Spartan Gold

Clive Cussler's story is riven with history.  It starts with Napoleon on a trek in northern Italy, involves the Persian and Greek war and a Nazi submarine.

Cussler's heroes Sam and Remi Fargo discover the Nazi sub while researching something else altogether.  What they find inside the sub leads them on a search that ties all of the above history together.  They use their wealth and hirelings to augment the search.  At first they don't realise that someone else is in search of the same goal.  Hadeon Bonderuk is a Russian mafia lord who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal.  Once the Fargos find out that they have competition, they must keep one step ahead of Bonderuk.

Cussler has written a good thriller, however I was disappointed with his numerous grammatical errors.

Gallows Bird

Author Camilla Lackberg brings back Detective Patrik Hedstrom in this murder mystery.  An auto accident victim is found to be full of alcohol.  At first it appears to be a simple drunk driving accident, but the alcohol is discovered in her lungs, and not in her stomach during the autopsy.  So, a murder has occurred.

Meantime, a reality show, along the lines of "Jersey Shore" is being filmed in town.  One of the cast members is murdered.  Hedstrom's and his colleagues' hands are full.  The first murder is set aside for a bit, but information from the autopsy niggles at Hedstrom's mind.  He is sure that he has come across something similar in the past.  Once he discovers what it is in his notes, he realises that they have a serial murderer on their hands.

The plot thickens with twists and turns to make things very interesting.  A good read.

Rubicon

Author Steven Saylor tells the story of Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon and chasing of Pompey out of Italy. 

Naturally, the main part of the story is about Gordianus, also known as "The Finder".  A relative of Pompey's is found murdered in the garden of Gordianus.  Pompey assigns The Finder the task of determining who the murderer is while he retreats to Brundisium.  As surety he takes Gordianus' son-in-law with him.  What follows are the adventures of Gordianus as he searches fir the truth.

A good read for fans of historical fiction of the Roman era.

Empire of the Moghul ~ Brothers at War

This is Alex Rutherford's second book in his "Empire of the Moghul" series.  This story follows the rise and fall of Humayan, son of the founder of one of the most powerful dynasties in Indian history.

Humayan has been given the empire by his father, but his brothers challenge him for it.  The mother of his half brothers gets him befuddled on wine and opium.  Humayan finds himself in a battle for his empire and his life.  During this time he finds the love of his life, who provides him with a son.  Together, accompanied by troops loyal to him, Humayan struggles to regain his empire, in battles not just against his brothers but other transgressors.

Well researched, it is a very good read I am sure that you will enjoy.

Confessions of a Pagan Nun

Kate Horsley writes as a nun of the fifth century in Ireland, a time when Ireland was going through conversion to the Christian faith.  She speaks of the loss of the spiritualism of the Irish people and how tough it was to give it up for the Christian faith, and how rough it was for the people under the new rule of the Christian priests.  I found myself questioning my own faith.

An interesting read.