DA VINCI CODE meets TOMB RAIDER in this multi-award-winning and #1 bestselling thriller that combines intrigue, history, science, and mystery into pulse-pounding action. A computer-app designer. An encrypted relic. Can she and the VanOps team decipher the dangerous code before extremists trigger a high-tech apocalypse? Broad-shouldered marine turned covert agent Bear Thorenson wants his … agent Bear Thorenson wants his girlfriend, Maddy Marshall, to join VanOps, but the software expert and aikido black belt isn’t sure she’s ready for a hazardous dark-operations role that might risk the life of AJ, the nine-year-old boy she wants to adopt. Things change when an armed Russian thief escapes over her wrought-iron fire escape carrying an ancient star chart. She chooses to join Bear in the pursuit, because if her royal family legends are true, the mysterious chart leads to a superconductive meteor capable of powering the ultimate quantum computer. Upon learning the lightning-fast machine would be used by fringe members of the Russian government to spark a global war, and those same extremists kidnapped AJ once before, Maddy’s heart drops and Bear’s arctic-blue eyes turn to ice.
Setting off on a mad dash to uncover the chart’s celestial secrets at a Mexican archeoastronomy site, the VanOps team unearths a clue dating back to biblical times. As they race across the globe through the dangerous bazaars of Morocco, fallen Turkish temples, and Egypt’s perilous Valley of the Kings, they must fight to stay even a half-step ahead of sinister assassins. Worse, the place Maddy sent AJ for refuge becomes the enemy’s testing ground, where hungry gangs roam darkened streets.
With millions of lives on the line, can Maddy and Bear rescue the boy and crack the chart’s secret code?
SOLSTICE SHADOWS is the second novel in the fast-paced, multi-award-winning VanOps thriller series. A standalone, it follows THE LOST POWER (“A masterwork of international intrigue.” – #1 NYT bestselling author James Rollins). If you enjoy smart edge-of-your-seat suspense by James Rollins, Dan Brown, Steve Berry, or Clive Cussler, you’ll stay up late turning the pages of Avanti Centrae’s “rousing sequel.” Kirkus Reviews.
Genre Grand Prize Winner – Global Thriller Awards – 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards
“Fans of complex and highly detailed espionage and action thrillers are certain to dive right into this mixture between Indiana Jones and Dan Brown.” ~ Readers’ Favorite – Five stars
“Unputdownable. Avanti Centrae packs a thriller parachute with endless suspense and a rip-cord ending. SOLSTICE SHADOWS is meticulously researched, the history, science, and locales offering a rare ‘you-are-there’ authenticity. Brew a large pot of java, as you will read through the night. Brilliant.” ~ K.J. Howe, international bestselling author of SKYJACK
Bronze Medal Winner – Adventure – 2020 Readers’ Favorite Awards
An instant Barnes & Noble Nook #1 Best Seller and Amazon #1 Best Seller!
SOLSTICE SHADOWS, multi-award-winning #1 best seller, will take you on a heart-pounding mission you’ll always remember. Enjoy this wild thrill ride today!
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This is the second book in the VanOps series and what a book. It takes you on an amazing adventure into dangerous territory. The characters are well written and the story grips you from page one and doesn’t let you go.
Maddy is a software expert, she is also part of a secret organisation and VanOps team what her to work on their team. When her apartment gets turned over and the culprit escapes with the map of stars the hunt is on to find out what that map leads to. What is so important that puts Maddy’s life and everyone around her in danger.
With the help of the VanOps team and her boyfriend Bear they set off to unlock this mystery and see if the map leads to energy to power a super computer or if it is all myths. Can they find the truth before its too late? Or will the treasure fall into the wrong hands and mean a risk to national security?
Maggie is an Aikido black belt who teaches at a local dojo. She also works at her own computer company. She finds that someone is in her apartment and has stolen an important old star chart. She finds herself joining forces with the VanOps to get the relic safely back and save the world.
I really enjoyed this book, the characters, the thrilling locations, and saving the world all make a huge impact on the story. I will definitely read the first book in the series and can’t wait to read more from this author.
If you are looking for a thrilling adventure ride, look no further Solstice Shadows is for you. The fast pace kept me on my mind’s feet. Avanti Centrae is one of my favorite authors. Her writing style directs me to keep reading. I tend to read faster and faster as the book goes on. The characters are complex and on target. I feel that I have bonded with Maddy. She has an adventurous soul. Her boyfriend,Bear is a marine who turned covert agent. They are working a case that is dear to her family legends. Bear and Maddy take on the trail of the thief. I highly recommend this story (especially for the thrill seekers).
Life for Maddy has just started to settle down after the events of 16 months ago. AJ is in her life and hopefully will stay that way. Bear may be in training but things are going good and they see each other as often as they can. Unfortunately the peace will last no longer and the world she thought she was done with has thrust itself violently back in. With no other choice she will again join her brother and Bear in a race against time and untold foes to save America from a terrorist attack that could plunge them back into the dark ages. Exciting, action pact with depth and feeling and I could not put it down! I’m so ready for more Maddy and her crazy life!
I enjoyed this book. This is a story that took me on an adventure, treasure hunting and plenty of action. I was pulled into this story right from the beginning and kept engaged to the end. This is not my first book by this author but it is one of my favorites. This is a well written story that has characters that are well developed. They made the story feel real and easy to read. They kept the story moving which made it a page turner. Maddie needs to make a decision in this book, should she join Van Ops team or not. In the meantime she ends up working with them. What will she do? I highly recommend reading this book to find out what happens with Maddie and the rest of the characters. A great story!
Unputdownable. Avanti Centrae packs a thriller parachute with endless suspense and a rip-cord ending. SOLSTICE SHADOWS is meticulously researched, the history, science, and locales offering a rare ‘you-are-there’ authenticity. Brew a large pot of java, as you will read through the night. Brilliant.
404 pages
5 stars
Maddie has yet to decide whether to join the Van Ops team or not. Meanwhile, another crisis develops and she must go with them to get back something valuable that was stolen from her loft.
The current mission takes the team around the world. To these exotic locales with such a sense of history. I love books like this. Such a sense of history. I like reading about places that I will never visit, except in my mind.
Brilliant writing and Ms. Centrae’s creative imagination carry this story to fantastic heights. Her writing is crisp and the pace of the book is good. I like the various characters on the team and Maddie and Bear’s romantic entanglement, rife with misunderstandings and troubles. This book was better than the first.
More please, Ms. Centrae.
I want to thank NetGalley and Thunder Creek Press/IBPA for forwarding to me a copy of this absolutely great book for me to read, enjoy and review.
action, suspense, theft, thriller, historical-research, international-crime-and-mystery, espionage, intrigue, mystery, family-dynamics
Another high tension thriller from the pen of a gifted novelist with a world class imagination. Just as riveting as the first, the main characters are back but the mystery and locations are different even as the total unpredictability and plot twists are the desired characteristics that stay. The publisher’s blurb is pretty good for an intro, and no spoilers here. An amazing read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Thunder Creek Press via NetGalley.
This is a fast paced story that keeps you guessing till the very end. Maddie, Will, Bear and Jags have a very short time to solve the mystery and save the world. The short chapters keeps the story moving and the twists just keep coming. Another great read.
I have never read anything from Avanti Centrae prior to Solstice Shadows but I will definitely be back for more now! This book is one wild and adventurous ride the entire read. I love how this combines the thriller aspect with the adventure and sci-fi with a splash of romance to keep everyone interested at all times. This book certainly had my attention from page one and I read it well into the evening to finish it in one fell swoop. I just had to know how the characters would end up in the end and if there was going to be more soon on the horizon. I am excited to go back and read book one now of the VanOps thriller series. I can only imagine the adventure waiting there.
We meet Maggie, an Aikido black belt teacher as she discovers that someone has broken into her place and stolen a very important artifact. She is also in danger and things only speed up from there. She has to join forces with VanOps to help her retrieve the stolen item and ultimately end up saving the world. It is a lot of story but so worth the investment and I can’t say enough good about the world building we get in here too. You will feel as if you are right there with Maggie and the team as they traverse each adventurous task they find themselves in. Grab a copy today, you won’t be disappointed you did.
5/5 Stars
Solstice Shadows: A VanOps Thriller by Avanti Centrae
This was the first book I’ve read by the author, and it will not be my last. Solstice Shadows is the second book in the VanOps Thriller series. I really enjoyed this page turning, long lasting book.
Maddy, a teacher at a dojo, finds herself in a very dangerous situation. After letting her boyfriend, Bear, know what’s going on; she’s attacked again. Flying all over the world Maddy finds herself on a dangerous adventure. The quote I chose for Maddy is: “The Egyptian cryptographer’s dead ? The one that Will and Jags spoke with?”
Bear, A VanOps Agent, isn’t quite secure in his relationship. A jealous creature by nature, but he has good reason. After learning something was stolen his director puts him on a case that requires Maddy’s help. The quote I chose for Bear is: “Friends? You gotta be kiddin’ me. He’s your ex and wants you back.”
If you love adventure, crime, drama, and romance all rolled into one fantastic book then I highly recommended Solstice Shadows is the book for you.
3 Stars
Solstice Shadows is the second book in the VanOps Series by Avanti Centrae. I was really intrigued by this book the moment I laid eyes on it. The premise promised a story that ticked off many of the elements that I love in a great action adventure. It even started off with a bang- opening a door on a shootout- so I was really excited to be along for the journey.
While this story did contain action, adventure, history, intrigue, mystery, relic hunting, and so much more- but after the initial shootout, the pace began to lag, and I couldn’t quite find a connection with the characters, or the story for that matter. I felt like I was missing something- that I should have known more about the characters, backstories, and even VanOps itself. I am kicking myself that I didn’t read Book One first- but the blurb read like this book could standalone in the series, like a lot of other thriller series stories can and do. But, unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me- especially as the story didn’t really ‘catch me up’ with past events, so I was left feeling a little lost, and wondering about a lot of things- far more than I would have liked- which detracted from my enjoyment of the book.
So, if you are like me and haven’t read the Book One yet, I really recommend doing so before starting on this one- because I think this story would have been far more enjoyable if I’d known what occurred back in the first book.
The ending leaves an opening for another instalment, with trouble on the wind, so I will start over with this series, reading Book One FIRST, and then Book Two again- before reading any new additions.
Thank you, Avanti Centrae!
Solstice Shadows: A VanOps Thriller by Avanti Centrae is a fast paced historical mystery/thriller that will keep you on your toes. Avanti puts you through your paces just like the characters. It is an intriguing read with lots of twists and turns. It is a little like Indiana Jones meets Da Vinci Code and entertains us with mythology, and other powers. I did find it a little bit slow in the beginning but this is the second book and I have not read the first, so I am guessing I was missing some vital information. I liked the characters but found they were a little underdeveloped. Having said that it is my first read by this author and I will be looking into more of her work.
3.5 stars
Solstice Shadows: A VanOps Thriller by Avanti Centrae is a fast paced book that will keep you turning the pages. This book is the second book of the series however it can be read as a standalone. Personally I would advise readying them in order just so you get that background and build up before this story, although it is not a requirement.
I thought the book was quite fast paced and exciting. I expected it to be a little dense and confusing given the high-tech theme but it was a pleasant surprise to find that it wasn’t like that at all. I found it to be very easy to understand and a good book to get into.
The characters were interesting and I found myself rooting for them throughout the story. IT was well paced and the author did a great job of layering the story so it built up gradually and kept you interested. This was a great book and one I would certainly recommend.
Talk about a joy ride! This book takes every turn and finds every single sense of attention. Such a good read. Definitely gave off some movie action vibes, but it wasn’t a deal breaker. I’ll be watching for the next book.