RELENTLESS – Cherry Adair
Lodestone Series, Book 3
Pocket Books
ISBN-13: 978-1-4516-8432-2
March 2013
Romantic Suspense

Seattle, Washington; Cairo, Egypt – Present Day

Isis Magee has taken all the money she can scrape together to go to the Lodestone agency for help from a man to find a lost tomb.  Her father, August Magee, was a famous archaeologist, until that fatal day about a year ago.  He was on a dig that he claims found Queen Cleopatra's tomb, but his entire crew was murdered and he was found beaten up miles away from where he claimed the tomb was.  Now he barely knows who Isis is and it looks as if Alzheimer's has caught him in its web.  It wouldn't be so bad, but her father had claimed he found Queen Cleopatra's tomb seven times before, and to declare he found it again would only lead to more ridicule.  She needs someone who can help her find where the tomb is by unusual means, and that means Connor Thorne and Lodestone is her last resort.

Connor Thorne has his own story for working at Lodestone.  A member of Britain's MI5 agency, Connor and two other operatives were captured by Boris Yermalof the year before, and as he tortured and killed Connor's partners, Boris thought he had also killed him.  A year of operations, hospitals, traction, and despair finally has him walking with a cane, but unable to return to work for another year.  His friend Zak hired him at Lodestone after Connor acquired a new sense after his torture.  Connor can touch an object and the GPS co-ordinates will run through his head and he can tell where the object is.  This is especially good for bringing leashes to find lost pets.  Quite a come down from MI5.  When Connor touches Isis's small bag, he immediately senses sand, desert, and Egypt.

Despite his better judgment, Connor goes with Isis to a new exhibit of her father's finds in the British Museum in London to see if Connor can figure out where this item might have come from and the location of her father's dig.  So begins their trip to Cairo, where they are immediately following by thugs in cars, jeeps, on foot, and anywhere else they can start a fight.  Connor isn't sure if it's Yermalof chasing him, or if this has something to do with Isis's search for Queen Cleopatra's tomb.  It will take many adventures for them to get to the bottom of the criminal selling of Egyptian antiquities and what really happened to Isis's father that day a year ago.

Cherry Adair has entered the world of antiquities and the mysterious country and culture of Egypt with RELENTLESS.  Connor Thorne is a member of Britain's MI5 spy world until meeting the boning knife at the hands of Boris Yermalof the year before.  Isis Magee is the daughter of a world-renowned archaeologist and had been quietly living as a photographer until what happened to her father.  These are two people who would never have met in the normal course of life.  Told from each of their points of view, Connor is the epitome of cool English control, especially anything involving emotions or commitment.  Isis spent her youth following her father to Egypt or living with her aunt after her mother died, and generally not having friends or making a place for herself in the world.  It is her courage and bravery that constantly amaze Connor as they live through the most trying of times together.

Secondary characters start with Isis's father, Professor August Magee.  It appears he has Alzheimer's after maybe finding Cleopatra's tomb in Egypt, and this find could save his reputation.  Boris Yermalof is the man who killed (make that tortured) two of Connor's MI5 partners the year before and has been involved in stealing antiquities for years.  Husani is an Egyptian friend of Isis who gives them badly needed shelter when things go wrong.  Dylan Brengard worked as the professor's assistant for years, and surprisingly meets up with Isis in Egypt on his own dig.

RELENTLESS is a super exciting story if you're at all interested in Egyptian antiquities or just plain bad guys who deserve everything they get.  From Seattle to London to Egypt, the action ratchets up everywhere as they are followed by men intent on killing them by any means possible.  This is book three in the Lodestone series following RUSH and AFTERGLOW.  For non-stop action and plenty of thrills, what else could be better than finding Cleopatra's tomb…hmmm?

Carolyn Crisher