Scott Mariani - The Heretic’s Treasure

Ben Hope has left the SAS, and after the tragedy of his wife’s death, has settled down to run a training school for hostage retrieval, leaving his old life behind him. His ordered existence is thrown into disarray when he receives a phone call from a man to whom he owes a great debt; a man who is now calling that debt in.

Ben is torn, but Colonel Harry Paxton had once saved his life in the jungles of Sierra Leone, so he answers the call and is asked to track down the killers of Harry’s scholarly son in Egypt. But is everything as it seems? What was it that Morgan Paxton was looking for in the sands of the Egyptian desert? Was it something worth killing him for?

Ben soon realises that he can trust nobody; and the action moves from Italy, to Egypt, to Scotland and the Sudan. He soon learns that a number of people want the treasure of the heretic pharaoh Akhenaten that Morgan Paxton was seeking and will stop at nothing to get it. Even the woman he loves may not be who she seems to be.

This is a fast moving novel, with plenty of action and a high body count. Lots of severed limbs and heavy duty weapons! Definitely one the lads will enjoy. It is one of a series featuring Ben Hope, so if you enjoy it, you can carry on reading.

Good holiday book – around the pool, on the beach or on the plane. I’d say it would go down well with a pint of lager and a cheese and pickle on brown.

Warning Rant – this is my little rant, but who else is getting fed up with book covers that say ‘fans of Dan Brown will love this’. It’s not like Dan Brown is a particularly good author. He was lucky enough to have one phenomenally best selling book, but I’m sure that not every writer out there is trying to emulate him! We’ll see what his new offering is like when it’s released in the autumn.