Winner of THE PEOPLE’S BOOK PRIZE ~ Best Fiction 2017! A Historical Conspiracy Thriller for fans of Glenn Cooper, Kate Mosse and James RollinsA healing herb kept secret for centuries. A TV show host who stands to lose everything.Castile de Granada, 1492: Risking her life, Spanish author Ana-María de Carbonela vowed to keep an unknown yet powerful healing herb’s location hidden. It remained a … unknown yet powerful healing herb’s location hidden. It remained a secret …
Until now.
TV show host Kelby Wade is forced into the search when her niece is targeted by the relentless assassin who killed her brother. She is pursued on a perilous quest, from a grotto in rural Andalusia to a bizarre hospital in Surrey, to uncover the mystery found between crumbling sheets of parchment in the ruins of a rural Spanish farm.
In a race against a conspiracy who want the herb’s power, she struggles to piece together the puzzle and follow the trail her brother left to trace the mysterious plant before the deadly conspirators locate it.
It’s only a matter of time before the ancient secret gets exposed …
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If you love an action-packed conspiracy thriller, download a sample to see for yourself! Or grab free sample chapters at Paula Wynne’s website.
And then follow the story into the next book … The Sacred Symbol.
The Sacred Symbol Readers Recommend:
The Sacred Symbol, which has been recommended by reviewers for fans of CJ Sansom and SJ Parris and Dan Brown.
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A riveting historical thriller.
I thoroughly enjoyed the two intertwined stories, past and present, five hundred years apart. Meticulous research by the author really evoked the historic atmosphere beautifully.
Action, conspiracy and a shady group intent on doing wrong. Throw in a psychotic stalker, an evil henchman and a couple of kick-ass female main characters, one of whom is trying desperately to protect her niece, the other, her mother, and it’s a recipe for a very satisfying read.
“The Grotto’s Secret” is a well written debut novel for Paula Wynne. I received a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. I then also purchased the book for myself. Although initially it was difficult to follow the characters, I enjoyed the book, Fast paced with many (many predictable) twists and turns.
This is a very interesting book, the action is split between two eras, present day and the era of the Spanish inquisition, the mid 1400s, there are parallels between the stories which are very cleverly interwoven to give an involving read.
I found that the book was a little slow at the start, but this was rectified later, and the action and excitement really ramped up towards the end.
For me I thought that the characters weren’t as well developed as they could have been, and so I did find myself getting some of the ‘baddies’ confused, they were all rather generic ‘bad characters’, but this is completely offset by the great plot, and the obvious amount of research the author has obviously carried out.
So although not quite 5 stars for me, I would actually give it 4.5 stars, if I could.
This delightful book is a mystery wrapped around Christopher Columbus and his endeavors to gain financial support for his famous 1492 voyage from Portugal’s King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. It is a time of great religious intolerance, with Jews forced to convert or flee, and a quick condemnation of any thought to hold views different from the mainstream Catholic religion of the times. Into this time, we find ourselves falling into the story from the viewpoint of a young woman whose mother was a victim of the religious intolerance of the times, due to her healing endeavors and midwifery. She must escape before she, too, suffers the same fate. Thus, her journey begins, with the goal of serving as a clerk to Columbus as he leaves Portugal. She hopes to find escape to safer lands, supporting herself by writing along the way.
Then, the story moves to modern times, where the threads from book 1 are picked up, and woven into this new story. She handled the juxtaposition of the past with the present very well, switching timeframes appropriately to maintain interest all the way through to the end. As it is 3:30 AM as I finish this book, I literally could not put it down.
The storyline from the first book continues into this book, but is not the focus of this second book. This gives continuity between the two books, but does not make the second book seem as if it is just the continuation of the first book. It is much more interesting than I had anticipated because it is a fresh story. Further, this book can stand alone without having read book 1 previously. In fact, it would entice the reader to go back and pick up that book to learn what preceded this book. What is the sacred symbol? You must read the book to find out!
I received this as an advance copy. My review is voluntary and uncompensated
The storyline flips between past and present, with history and mystery combining to create an exciting story. Good character development and good writing style make for an intriguing read.
This is my first exposure to this author. I found the book well-written, with good character development. It is a long story, so it is not one that can be read in a single sitting. The story viewpoint switches from history to present day and back again throughout, which keeps the story content fresh in the reader’s mind amid the twists and turns of the present day situation. I highly recommend reading this book.
If you love an action-packed conspiracy thriller this is the one for you. A page-turner that will keep you up at night!
Intriguing concept! I really enjoyed how well written this story is. The author gives depth to her characters and scenes are so descriptive and atmospheric that you easily slip into the story and can’t put it down! Highly recommended!
Spellbinding, original and a great page-turner. Wonder weaving of fact with fiction which created a fantastic historical, fictional novel.
The Grotto’s Secret by Paula Wynne is two stories that intertwine throughout the book. First, we meet TV show host Kelby Wade. She has been introduced to Dr. Roy Robson, and his sister, who believe that Kelby’s brother was murdered over his knowledge of a miracle herb, which the pharmaceutical companies want their hands on. Needing this herb to save her niece, she and Dr. Roy Robson set out to find the herb.
Then we meet Ana-Maria de Carbonela. It is the year 1492. She and her mother know how to use the herb, but they are in danger from doing so.
This story was alright, though I didn’t care for the going back and forth between the past and the present. I think this story would have been better if we would have learned about the past first, then introduced to the present. I also didn’t care for knowing the identity of the bad guy right off the bat. It kind of put a damper on the whole mystery thing the author was going for.