Thriller: The Empress Holds The Key – A disturbing, edge-of-your seat historical thriller
If you enjoy current best-selling thriller novels by authors such as Clive Cussler, James Rollins, Steve Berry and Brad Thor, if you like high adventure, exotic locations and action thrillers with a historical twist, then this is page-turner for you!
THE EMPRESS HOLDS THE KEY is a mystery action thriller … KEY is a mystery action thriller for the thinking reader who has an open mind and likes to be challenged.
In THE EMPRESS HOLDS THE KEY, author Gabriel Farago takes you on an exciting journey of discovery where the stakes are high, the rewards great, but where the price of failure is oblivion.
This fast-paced international thriller weaves fact and fiction into an adventure of epic proportions as it follows the lives of a handful of diverse individuals tied together by destiny and fate.
Journalist Jack Rogan knows a great story when he finds one. A charred old photograph found in the ruins of a burnt-out Blue Mountains cottage hints at dark secrets and unwittingly reignites an ancient and deadly quest for a holy relic mysteriously erased from the pages of history.
Federal Police officer Jana Gonski in pursuit of a suspected Nazi war criminal joins forces with Rogan, barrister and amateur archaeologist Marcus Carrington QC, and celebrated composer Benjamin Krakowski. Together they uncover a murky web of intrigue and greed, hoards of Nazi gold and hidden Swiss bank accounts. All implicate wealthy banker Sir Eric Newman. When Newman goes on trial, unexpected clues are discovered pointing the way to a mystery that has haunted the Catholic Church for centuries.
On a dangerous journey to find the relic, Rogan and his companions trace links back as far as the reign of Akhenaten, the heretic pharaoh of ancient Egypt, and King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. What is this dark secret guarded by the Knights Templar, and so feared by the Vatican? Will religious fanatics foil the quest which could destroy the very foundations of their Church and challenge Christianity itself?
To preview the opening chapters, please click on the Look Inside Feature.
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Its no wonder Gabriel has won so many Awards for his historical amazing brilliantly written series! Every single one is fabulous!
5 stars
Jack Rogan is a journalist. When he is told of a death behind the lines of a fire, he and the fire officer go to the cabin. There they find a small box that was lodged in the chimney. In it is a disturbing photograph dated November 1944. Jack feels the itch coming over him. He is on to another great story. This leads him to the home of wealthy banker Sir Eric Newman. He immigrated to Australia from Germany shortly after the war. Jack immediately suspects him from his smooth ways and inability to respond to questions.
Inspector Jana Gonski is a police officer in charge of Special Projects. In this she deals with the cases that are sensitive and unusual. Jana is currently in pursuit of a Nazi war criminal. She goes to Jack’s house to get more information from him about the photo and the story he wrote for the newspaper. And she brought a ring…
Following clues, Jana and Jack uncover a connection to a vaunted Swiss bank that not only stole gold from Jewish persons in the camps, but portioned half of it to a secret Nazi bank account.
In this book we meet Dr. Bettany Rosen who is an ophthalmologist who treats eye problems in Africa and Marcus Carrington, QC who is a special prosecutor in Australia. He is also an amateur archeologist currently working in Egypt on a dig. They both aid Jana and Jack in their investigation.
Meanwhile, Carrington finds a statue of the Heretic King, Akhenaten. When Jana shows up to tell him about her boss’ proposal to capture a Nazi war criminal, she finds him preoccupied by his find. When the statue of Akhenaten is stolen, all hell breaks loose.
Carrington is meeting his wife and daughter to go to the big gala at the opera house. He invites Jana to go along. As the extravaganza begins, things go badly wrong. In a horrifying stroke, Elizabeth and Isabella, Carrington’s wife and daughter are killed by terrorists.
Violinist Berenger Krakowski was adopted as an infant. His biological father Berenger Diderot left him a treasure trove of Templar documents in his will. In 1944, the Nazis want them. They’ll do anything to get them. He is incarcerated in Auschwitz. His son, Benjamin is also there. Benjamin later survives the camp and becomes a world-famous composer. He testifies at Eric Newman’s trial that the violin he sold in London is The Empress, his father’s violin.
This book has it all. Templars, Egyptian pharaohs, murderous pursuers, terrorists, fanatics, Nazis and some very tenacious and dedicated historians, journalists, doctors, musicians, heroes, villians and police officers. Mysterious artifacts and hidden secrets also play a part. It’s a great book with a lot of action and excitement. The story is laid out linearly and sufficient background information is given on the major characters to flesh them out, but not so much as to intrude on the story. The characters are believable (for the most part), and likeable (except for the bad guys).
I truly enjoy Gabriel Farago’s writing and brilliant imagination, and will continue to do so as long as he is writing.