When I first read this book in its original incarnation, many years ago, I liked it but I don’t think I was ready to appreciate the full deviousness of the author. What I mean is that the paranormal/horror elements are very cleverly placed and developed, and that it took this second reading for me to understand exactly how the sneaky plot twists and turns are combined into a vision of our world that I, for one, certainly don’t ever want to come even close to true. I have to agree with the first sentence of the blurb: some ancient secrets are, indeed, better left buried!

The cast of characters is varied, and I was excited to find out I got to hear from most of them. The multiple points of view took a little getting used to, but each had a role to play and added to the total picture, giving me new pieces of the puzzle all the time, so I was glad they were all contributing. From a solitary, quirky archeologist to a Native American anthropologist and his Scottish partner, they are all pulled into the adventure of their lifetime. Just let me warn you: not all of them make it out alive. Sacrifice for the common good, or the one you love, is a huge part of this story and it made me shiver more than once.

Jacob is not a nice man. He likes his solitude, artifacts and finding gemstones are more important to him than people, and anyone who interrupts his work – never mind the reason – immediately becomes the target of his anger. And boy, can he get angry! His thoughts alone are rather brutal, but he doesn’t even stop from saying much of what he thinks out loud! Swearing is the least of it; he can really lay into people and if someone is not extremely secure and self-confident they better go into hiding – fast.

Caleb is Jacob’s ex and the only survivor of the carnage in Sardinia. I’m not going to say more, so as to keep this review free of spoilers. I will say that I could see why he and Jacob did not get along and split up, but it also became apparent quite quickly (at least to me) that there are a lot of unresolved issues between them- as well as the potential for reconciliation and maybe more.

The mystery hits within the first few pages, and the suspense of what that find in Sardinia is about doesn’t get any less throughout. Several other “weirdnesses” are soon discovered and add to the riddle of what is going on. Evil soon raises its ugly head, and the men have their hands full trying to survive, figure out how to deal with what they have discovered, and maybe gain the upper hand – in that order. Needless to say, it left me somewhere between breathless and scared. And let me warn you – much of this story is gruesome and I found the designation “horror” to be well deserved. But it’s clever horror, with an interesting explanation, so I was pulled in and curious to find out more despite my better judgment (I am not usually one to deal easily with violence). But the ending (that final bit in the epilogue) was what really creeped me out – big-time!

If you like gritty horror with a paranormal element, if quirky characters who don’t always do what they’re told or what you’d expect them to do are your thing, and if you’re looking for a read that is scary, suspenseful, and will make you think twice before going into a cave, then you will probably like this novella.


NOTE: This book was provided by DSP Publications for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )