writing style, even though written in British style. This story reminds me of those written by Dan Brown where there is always a puzzle and a treasure linked to historical facts. I enjoyed the read.
Author John Paul Davis weaves an incredibly intriguing story which begins in 1581 in Mexico. It historically describes Sir Walter Raleigh observing a glowing ship, "Santa Estella," reflecting itself as flames upon the sea. Then it disappears into the night. In 1904, on British Isle of Scilly, a dark coated man, Dr. Thomas Frances Maloney, approaches an old man digging a grave near the Church of St. Lide's. He's looking for ancestral relatives. He comes across many overlooked grave stones laying flat on the ground covered in shrubs, many bearing a double headed eagle, a Spanish symbol. He also discovers one marked with an Aztec Serpent God. He continues to pursue more information and then becomes missing. It's now in the present day, and Ben Maloney, 32 years old, a lecturer of European History at the University of Dartmouth learns of the finding of the vessel "Dunster" which his great-great grandfather TF Maloney, had been aboard when the vessel disappeared in 1905. The amazing thing is that his grandfather's body was still aboard when the wreckage was removed. He and his cousin, Chris Maloney, a freelance journalist of dozens of articles on the Spanish colonization of America, fly to England and begin to delve into many puzzling mysteries. But their main concern is to find out why the grandfather had been murdered. But then, Chris becomes missing and others are wanting all the information from Ben to help them locate missing treasures. This author has gone to great lengths in researching the plots of this story. He has a pleasant, comforting writing style, even though written in British style. This story reminds me of those written by Dan Brown where there is always a puzzle and a treasure linked to historical facts. I enjoyed the read.
August 3, 2015
Now this was a fun read. I've never read a book that used the Montezuma/Cortes/Aztec premise so well. The twists and turns that this book takes is so pleasurable that the reader will not be able to put it down.
September 8, 2015
I would have given this book a higher rating, but the end was sudden and felt rushed. Very disappointing - the book started off well and then just started losing steam until it felt like the author gave up at the end. There's a sequel coming out and I won't be reading it
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August 27, 2014needs work
April 17, 2015
3.5. His writing style was less dense in this book. It kept me engaged for longer.
May 8, 2015
Good story
I like light reading. It's typically British that everyone seems to die but it's the start of a trilogy so ill be reading it
I like light reading. It's typically British that everyone seems to die but it's the start of a trilogy so ill be reading it
November 21, 2015
not well written and a sloppy ending
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews