Thanks to #NetGalley,#ThunderCreekPress, #AnantiCentrae, Cleopatra’sVendeta. for allowing me to review early in exchange for an honest review. Publication Date: 15 Nov 2022This is such an exciting Murder/Thriller that wanders from the time of Cleopatra through to 2021. The author has obviously done her diligent research on ancient history. It definitely comes through in your work. Yes I will definitely recommend this book to all murder mystery enthusiasts.

Thank you Netgalley for an audio copy of this book. This is the first in a series featuring Tim and his wife Angie. Angie and her friends are attending a wedding in Italy when they are kidnapped by a group known as The Sons of Adam. Angie is a CEO and Tim works for a new branch of the government that seems to be sent anywhere help is needed. The author, Avanti Centrae, has other books published. I generally liked the book, it certainly picked up in the second 1/3 of the book. However, the narrator was not to my liking. He made all female characters but one (she’s British) sound like they were from the Deep South. In reality they are from Boca Raton. It was much too Gone With the Wind for me. When you are doing an audio book, you need to go with the story, not be annoyed at the narrator. It’s not a bunch of merciless, gratuitous killing, and I did like that. Things were a little too cut and dried at the end for me. Tim and Angie have lost a baby to brain cancer and Angie’s drinking has gotten out of control. By the end she has simply resolved to stop drinking. I don’t think the real world works like that. I’m giving this 3 stars and I’m being just a bit generous.

Pros: okay, this isn't my usual kind of read, but the history the entire plot is rooted in definitely caught my attention when I was asked to be an ARC!
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I was surprised at how well researched all the aspects of this story are, but furthermore, how beautifully sewn into Centrae's imagination they were. She took me on a journey that included becoming invested in the characters, their well-beings, backgrounds, and overall development. In addition to that, I was drawn into the dark world of human trafficking, something that I've been meaning to learn more about in general.
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Overall, the plot and character development, writing style, and delivery is definitely a five out of five. You can tell when an author is meticulous with their work and sets the bar! I was impressed with the ending, too. There was absolutely nothing rushed about it and it felt thorough through the very last line.
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Cons: I'm not a huge fan of espionage, modern day, covert operations stories, so it was a little difficult, at first, to stay focused. This con can be easily overlooked, as the nature of interactions between the characters and the story itself became irresistible as it progressed.
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Conclusion: if you're looking for history-meets-modern day (without too much of a dual timeline), give this read a shot! Just be prepared to have your heart broken and mended a couple of times, though! Also, if you're passionate about women's rights and leads, this book will feed you in all the right ways!

FAVORITE THING ABOUT BOOK: The story is characteristic of an Agatha Christie novel.

PROS/CONS OF WRITING: The story was well written and keeps the reader engaged. The characters are fun but intricate. The narrator is very good. The historical tidbits are invaluable. I searched for the author to find other books. This one is wonderful!

WHO WOULD ENJOY THIS BOOK: Agatha Christie fans, mystery lovers, Egyptian history buffs, action lovers.


I received an ARC from Thunder Creek Press through NetGalley. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book. I am voluntarily submitting this review and am under no obligation to do so.

This is my second book from this author and I gotta say I’m going to be checking out more. The way that she spins these military thrillers is just fantastic.

Thanks to NetGalley I was able to get my hands on the audio version and then I was given the opportunity to join a book tour for it as well!

The narrator did a great job giving the story the mysterious vibe that it needed without making it feel like a fantasy.

I love that this story starts with Cleopatra herself, realizes that her death is imminent but still wanting it to be on her terms, she hides a message in a room that was never discovered. That message??? ……AND it’s present day now. So we’re left with a cliffhanger prologue that provides a hint into where this story is going. Our present day story is full of drama from the start. We follow our main characters as they navigate the situations they find themselves in and unravel the mystery of Cleopatra’s vendetta as they go.

We have very short chapters in this book, which I definitely prefer. It’s an average length book, but it’s packed with drama which is great in a thriller. It’s fast paced as a thriller should be. Definitely recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book Review: Cleopatra's Vendetta (Stryker #1) by Avanti Centrae
Narrated by Tim Campbell
Published by Thunder Creek Press, November 15, 2022

★★★★☆ (4.25 Stars)
Positive!

Audiobook narration:
Tops! Audie award-winning Tim Campbell delivers to a T with a pleasant enunciation as clear and crisp as the best of the rest, supported by a commendable international cast of voice actors.

// "Cleopatra's Vendetta" (2022) by Avanti Centrae //

Fast-paced with short chapters like a full throttle Jack Bauer season of "24" counted down, Avanti Centrae crafts a dizzying tour de force to introduce her new protagonist, Timothy Stryker, a Think Tank Special Ops leader cum CIA adjunct operator, along his team (and family).

Veering off the ancient mysteries of the Winter Solstice (VanOps Book 2) and the prophetic quatrains of M. Michel de Nostredame (VanOps Book 3), Avanti Centrae offers her take on the legend of Cleopatra, even as her protagonist Stryker force find themselves juxtaposed against the lingering legacies of the Egyptian Queen (61-30 BC) and the Roman Emperor Octavian (aka Gaius Octavius Thurinus aka Caesar Augustus, 63 BC-14 AD), long after that decisive Battle of Actium in 31 BC that saw the Octavian defeat Cleopatra and Mark Antony.

On a seven-day mission to save the world, the Stryker team pursues an ancient cult raising havoc through the assassination of world leaders, Deepfake technology, kidnapping and sex-trafficking, as they barrel through places in Saudi Arabia, Italy, India, Greece, through the seven hills of Rome, to Taposiris Magna in Alexandria, Egypt off the Mediterranean, generally reputed as burial grounds for Cleopatra and Mark Antony, the Roman General and Triumvir.

And finally to a mysterious islet called Eden on the Adriatic sea...

// "Man's most valuable trait is a judicious sense of what not to believe." - Euripides (Circa 450 BC) (Cited by Avanti Centrae) //

Two things that make for pleasurable reading in the author's novels: One, a well-researched twist on something historically mysterious or significant. And, two, a bucket list to exotic far-flung places inexorably tied to the twist.

Once again, Avanti Centrae delivers for her readers - and readers to be!

Review based on an advanced reading copy courtesy of Thunder Creek Press and NetGalley.

Cleopatra’s Vendetta: A Stryker Thriller by Avanti Centrae
Narrated by Tim Campbell
Publisher: Thunder Creek Press
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Historical Fiction, Mystery & Thrillers
Expected Publication Date: November 15, 2022

Cleopatra’s Vendetta is the first book in the new Stryker series by Avanti Centrae. Cleopatra’s Vendetta is a captivating thriller seeking to uncover the lost treasure of Cleopatra and the secrets she took to her grave.

The narration by Tim Campbell is engaging and enjoyable.

Cleopatra’s Vendetta is written in a style similar to Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. I found Cleopatra’s Vendetta as captivating as The Da Vinci Code and would recommend this to fans of Dan Brown.

I am definitely looking forward to the future books in the series! Hopefully, there are many more to come.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Cleopatra's Vendetta was really fun to listen to in my car.
The pace was good and the mystery was not easy to solve. In the book they are trying to solve two mysteries - an old mystery in the time of Cleopatra will help them solve a current mystery that is critical. It was hard to put the book down. I wanted to know what happened to the main characters in the book.
This book is a great reminder to pay attention to what is going on around your.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴.”

— 𝖠𝗏𝖺𝗇𝗍𝗂 𝖢𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗋𝖺𝖾 (𝘊𝘭𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘢'𝘴 𝘝𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘢: 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗸𝗲𝗿 #𝟭)

Special Ops Timothy Stryker and his team were investigating the killing of the Saudi Crown Prince when his wife, Angie, and their 4-year-old daughter were kidnapped while on vacation in Bari, Italy. He and his team, along with Sam, his sister-in-law, discovered that the kidnappers were also behind a series of assassinations across the globe. Then, hints that could be related to Cleopatra and the clandestine organization Sons of Adam began to surface.

I had serious reservations about reading an early copy of this book. Since it's not the genre I tend to read, I'm not confident my opinion will do it justice. But I made a commitment to myself to explore different genres this month. And as it turned out, it was better than I had anticipated. I can vouch for the plot's thorough research since I had to look up quite a few of its intricate details myself. I respect the author's ability to be persuasive—or perhaps more accurately, ingenious. Anyhow, the book reminds me of a crossover between Tomb Raider, The Da Vinci Code, and Mission Impossible. From beginning to end, the narrative was fast-paced, which kept the reader on edge. If more context was provided, the conflict between Cleopatra and the Sons of Adam might be better appreciated. In my opinion, it lacked a bit of depth and was a little too vague for readers who weren't familiar with the concept. However, given my lack of familiarity with the genre, I presume this is the norm. The characters were also flawed, but they managed to redeem themselves throughout the course of the book. Rey and Sam are my favorite secondary characters who will undoubtedly have their own exploits in this series. In any case, this is the genre I love watching. I believe it would make a brilliant film. This book is definitely for you if you fancy either global thrillers or ancient mysteries.

