A Richer Dust Concealed

Artisan Book Reviews

A Richer Dust Concealed by R P Nathan is an incredible original novel for history buffs, conspiracy junkies and puzzle solvers. This is a thrilling new mystery that will keep you glued to the pages!

Move over Dan Brown, for the extremely accomplished R P Nathan has delivered us a religious conspiracy thriller like no other. A Richer Dust Concealed is an epic tale spanning from the Ottoman Empires’ invasion of Cyprus in 1570, to a back-packers holiday in Italy in 1992. What could they possibly have in common you think, well let me explain. Girolamo Polidoro is a Venetian and serving as a squire in Cyprus in 1570. Just before the Turks invade he is given a glimpse of The Most Holy Cross of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. That one sighting of such a treasure was to shape his entire life. The cross is hidden, and Girolamo knows where. For various reasons he doesn’t share the location (even under torture) and the cross remains lost throughout history. Until, an English code-breaker called Henry Shaeffer, is sent to Venice in 1915 and comes across Girolamo’s diary. He translates the book, but then is sent to Dardanelles, and the location of the cross once more slips into history. Then in 1992, when John is looking for a present for the alluring Sarah, he is asked if he would like to buy the diary of Girolamo Polidoro and with it, the translation and notebook of Henry Shaeffer. At this point, the lives of the three men interlock and a Venetian conspiracy about ‘The Council of Ten’ comes to light around our everyday-man John, and his five friends. Who can decipher the code at the back of the diary, and who will find the treasure first?    

R P Nathan writes with flair, presenting us with a first-rate novel. Believable characters in a gripping plot and a treasure hunt extraordinaire that will have you hooked and wanting more. This book is a top-notch suspense-mystery and comes highly recommended by Artisan Book Reviews.

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T N Traynor Reviews

Every now and again I come across a book I really enjoy. A Richer Dust Concealed is one of them.

There are lots of things I loved about this book, but I think the no 1 thing is the author’s story voice. I knew from the first page that I was in for a good read. John, our main protagonist, starts off by telling us he’s decided to use his excess time during lockdown to write a book about what happened to him years ago. I was smiling straight away at the way John was chatting to us. He comes across as an everyday kind of guy, the guy next door, not a hero, no definitely not a hero, just an ordinary man, with an extraordinary tale to tell.

The story really begins in 1570 in Cyprus, when an Italian squire bears witness to the hiding place of a priceless cross, named The Most Holy Cross of St Peter and St Paul. You see, that squire decides to keep a diary of the Turk invasion, and at the end of it, (in code) he writes the location of the artifact. During the horrors of the following years the cross remains hidden. Years later upon his release, the squire returns to Venice intent to disclose its whereabouts. Only, the Venetian Council of Ten want the relic for themselves, and so the squire doesn’t disclose his secret. Many years later in 1915, an English code-breaker is dispatched to Venice where he stumbles upon the squire’s diary and starts to translate it. He immediately sets out to try and break the code, but before he can, he is sent to Turkey, where unfortunately he dies. Whilst working on the book he keeps a journal, which becomes a series of love letters to his wife that gave hints about the code. Mysteriously, both the squire’s diary and the soldier’s journal are left behind in Italy.

And here enters our John, back-packing across Europe in 1992 with his friends. He turns up in an old book shop in Rome, and is offered the diary and the journal for a price he can’t really afford. Still, he is so eager to impress the fair Sarah that he purchases it on his credit card. In so doing, he has unwittingly drawn himself and his friends into an ancient treasure hunt, and into the realm of the Venetian Council of Ten.

The descriptions are so vivid, you feel like you’re in Venice with them The author has spent years researching for this book and you can tell. The research really pays off as the story is seeped with historical content which (alongside relatable characters) makes this novel so believable. This really is a book that Dan Brown fans will love. Besides the great characters – which are so realistic they could be your friends, the plot is clever without being too complicated or too pretentious. It’s like an everyday man’s adventure. There’s mystery and intrigue, a treasure hunt and danger, but most of all there’s real people and a true to life romance."