October 20, 2020

Might as well say it up front. If you’re a fan of Dan Brown and Steve Berry, you do not want to miss this new series. Father Marco Venetti is as unlikely a hero as Robert Langdon. But where Langdon uses his smarts, Father Marco has a different set of skills.

He’s still plenty smart and wily, but he’s also a former member of the Italian Navy (having been rewarded its highest award for valor. His military skills aren’t much needed in his small coastal parish.

But when his former lover shows up with tales of kidnapping and human trafficking, he cannot resist helping her. And it’s a good thing he does. From the very opening scenes aboard her boat this book kept me hooked; the action never completely let up. Even in between the heavy action scenes, there was still tension.

Amazon: https://geni.us/B08D6NVWB1Social Apple: http://ow.ly/TAAd50ACRX0
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I thought that the choice of main character was interesting because he was fighting an internal war between his vows/faith, his dedication to Elena, and the task at hand. And boy, is that a good one. The title of the book pretty much tells you what it is.

In light of current world situations, and with what happened at Notre-Dame last year, this was a very timely topic. It was well-researched and detailed with enough information to make it plausible and not just “Hollywood” thriller.

Honestly, I don’t want to give anything away. I enjoyed this book because I didn’t read anything about it before – I went from the description and the title. Sometimes I think it’s better that way.

As I said at the outset, if you are a fan of Dan Brown, you definitely want to get in on the ground floor of this exciting new series.

WEBSITE: peterhogenkampbooks.com
TWITTER: phogenkampVT
FACEBOOK: peterhogenkampbooks

Author Bio:

Peter Hogenkamp was born in upstate New York and attended the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. (Go Crusaders!) He graduated in 1986 and was exiled to Europe for three years by his premedical adviser, for which he will be grateful the rest of his days. Spending the next three years – supposedly – teaching chemistry and algebra in Salzburg, Austria, he traveled extensively, drank a lot of beer and made many a lifelong friend. In his travels, he found dozens of great places for scenes in a thriller: castles perched on cliffs; monasteries tucked away in alpine valleys; villages built above rocky coastlines; cities soaked in history. When he isn’t writing or hiking with his strong-willed Cairn Terrier, Hermione, Peter practices medicine with his lovely wife, Lisa (who does most of the heavy lifting), hosts Your Health Matters, which airs on cable television, streams on YouTube and sounds off on podcast, and tends to the needs of his four children.

This is my second book by this author. I found the first one, The Best Man, charming and (for the most part) entertaining. So, I was willing to read this newest release. While there were good moments, I don’t know if it lived up to the first book.

One thing this author does well is male banter. The scenes between Tyler and his brother and other male friends were amusing and gave a real sense of their characters. You know that Tyler has something deeper inside of him than the “God’s Gift to Women” that his reputation proves.

He is a very strong personality. Plus, in terms of the setting, he is on home turf. This puts Holly, his neighbor, and focus of attention (both good and bad) at a distinct disadvantage. Not only is she new to the area, but she’s also hiding a few secrets, which makes her very cautious.

In light of Tyler’s demeanor, this makes Holly seem weak. The problem is that I don’t think she was, but he just overpowered her at almost every turn. As I mentioned in my previous review, this may be a cultural thing, but it was a little difficult to get used to.

I also had a difficult time with the ages. Tyler’s attitude would have made a lot more sense if he was pushing 30. But at pushing 40 it seemed almost creepy. Again, that could be cultural. But his “player” ways and attitude toward women seemed more fitting for someone a decade or so younger.

I think I understand why the author chose to make him this age, though. The whole conceit is that he finally realizes that he needs to settle down and stop being a jerk and that Holly is the person he wants to do that with, but given their initial meeting and rocky start, that’s challenging to say the least.

I still think it would have worked better had he been younger. At least, I would have bought into it more. But that’s just me. It didn’t bother me entirely, but it did make me wonder why he couldn’t have been younger. Would that have made it more acceptable? I don’t know – it’s an interesting thought.

Are we pre-programmed to think that certain things should occur at certain ages, and that one should be a grown up by a certain age, or at least curtail certain behaviors? I didn’t expect to think so deeply about a RomCom, to be honest.

Anyway, it was still a good story, and there was some crisp and fun dialogue. Other readers may have a completely different experience. It was a good book.