“At the Bureau of Special Investigations, agents encounter all sorts of paranormal evils. So for Agent Brynner Carson, driving a stake through a rampaging three-week-old corpse is par for the course. Except this cadaver is different. It’s talking—and it has a message about his father, Heinrich.
The reanimated stiff delivers an ultimatum written in bloody hieroglyphics, and BSI Senior Analyst Grace Roberts is called in to translate. It seems that Heinrich Carson stole the heart of Ra-Ame, the long-dead god of the Re-Animus. She wants it back. The only problem is Heinrich took the secret of its location to his grave.
With the arrival of Ra-Ame looming and her undead army wreaking havoc, Brynner and Grace must race to find the key to stopping her. It’s a race they can’t afford to lose, but then again, it’s just another day on the job . . .”
One of my favorite movies is The Mummy with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. The combination of adventure, thrills and humor have me watching it whenever I happen to be flipping channels and see that it’s playing. This novel, in some ways, reminds me of that movie. There’s a re-animated Egyptian with supernatural powers, wandering undead, puzzles and clues, and of course a pair of main characters who can kick butt together or separately.
That being said, the one thing I wished this novel would have done differently from the movie is the romance. Brynner and Grace are, predictably, thrown into a relationship, preceded by the typical attraction at first sight and fighting off of carnal urges during a tense investigation. In this instance, I don’t think it worked too well. It may have been the insta-chemistry that was blatantly on display, but I just didn’t feel like the characters had any real connection to justify the romance.
Otherwise, the book was a pretty quick and enjoyable read. It took a bit to get going (again, I think that was due to having to take time to get that insta-chemistry in place), but once it did, I was solidly engaged in the story. I liked the mystery aspect of figuring out the cryptic messages left behind by the Re-Animuses that are stalking Brynner. They’re not things that the reader has a chance to solve, but I like stories with puzzles even if I can’t play along with the characters.
I also liked that this book seems to be a stand-alone. With so many series out there that I’m trying to keep track of, a straightforward, one-and-done story has a lot of appeal. Even so, I would like to see more in this world, which is a pretty good sign that the novel did its job of getting me invested in the characters and their actions.
I liked Nelson’s original series better, but this one is a strong foray into something a little darker. It wasn’t what I expected, but I liked what I found.
This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
(Description nicked from Goodreads.)