Michael R. Hagan

Disclosure: received this book as an ARC from the Author or publisher.
Shortly after the beginning, 4% 11 hrs 43 min left in reading time, the book already feels too long, with unnecessary information (more than 1 page description of a complaint about police handeling of immigrants which has nothing to do with the case so far, if it has, I will erase this part of the review).
The case is great, bloods and gore, including dead children (cannot understand why people cannot stand children being killed).
Should probably DNF this book, but I am now at 40%, so I may just finish it. Not my kind of book, it feels like a [a:James Rollins|38809|James Rollins|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1328147798p2/38809.jpg], but for some reason not as good, cannot put my finger on it.… (meer)

This was truly one of those intriguing reads that come along rarely. The author mixes genres easily, as this book can be classified under Crime, Mystery, Political, Religious, Speculative and Horror quite easily.

The book starts out at a crime scene, with the protagonist apparently being a detective investigating some particularly brutal murders. The focus, though, quickly shifts to an archaeology dig in Iran, where the chief archaeologist has been researching a symbol found only alongside legitimate prophetic inscriptions made over centuries and millennia, all of which have successfully predicted future events accurately.

Focus again shifts, this time to the business world as the backer of the archaeology dig is seen to have global aspirations of domination. The symbol found at the digs, is also found at the crime scenes in London, and events quickly bring detective, archaeologist and businessman together.

This book has many twists, and bad guys are suddenly revealed not so, and some of the good guys also morph when light is shined on them. The book keeps you on your toes, as the situation changes many times throughout. By the time you're halfway through, some of the protagonists are trying to save the world from an entity that would be at home in a Lovecraftian tale, while others are equally bent on furthering the entity's designs simply for a fleeting moment of power before everything comes crashing down.

Well worth reading!!!… (meer)

This is a horror thriller with pseudo-mystical trappings that the author outlines in a broad-brush introduction of the ancient myths of a mysterious entity called the Demiurge. The novel opens with Detective William Hasson called to a grisly murder of a family. The trail of blood leads to a mental institution where the inmates have slaughtered the staff and left their severed skulls piled in an unusual formation and a peculiar symbol on the walls. Concurrently Professor McKenzie Sorts through inscriptions in his archeological digs and uncovers vague but foreboding prophecies and the “Seer” symbol. The professor and the detective eventually cross paths and join in the search to solve the mystery of the continuing murders apparently under the influence of the Demi-urge. At times the author gets lost in the mystical fog of the “entity” but fresh blood and intrigue puts him back on track. In the end “free will” is the key to thwart the “entity”. Not a book you want to read on a dark and stormy night.

This was free copy awarded by Bookkus and reflects my honest review.… (meer)