Thank you to Avanti Centrae & Henry Roi PR for this eARC & audiobook in exchange for my review.

Tim Stryker's wife and child are abducted so starts the new series. Plenty of action and some history of Cleopatra, good story well told.
Tim Campbell's narration is very good keeping the story flowing.

This was my first book by this author and the first book in a series. It took my awhile to get into the story and start to enjoy it but it was worth finishing. I was expecting the story to be more about cleopatra but was in modern times. It seemed a bit far fetched as the stories were tied together for me but definitely enjoyable

Plot: Special Ops agent Timothy Stryker’s wife Angie and daughter Harper are kidnapped in Italy. Stryker is desperate to rescue Angie and mend their marital difficulties. His team of top notch agents including Angie’s sister, Sam, work to uncover any clues that might hint to Angie and Harper’s location. Meanwhile, agents in other parts of the globe aim to protect global leaders from assassination. Are they connected? And why do all signs point back to Cleopatra? This action packed thriller has nice historical ties and takes readers on a thrilling ride.

Characters: I love how each character has a deeply motivating and moving backstory. Each character is unique, incredibly textured and well developed. They’re also all deeply emotionally flawed. As with many military thrillers, the men are typical hyper-masculine military men, but I like that there are also strong, capable women leads. I also loved having the bad guy's POV.

Setting: Perfectly described Italian and global settings. Readers get exactly the detail they need to be on an action packed ride alongside characters whether it’s on a boat along the Italian coast or in the dry deserts.

Conflict/Resolution: The story wraps ups explaining the Cleopatra connection quite nicely and why the agents were able to find certain clues that the bad guys did not. There was great pacing in the resolution to the story and I love the POVs we got the conclusions from. I like that the author really spells out the connections to everything at the end because the Cleopatra connection would have been lost on me otherwise.

Writing: Each chapter ends with a cliffhanger leaving you with a deep need to continue onto the next. I do love the detail in this book, but I wish the characters showed us their emotions more often instead of readers being told. I enjoy the author's writing style, very fitting for an action packed thriller.

Narrator: I enjoyed this narrator. The accents may not have been perfect, but they were distinguishable. His deep voice was engaging and easy on the ears. I will say, I tried to speed it up to 1.25x speed and it was unlistenable so I reduced it back down to 1x speed.

Overall/Other notes: This book contains sex trafficking and perpetuates the stereotype that traffickers pluck random women off the street (when they normally groom people in unfortunate circumstances). I was annoyed that while Angie is imprisoned and concerned for her daughter’s safety she thinks about how it might be nice to lose weight from being starved *rolls eyes*. Thank you to NetGalley, Thunder Creek Press and Avanti Centrae for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

First of all, I would like to thank Thunder Creek Press, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Audiobooks, Avanti Centrae, and NetGalley for allowing me to read/listen to this ARC free for an honest review.

My initial interest in this book was its historical aspect. It was refreshing to see a different approach to Cleopatra, as a beautiful woman with a lot of smarts--perhaps even a bit of a trickster--instead of the time and tried one of her being a "romantic femme fatale" who committed suicide by an asp's bite. It was obvious that Avanti did a lot of research, not only about Cleopatra but also about artificial intelligence deepfakes and modern propaganda techniques, military think tanks, and sadly the massive worldwide issues regarding sex-trafficking. Being able to weave a story around these topics made for a good read. I give that part of this book 5 stars.

However, I pulled back to an overall 4 star rating only because I had some trouble with one of the main characters. For me, perhaps not for other readers, maybe I was being overly critical, but in the case of one of Angie, I felt perhaps too much emphasis was placed on her difficulties dealing with the tragic death of a newborn and finding "comfort" from a bottle. instead of being able to properly grieve. I'm not being unsympathetic here either. It took away from the importance of her having been kidnapped and facing possibly being sold off as part of an international sex-trafficking ring. For me, it just felt like it was being way overused for the story the way it kept being brought up so much. Perhaps though, she was meant to be a weaker female character, versus her very strong sister, Sam, and through her experiences with the sex traffickers, made stronger.

Nevertheless, the way the other military characters, such as Rey, was portrayed was a bit better and I was able to empathize better with them and their PTSD. To me, it wasn't as overdone. For that reason, I think I could have been more sympathetic to Angie had it not seemed like she came off with "woe is me" and she could have been a much stronger lead female character, such as the secondary characters of Luna and Zola (seemed to me) were. That's not to say that Angie didn't have her moments.

