The Lost Throne

by Chris Kuzneski

Overview

The Lost Throne reigns supreme...

A reclusive monastery is the scene of a brutal slaughter that sends Richard Byrd on a worldwide race to find a magnificent treasure. But there are those who will stop at nothing to prevent its discovery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101133187
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/23/2009
Series:	Payne & Jones , #4
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	560
Sales rank:	162,085
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Chris Kuzneski is the internationally bestselling author of The Secret Crown, The Prophecy, The Lost Throne, Sword of God, Sign of the Cross, and The Plantation. His thrillers have been published in more than 20 languages and are sold in more than 40 countries. He grew up in Pennsylvania and now lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

Editorial Reviews

When the bodies of seven headless monks are found on the rocks below a Greek mountain monastery, Nick Dial, head of Interpol's homicide division, investigates in Kuzneski's fourth novel to feature ex-Special Forces warriors Jonathon Payne and David Jones (after Sword of God). Meanwhile, Payne and Jones are in St. Petersburg, Fla., when Payne receives a phone call from a frightened American woman, Allison Taylor, in St. Petersburg, Russia, who says her boss, a wealthy antiquities researcher, has just been shot dead there. Payne flies to Russia to rescue Allison. Both of these plots eventually join as all involved head off to find a mysterious lost artifact, now known to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Despite the silly, juvenile banter between Payne and Jones as they go about the business of killing bad guys and the book's weak denouement, readers will find the Greek setting a refreshing change after the usual Rome and Jerusalem venues of many such religious thrillers. (Aug.)

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Publishers Weekly

Well-plotted thriller turns on ancient secrets, savvy sleuths and other matters to do Indiana Jones proud. There's a hidden treasure to rival Solon's here, plus extremely bad guys, and good guys who don't play by the rules. The whole saga is set against a little-explored backdrop: mountainous northeastern Greece, home to devout monks who are very good at keeping secrets and very bad at defending themselves. Kuzneski (Sword of God, 2007, etc.) opens on an ominously antiquarian note. "The greatest secret of Ancient Greece was silenced by a death in Italy"-a death in Naples on Christmas Day 1890, to be exact, and portending "fire, deception, and ancient gold." Portent reigns throughout, sometimes ham-fistedly. As we careen into the present, we find a blade-bearing evildoer and his henchmen inside the sanctuary of an Orthodox monastery, to an unhappy effect for the monk on deck: "He punctuated his statement with a flick of his sword, separating the monk from his head . . . Head on the left. Body on the right. Blood everywhere." Enter the Americans in the form of Delta Force types known as MANIACS ("the top soldiers from the Marines, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard"). So what's Uncle Sam doing mixing it up with bearded heretics halfway across the world, to say nothing of the long-suffering Greek cops in charge of cracking the case? Could be it has something to do with clerics flying under false colors, or unfinished Cold War business, or the clash of civilizations, but it wouldn't be sporting to say. Kuzneski steers his narrative through enough satisfying twists and turns to resemble a Mediterranean goat path until the mystery is revealed and the killers of "ten monks, three cops, and afucking mule" and chastened. Good for late summer at the beach. Agent: Scott Miller/Trident Media Group

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for The Lost Throne

“One hell of a thrill ride.”—New York Times bestselling author Vince Flynn

“A gripping, fantastic read that guarantees chills, laughs, and pulse-pounding action!”—New York Times bestselling author David Morrell

“A fast and furious thrill ride with the perfect amount of history and humor blended in.”—New York Times bestselling author Raymond Khoury
 
“A lightning-paced tale that seamlessly stitches threads from the past into the fabric of the present. Genre giants Steve Berry, James Rollins, and Brad Thor may soon find themselves looking over their shoulders...A smoothly layered, serpentine and scintillating thriller.”—National bestselling author Jon Land
 
“A well-plotted thriller that would do Indiana Jones proud.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Kept me turning pages all night long. Kuzneski has written a superb thriller that you won’t be able to put down.”—New York Times bestselling author James Swain
 
“Reads like an AK-47 on laughing-gas, as Kuzneski runs a gauntlet of mystery and mayhem, wisecracking all the way.”—New York Times bestselling author John Case

“Reminiscent of Robert Ludlum...Recommend this religious thriller to everyone waiting breathlessly for the promised Da Vinci Code sequel and to Steve Barry's large fan base.”—Booklist

From the Publisher