If you enjoy Clive Cussler, you're going to love this! It's a heart-pounding adventure that will send chills down your spine. I got so immersed in the story that I completely lost track of time while reading it. I absolutely loved Michael, he had great depth, and you couldn't help but root for him. It's clear Pence has done some research to help bring this story to life, and the realistic settings are brilliant. Highly recommend!

This was my first Joanne Pence novel, and within the first few pages I was hooked. I found myself referring to this novel as a cross between Dan Browns' Angels and Demons, and the Preston and Child's Pendergast series - I was completely enthralled with Ancient Deceptions in exactly the same way as when I read those novels.

It's captivating, mysterious, and completely addicting. The final climax was like something straight out of an Indiana Jones movie. I will definitely be checking out the other novels from this author! Highly, highly recommend!

Ancient Deceptions is the fourth installment in the Ancient Secrets series by award-winning author Joanne Pence. Having read Pence’s Angie Amalfi cozy novels, this novel was unexpected, as it is totally different from that cozy series. Michael Rempart, who is a well-known archeologist and the protagonist of the series, sees a picture of his long-lost love who abruptly left him years before with no explanation. He has been searching for her for years, and learns she is living in St. Petersburg, Russia and near a dig in the Ukraine that he has been invited to participate in. Of course he packs up and travels to the Ukraine and the dig where the head professor is sure they have discovered an ancient chapel. Because of Michael’s fame, he is given a cottage to stay in near the dig and sees the strange happenings there. A student goes missing, and the archeologists discover he has been brutally murdered and his organs removed. Professor Kovak who is in charge of the dig, doesn’t want the dig shut down since he is trying to make himself famous, has his students and the volunteers lie about it, and they proceed. But when there are more murders and participants falling asleep and waking up weak and frail with cuts on their bodies, Michael suspects there are demons and possibly vampires in the area. One of the characters is Bethany, who comes from a small Mormon (LDS) community who is trying to find her older sister, Rachael. She suspects Michael knows what happened to Rachael and travels to the dig site to find out. There are multiple plot scenarios that are interesting in this novel.

This supernatural thriller isn’t particularly believable, but is entertaining and a bit scary. The story is quite interesting, and the characters are well-developed. Pence needs to do some further research , however, since her knowledge of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (she refers to as Mormon or LDS) is waning. Bethany, who is a member from Idaho, drinks coffee and liquor at the cottage which is strictly forbidden; she most likely wouldn’t indulge. It’s obvious Pence isn’t aware of that and makes Bethany seem like a character that isn’t believable and doesn’t fit in the novel.

The vampires in the novel don’t fit most readers’ idea of what vampires should look and act like (made famous in Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula), but they are scary nevertheless. This novel has a lot of blatant violence, which may turn off younger readers. Pence is an excellent writer, but this novel won’t appeal to everyone.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Ancient Deceptions (Ancient Secrets Book 4)
Book 4 of 4: Ancient Secrets
by Joanne Pence

A dig in a remote site uncovers demonic killings & buried secrets that shatter archeologist Michael Rempart’s world in this sweeping supernatural thriller that crosses time and space from the present to the last days of the Russian Tsars.

When Michael unexpectedly receives a recent picture of a long-lost love, a woman he thought was dead, he gives up everything to search for her and to find answers to questions that have plagued him through the years. Instead, he uncovers more mysteries as he’s drawn deeper into the occult and the ancient power of alchemy.

Michael’s search takes him from St. Petersburg, Russia to an archeological dig site in Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains—a desolate area where medieval knights once roamed, and where horrifying secrets are buried—and at the same time it creates a mystical connection to the riches and debauchery of the court of Nicholas and Alexandra and the “mad monk” Rasputin.

As Michael’s quest continues, he soon finds that while he hunts, he is also being hunted. Will he find all that he’s looking for before it’s too late?

I can’t do the summarization of this book justice, so I won’t. I will leave it up to the author, Joanne Pence to do that for you. But I will say this story has many different beautiful historical places and earlier historical telling of times interwoven through the writing of this plot. The characters were creative and mature with interesting back stories. The detail and description of the scenery was so realistic that I thought I was there. It was a marvelous read with how it all falls together. It was full of mystery, suspense, adventure and chilling horror. A must read for anyone interested in a thrilling adventure.

Thanks so much for an advance review copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving a review of my own personal opinion.

Horror
Occult
Demons
Supernatural
Thriller
Suspense

I actually went & read the previous three novels before jumping into this one. The series follows archeologist Michael Rempert as he investigates and discovers strange and mysterious things around the world. He is often joined by his friends, a Sheriff, a Classical trained Egyptian scholar and of course, his assistant/professional hacker. This series is similar to the Sigma Force series by James Rollins in that each book centers on true historical mysteries/abnormalities, etc. But, this series takes on more a supernatural/religious aspect than the Sigma Force novels. This installment focuses on Russia and the Carpathian mountains. We get Rasputin and the Black Princesses, We also get Michael's continuing battle with his nemesis, his own father. Pence writes interesting and compelling stories. I feel like readers have only gotten to more Michael more in depth in the last two novels as Pence has delved into his complicated family history. But, each installment get better and better.

Pence's book takes place mostly in Russia and the Ukraine. Michael the main character is fighting against his father who has been taken over by a demon. They battle in the Ukraine. Vampires attack an archeology sight where Michael is working.

An exciting tale with lots of twists and turns in the plot. I enjoyed it. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the book.