Laurence O'BryanCritiques

Storytelling—where the past comes alive.

O’Bryan paints memorable scenes, with authentic characters, historical relevance, and thrilling plots. A must read for those who enjoy historical fiction, but truly it is a thrilling book for all. As a reader I became involved with the people, cultures, and of course the mystery of the adventure. Great novel— looking forward to reading books 2&3.

Un arqueólogo llamado Max Kaiser aparece muerto detrás del palacio de Lady Tunshuq, en el barrio musulmán de Jerusalén. Simultáneamente, desaparece la doctora Susan Hunter, que estaba traduciendo un antiguo manuscrito encontrado meses atrás en Estambul, y su casa de Londres se convierte en cenizas tras un extraño incendio. Sean Ryan viaja a Jerusalén, acompañado por su novia, Isabel Sharp, para desentrañar el misterio que une ambos sucesos.

Alek Zagliwski, compañero y amigo de Sean Ryan, ha sido salvajemente decapitado. Han encontrado su cuerpo cerca de la antigua basílica de Hagia Sofía, en Estambul. Cuando Sean llega a la ciudad para identificar el cuerpo, le entregan un sobre con fotografías pertenecientes a la investigación de Alek. Nada más salir de la morgue, se salva por los pelos de morir tiroteado... y empieza a sospechar que se ha metido en algo más peligroso de lo que imaginaba. Ayudado por la diplomática británica, Isabel Sharp, Sean empieza a desentrañar el misterio del trabajo de Alek a la vez que prosigue sus pesquisas para atrapar al asesino.

This is an interesting book! While I didn’t feel the need to abandon it, I did find the plots disjointed. Three stories were going on, the announcement of an architectural discovery in Egypt, an architectural dig searching for the Ark of the Covenant in Ireland, and a military accident in America causing a world apocalyptic event. Neither story was adequately developed. Two of the three stories had a common character and another two had a different common character. The only commonality to the three stories is that they were all subject to the global environmental hazards caused by a US Military experiment gone wrong.

I see this book as the start of a series. But, while it kept me interested enough to keep reading, I don’t see myself picking up a sequel in the future.

I am a fan of conspiracies! I love them. This book doesn't disappoint. In a way it's quite frightening to think of the possibilities O'Bryan introduces!

There is something for everyone in this book - murder, mystery, thriller, love, prejudice, shady dealings and politics. You'll come away wondering if this is fiction or could there actually be another wave of Nazi genocide.

Because of the subject matter some readers may take issue with topics dealt with in this book. The story as fiction is interesting and compelling whether you agree with it or not and, in my opinion, worthy of five stars.

When I was given the chance to receive a review copy of this book I jumped at the chance because I loved the Puzzle Series written by the author, which by the way I can fully recommend! At the time I didn’t know this was the third book in this trilogy, however by that stage I had already committed to writing a review so on I went!

This book takes place 20 years after Emperor Constantine came to power. It covers him moving the seat of power from Rome to New Rome (what was to become Constantinople) the early years of Christianity and some interesting and challenging times within his own family.

I have to say that despite it being the third book in the series it is written very well and stands up well as a standalone. I quickly got to grips with the characters, and what a great and interesting group of characters they are. It is particularly good to see some strong female characters. The book is very character driven and moves along at pace taking in the many challenges in Constantine’s life at this point.

I have to say the book hooked me and I read the book in a day! The events in the book are very believable and there are one or two shocks along the way. Great rivalries come to life in the book and there are certainly some characters you would not want to turn your back on. I loved the events at the end of the book.

I really enjoyed the book and am now eager to pick up the first two books in the series to find out what lead up to these events. Emperor Constantine is not someone I know much about and this book did what any historical fiction book should do, it make me want to go out and find about more about the Emperor and the events in the story. As soon as I finished the book I was straight onto Google.

