Reviewed by: Sue Eaton
TITLE:Morrel & Morcerf and the Spear of Destiny
SERIES: Five Points Stories Book 6
AUTHOR: Kyle Baxter
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 373 pages
RELEASE DATE: October 26, 2022
BLURB:
Alois d’Pierrepont and Marton Prawer have been attending black market antiquities events trying to recover treasure stolen by Nazis during World War II. Marton is particularly interested in a certain missing Picasso.
Following the trail to France, the two stumble into far more than they bargained for when a shady auction they’re attending in Paris’s Latin Quarter is raided by Interpol. Alois’s uncle Frederick, from Bring Me Edelweiss, is soon hot on the case along with his lover Joel McIntyre.
After recovering the journal of a Nazi general the four men race across western Europe, chased by fascists desperate to find the treasure for themselves. Gunfights and car chases ensue as the group uses a map in the journal to track down the treasure and its contents, rumored to include the fabled Spear of Destiny.
REVIEW:
This was a fun read, its all action and adventure which moves at a fast pace. It was so interesting to read all about the art and treasures stolen by the Nazis and then hidden in various places in Europe. The author has obviously done painstaking research into this facet of World War II, and the prologue gave me goosebumps.
I found it intriguing that there weren’t central main characters, rather this book was about a group of people with 4 central characters. It was also unusual that the characters had already commenced their relationship prior to the book storyline, though for Alois and Marton, theirs was a fledging relationship with both hiding bits of themselves from each other. The book was a slow unravelling of these hidden depths as well as all the action and adventure. Will their relationship survive all the secrets? It will either break them apart as the full weight of their reality hits or make them stronger together.
The naivete of Alois and Marton, going to black-market auctions trying to locate a looted painting and the inevitable disaster that happens. These young men’s hearts are in the right place, but they are wholly inexperienced in this most dangerous world of stolen antiquities. Luckily Alois Uncle who has been working undercover in that exact same world, in conjunction with various police forces from around the world, swoops in to rescue them. Telling them to go home and keeping them at home are two very different scenarios.
The storyline switches to Frederick, Alois uncle and his lover Joel, who have previously worked together uncovering stolen artifacts. Frederick continues with this work, but Joel has been staying at home working but misses the excitement of working together as well as being with each other. This is an established couple with a long history behind them who work well together.
The plot twists and turns with many surprises along the way, kidnappings, gun fights, narrow escapes, and bombs. It has everything you want from an action book with a gentle romance going alongside, the romance isn’t flashy and new with great declarations or misunderstandings, it is quiet and strong, a bit of a hiccup but nothing too angsty and handled beautifully by the author.
I really enjoyed this finding the treasure mystery.
RATING: 
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