The Egyptian / Layton Green

Reviewed by: BigAl

Genre: Thriller

Approximate word count: 100-105,000 words

Availability
Kindle US: YES UK: YES Nook: YES Smashwords: NO Paper: NO
Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Layton Green has worked at a variety of odd jobs, from bartender, to teaching English as a second language in Central America, to the oddest of them all, an attorney. He says he’s visited more than fifty countries and lived in several of them. Somehow, amongst all of that, he found the time to write two novels, get married, and produce a son. The family of three currently lives in Miami. For more, visit the author’s website.
Description:

We first met Dominic Grey in The Summoner, <where he investigated a missing diplomat in Zimbabwe and in the end found new employment, working as an investigator for Professor Viktor Radek, an expert on religious practices and cults. In this second installment of the Dominic Grey series, Grey works his first case for Viktor.

Appraisal:

Typically a book series will have a formula of some kind. Formula, in this instance, isn’t intended to imply a value judgment, either positive or negative, but some common elements. It takes a sequence of three in math to determine the pattern. It may be a fool’s game for me to attempt to determine the common elements in this series after reading just two books, but I’m going to try to identify them, at least the obvious ones.

Since Dominic Grey’s employer, Viktor Radek, specializes in religion and cults, it is safe to assume obscure or offbeat religious practices play a part in the story. Most of each book takes place in an obscure corner of the world, at least for those from English speaking countries who are most likely to be reading the books. As you might guess, The Egyptian takes place in Egypt, both Cairo and other locations. A significant portion also happens in Bulgaria. Last, you can expect you’ll learn at least a little, in some way. Part of this may be increasing your vocabulary. I complained in my review of The Summoner that Green sometimes seemed to use obscure words because he could, not because they were needed. This time around it didn’t seem as extreme, but you should still expect to refer to your e-reader’s built in dictionary a time or two. In The Egyptian you’ll also get a feel for the geography and history of both Egypt and Bulgaria.

However, the most important part is the story. Green knows how to tell a suspense-filled tale. That it largely happens in foreign locations and cultures only heightens the effect, as most readers are that much more off-balance, unable to predict what might come next. As I get deeper into the series and feel like I know Dominic Grey better, I like him more and more.

Format/Typo Issues:

No significant issues

FYI:

Although the second book of the series, reading both books in order is not needed. The small amount of back story needed to understand The Egyptian is reviewed enough so that it can be read as a stand-alone or out of order.

Rating: ***** Five stars