Monday 18 July 2011

THRILLER REVIEW: The Nosferatu Scroll - James Becker

Release Date: 09/06/11

SYNOPSIS:

Bohemia, 1741 On the northern banks of the Vltava River, an extraordinary event is taking place. Inside a private chapel, a high-born Hungarian lady is being laid to rest. But not before her heart is removed from her body, and she is buried beneath a layer of heavy stones - lest she rise again to prey upon her victims ...Venice, 2010 Holidaying in the world's most beautiful city, Chris Bronson and Angela Lewis discover a desecrated tomb. Inside it is a female skeleton and an arcane diary dating back hundreds of years. Written in Latin, it references a scroll that will provide an 'answer' to an ancient secret. Soon corpses of young women, all killed in the same ritualistic manner, start appearing throughout the city. And when Angela disappears, Bronson knows that he must find her before she too is slaughtered. But Bronson's hunt for Angela leads him back to the Island of the Dead, and into a conspiracy more deadly than he could ever have imagined ...


REVIEW:

Having embarked on a James Becker adventure before, I pretty much knew what to expect, a fast paced, cleverly plotted story that keeps not only the reader fascinated but also glued to the action that unfurls within. It has two cracking lead characters, one the action hero, the other the smarts behind the operation, who work wonderfully in tandem. Back this up with a colourful world, cleverly written plot line and of course enough danger and exoticism to make it nigh impossible to put down. What also worked extremely well for me was the initial hook with the story written back in the times of Princess Eleonore Elisabeth Amalia Magdalena von Schwarzenberg who whilst I knew about her already was really brought to life in a cracking piece of Historical Fiction that I feel that James could do well to explore in a separate novel as he obviously has the writing skills to do it justice.

Finally round it all up with a Saturday Matinee cliff hanger crescendo as our hero races to save his ex-wife from the evil cult and it was a tale that kept me more than happy in its execution (brick included. LOL) Great stuff and definitely a title that I’d recommend to other Thriller fans.

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