I gave this book 4 1/2 stars overall, and would like to say thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing a copy of this book to me for an open and honest review. I would recommend this book to you but if you are after a deep and meaningful review of Constantine’s life this may not be the book for you. I, however, loved reading this.½

This fast paced mystery was unusual in setting, philosophies and people. It was well written but had a few (unobjectionable) typos.

Author's guest post at my blog:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2017/04/foodfic-please-welcome-laurence-obryan.htm...

Sean Ryan is visiting Nuremberg to present a paper at an academic conference at a time when Germany is racked with dissention concerning the massive influx of Syrian refugees. The telltale signs of rising neo-Nazi influence among parts of the German population are growing. While there, he meets with an old friend from Africa, Eleni, and her companion, Jerome, who express well founded fear about threats made by an increasingly militant group of neo-Nazis against those of certain ethnic backgrounds. They cannot know that a plan is in place at a higher level the successful execution of which would result in genocide of populations of specific ethnic backgrounds.

Sean, caught up in the fate of his friends, and Sean’s wife, Isabelle, caught up in determining whether her grandfather committed suicide or was murdered are both caught up in the question of whether the Vatican actively backed the Third Reich and the Holocaust.

The Nuremberg Puzzle is an action packed book, the premise of which is profoundly disturbing on many levels, especially with the ongoing mass influx of Syrian refugees into Germany at the present time increasing social pressures in Germany to near the breaking point. The characters are sufficiently well developed to be consistent with the story, although very little real personal detail is provided about any of them. The focus is on the action, the core question for Sean…who attacked Eleni and Jerome; the core question for Isabel…where is Sean; and the question of who Xena really works for. Xena is a complete enigma as far as this book is concerned. Does she work for the Nazis? The Vatican? Another group, or is she a free-lancer with her own agenda?

You’ll never know from reading The Nuremberg Puzzle but you will be entertained while you sit on the edge of your seat contemplating Sean’s fate, and the fate of those infected by the Nazi’s latest effort at genocide. The Nuremberg Puzzle should appeal to any avid readers of conspiracy, mystery, historic fiction or action books. 5-Stars. Clabe Polk

Began book, but lost interest mainly because it was written in the first person which I find difficult in thrillers.

For a first book this was a good effort and an enjoyable read, 3.5 stars. I look forward to reading further books in the series.½

I gave this 50 pages to decide whether the violence would continue or whether it was a feature of the story set up. It seems to be continuing and I do not wish to read about torture by fire every few pages. This author enjoys graphic description of violently dead bodies, but is coy about sex "We went to bed and got to sleep about an hour later." I suspect many of my bookclub will feel the same way as me*.
I haven't completed it, so no rating given.

* I was right: 3 refused to read further than I did; two gave it 5/10 and disliked it, two gave it 7/10 (including the person who recommended it)

The Jerusalem Puzzle is the second novel in the Puzzle/Sean Ryan series by Laurence O'Bryan. The novel picks up the story from the first novel. The manuscript is now being studied by leading expert Dr Susan Hunter. When she disappears Sean Ryan heads to Israel on a mission to find her. At the same time someone is using the situation to stoke up tensions in the region which will possibly lead to war. Why? And for What Purpose? Ryan finds out the situation is far more complicated than before.

A great action tale really. All the old characters from the first novel come back in a tale that is interesting because it tackles some of the issues in the region and to do with religious tensions. Read the full review here

The Istanbul Puzzle is the first in the Puzzle/Sean Ryan series by Laurence O'Bryan. Sean Ryan works for the Institute of Applied Science, which he helped to co-found in Oxford. They undertake advanced scientific research for various clients. His colleague Alex is currently working in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul photographing mosaics for the UN. What should be simple job turns deadly after Alex ends up dead, beheaded and with the video posted on the internet.

Sean Ryan flies to Istanbul to identify the body but puts his own life in danger when the tries to find out what led to his friends death. Meanwhile, London is rioting and mass Islamist demonstrations are planned. And beneath all this someone is deliberately trying provoke outrage and spark protests, Why? Who? and what could they ultimately be trying to achieve?

This book is excellently well written.Read the full review here