The Templar Inheritance by Mario Reading

Review by The Mole

Modern day Iraq and we join John Hart as he is being blown up by a car bomb. I first met John Hart in The Templar Prophecy but now we jump forward in time. We hit the ground and start running from the off in this story - quite literally - when Nalan, John's female interpreter, helps him to his feet and they flee to a place of safety - well, relative safety anyway. While hiding John finds a clue that was missed in the Templar Prophecy - a clue to something new, the Copper Scroll. When they escape - as escape they must - John is on the Iranian's "most wanted" list and there is a bubbling lust between them - John seems very prone to this.

The book is split between 1198 - the time of John's ancestor, Johannes von Hartelius,  who was first charged with protecting the lance - and modern times, while sharing the story of the Copper Scroll which was a treasure of great importance to the Templars.

Frequently these type of stories flit back and forth across the centuries leaving me, as a reader, frustrated at abandoning a story line in which I am heavily involved, or confused as to which era we are in or what was happening last time we were in this century, but in this book the flitting happens only a few times with the book half set in each century although cleverly balanced to not spoil the plot of the other time line.

Violence abounds in times and places renowned for such things although John has difficulty in seeing justice or normality in any of. He comes away - and we know he must - changed and very depressed. And the lust interest? It changes to more of a love interest but can he really hook up with  another woman now? And can't he see that Amira (his reporter ex-girlfriend) is waiting for him? Is he stupid? Answers to all these questions and more are to be found in this, Mario Reading's most excellent and thrilling second Templar novel.

Publisher - Atlantic Books
Genre - Adult thriller

The Templar Prophecy by Mario Reading

Review by The Mole

The first part of the story timeshifts back to 1190 when the Holy Lance is given into the care of Johannes von Hartelius and his descendants. We then timeshift again to Hitler's Bunker 1945 and Hitler has now gained control of the Holy Lance but entrusts von Hartelius' descendant with conveying it, along with other materials, to Bavaria. The plane gets shot down and shifting back to modern times the lance has found it's way to Guatemala.

John Hart gets a message from his estranged father - a man he hasn't seen since John was 3 - to visit him urgently in Guatemala, but when he does, he finds him murdered - crucified - and the lance gone. John is befriended by his father's common law wife before she too is brutally murdered and her home ransacked. He follows the trail back to Bavaria and tries to recover the lance but falls head over heels in love instead.

I have to admit that at times I couldn't see the trail that Hart follows or how assumptions are made - it just seems too easy at times. And can anyone place so much trust in someone while ignoring all the evidence?

Putting these quibbles to one side, I enjoyed the story as we encountered sex, violence, betrayal, chases and love (although the sex did outnumber the others). I became truly involved and wanted to keep telling him where he was obviously going wrong. And when the story of the lance ended I felt a little cheated by the way the main characters were left with their lives hanging. Described as a "suspenseful, page-turning conspiracy thriller" and it certainly ticked all those boxes for me!

Publisher - Atlantic Books
Genre - Adult conspiracy thriller

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The Nostradamus Prophecies by Mario Reading

Action-packed adventure
review by Maryom

Most people have heard of Nostradamus and his prophecies. But did you know that he wrote a thousand and only 942 have survived? This thriller is built around the question 'What happened to the other 58?' Babel Samana, a French gypsy, believes he can sell information regarding their whereabouts and has lined up two possibly interested parties - Adam Sabir, a writer trying to boost his career with a major bestseller, and Achor Bale, a member of a mysterious secret society, who is prepared to go to any lengths - including torture and murder - to get his hands on this information. Samana's scheme doesn't go to plan and Sabir finds himself with Samana's sister fleeing across France, trying to evade the police while trying to locate the missing prophecies.

This was brought to my attention by someone praising it on Facebook, so I went to the library to order it - only to find it was labelled in the system as non-fiction. Mario Reading is an expert on Nostradamus and his prophecies, and has written non-fiction books on the subject but don't confuse this with them. This is a quickly paced, action adventure and most definitely fiction, though I did wonder how much of himself Reading saw in his hero, Sabir. Has he ever been approached by gypsies trying to sell a secret?
A good holiday read or one for the many wet winter evenings on the way. If you liked Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, you'll love this. (I preferred this!)

Maryom's review - 3.5 stars
Publisher - Atlantic Books
Genre - Adult Thriller

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