Despite how I felt about a few of the characters, the over all story had a good pace for the action scenes, which made Cleopatra's Vendetta a strong book.

I wasn't sure how much of the book I would actually read as an e-book versus listening to the audiobook version. I wound up listen to about 60-70 percent of more, so I should also say that the narrator, Tim Campbell did a wonderful reading, so it was a pleasure for me to listen to the story. He did an excellent job with voicing the characters and using accents.

So if you either read an e-book, hardcopy, or listen to the audiobook, overall, I think if you enjoy historical fiction with some intrigue, mystery, suspense, adventure, international locations, and a race-against-time elements, you will enjoy Cleopatra's Vendetta.

A mystery that provides a history lesson is always an exciting adventure for a listener.  Who knew Cleopatra held so many talents and secrets?
   There are multiple scenarios that play out simultaneously in this story. Kidnapping, sex trafficking, the Mafia, treasure hunting and the CIA are all related in this fast paced novel.
   The amount of research into Cleopatra required to transform that background information into the storyline and make it part of a modern day scenario was fascinating. Part "Mission Impossible" , part "National Treasure” all of it exciting to listen to.

This is a good book. I’d rate it 3.5 stars
The historical info was fun and interesting. The action was fast and pretty engaging.
The major drawbacks that kept it from being great were that we never got to know any of the characters quite well enough to become emotionally invested in them, so they either came off as shallow or unlikeable. And the plethora of coincidence was a bit hard to swallow, even if it was sort of explained.
Very good narration!
Overall fun and worth listening to if you want some light entertainment.

I was initially drawn in by the book's premise, as I have always been interested in Cleopatra, and it sounded unique. But unfortunately, I could not finish it due to some of the subject matter I had initially been unaware of, i.e., child sex slaves. Just because this wasn't for me does not mean it's not a compelling story, and I thought the narrator did a good job with the atmosphere and urgency of this story. I will stay neutral with a 3-star because the writing is good. It was simply too dark for me, which is a matter of personal preference and might not be an issue for others. I appreciate the publisher and Netgalley allowing me to review the book.

I was really looking forward to this book as Cleopatra holds a real interest for me. The book started off really well. However, as the book progressed it just did not hold my attention and i found myself easily distracted. I got to about 75% and realised i wasn't really vested in the outcome. I had access to the audiobook and did wonder if the narrator had something to do with it. Perhaps i should try again with a paper copy.

A sincere thank you for providing me an audiobook of “Cleopatra’s Vendetta” in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to listen to “Cleopatra’s Vendetta” and leave my review voluntarily.

There are several things I enjoyed about this book, and several I didn’t. Let's start with what I enjoyed: the Cleopatra portion of the book and uncovering that mystery. What I didn’t like: the jumping all around and what needs to be more apparent trigger warning. (Trigger: child sex slave). I really think that we need to be more mindful of trigger, I don’t have many but of course this book focused on the biggest trigger I have. The synopsis doesn’t mention this, and by the time I gave up on this book at the 80% mark, it hadn’t been resolved. I was so upset by this portion of the plot that I couldn’t focus on the rest. I really wanted to enjoy this book, and if you can overlook or handle a young child potentially ending up as a sex slave, then you will probably enjoy this book. It is fast paced, and the rest of the plot is quite enjoyable.

I want to take a special moment to thank the publisher for reaching out to me in exchange for an honest review, I access the book via @netgalley and listened to the audio version.

Rating 3.5 stars, but I struggled to rate this one.

Every once in a while I like to switch up my usual genre and pick up a crime novel. I was able to listen to the audiobook thanks to Netgalley. This one actually had me pretty hooked from the beginning, but I had to do a lot of back tracking to figure out whose perspective I was on, as the narrator didn’t do much of a voice change between characters unless they were switching from male to female.

The history and mystery surrounding Cleopatra was what initially had me intrigued. I wish that there had been a little bit more of that incorporated into the story. Instead it felt a little bit disjointed from the current storyline. The only other complaint I had was that at times I had to double check that this was in fact the first book and not a sequel. I felt as though I had missed some of the backstory of these characters, and was surprised that there wasn’t more available. I think having more of these characters backstories, rather than just their most recent tragedy, would have made a huge difference in how I experienced the book and the characters, and would have made this a solid 4 star read

However, for those who have a strong interest in Cleopatra and historical mystery/fiction, this book might be the right fit for you.