The Cairo Puzzle

Excellent! A page turner.

First line: "<i>The chanting was louder now.</i>"

Firstly, I would like to start off by thanking Netgalley for allowing the me opportunity to read this novel.

Secondly, I requested this novel and started reading it before realizing that it is the fifth novel in a series of books that I have never heard of. Given the synopsis I did not think that this would matter as the story sounded to be a stand alone. This is really what resulted in the 4 star rating, because I was confused as to who exactly Xena was and what her role in the previous novels were and how this influenced her current role. There were some other minor details that threw me off a bit, but nothing major to detract from the story.

Beyond that, I really enjoyed this novel and its historical basis in the secrets of the Great Pyramid. I found it really quite interesting, and would loved to have learnt more. I also liked the main character, Isabel and her courage and strength that she displayed throughout the novel in a variety of situations.

I will definitely consider reading the preceding novels in this series, and hopefully they are just as good as this novel (and hopefully, they fill in the questions I have about this one).

Sean has gone to Germany to give a speech and disappeared. Isabel is sure he is still alive and will go to the ends of the earth to find him. She goes to Cairo at a time when they are having a great deal of unrest and not safe for a woman to be traveling alone. Henry has tried to help her as best he can from London but she is mostly on her own. She meets a professor who invites her to go to an unveiling at the Pyramids. A pharmaceutical company owned by an Egyptian longing for power is unveiling his discovery of eternal youth. Does this billionaire hold the key to finding Sean. An exciting read that keeps you wondering if Isabel is just wishing to find Sean or if she really can find him.

"If you go to Cairo you might well get yourself killed, Isabel."

Isabel Sharp is looking for her missing husband Sean Ryan in Cairo. She has heard an Amercian has brought from Germany to a hospital in Cairo. It is a bad time to enter Cairo as unrest is going across the city.But she cannot stop until she finds the truth about her husband. An Egyptian billionaire announces a spectacular discovery at the Great Pyramid. Hoping that he can answer her questions, Isabel meets him.
With a twist and turn of events, she meets the Muslim brotherhood and becomes the target of their plans.She has to find out what they know and also needs to stop their plan.
Will she able to find the secrets of the pyramid?
Will she able to find her husband?
All the answers lie in this book.

It is really a page turner. With each chapter, there is a twist and turn.The book takes you on a journey, uncovering the secrets of the Pyramid and uncovering the secrets of Isabel life.I really enjoyed the story narration. I finished this book in 2 days. It is fast phasing book and has a gripping story.

This series started with the main character being Sean Ryan and then as the series progressed the main character changed to Isabel Ryan, the wife of Sean. This was a very fast paced book as well as the conclusion to the fourth book in the series which stopped when Sean disappeared. I could not read fast enough and really enjoyed the characters as well as the different settings in the book.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial via Netgalley for the book. When I saw that this book was part of a series I just had to read the first books in the series before reading book 5. It was well worth my time as I really enjoyed the whole series.

Isabel's husband goes to Germany and disappeared. She's lead to believe he's dead but refuses to believe this. There has been an American treated at a Cairo hospital flown in from Germany which leads her to Cairo to search for him ... in the middle of an uprising. There she deals with a shady cab driver, the bad guys aka the Brotherhood, an announcement of a discovery at the Great Pyramid of Giza, a professor and a rich Egyptian with grand plans for Egypt and himself.
This is the final book in the 5 book series and I'm sure it would have been helpful to have read the prior books but this book works as a stand alone book. It's fast paced and entertaining and an all around fun read. It sparked my interest enough that I think I will pick up the earlier books in the series.

Sean, the husband of Isabel, is an archaeologist. At the beginning of the novel Isabel, who works for the intelligence service normally, has travelled to Egypt because her husband has gone missing there. Egypt is in a turmoil with the army taking power and the Muslim Brotherhood going for presidency again. While Isabel is trying to find a trace of her husband another archaeologist with backup of a powerful businessman insists there is a hidden area in the pyramid of Cheops. He invites her for the opening of that hidden room.

The story is intriguing and many current affairs of nowadays Egypt intertwine within the story. You keep on reading. However do not expect deep psychological analysis. Although the mourning is well written. In the end I had the feeling the story was rushed. On the other hand the fact that some people appear in Isabel's life and then after a short time die instead of developing in a love interest or a mysterious nomad makes the story more realistic and less "constructed".

Real action- loves the storyline. Very descriptive and awesome. Would definitely read this book again.

*I received this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

The Cairo Puzzle by Laurence O'Bryan is the fifth installment in his thriller/mystery Puzzle Series. It follows Sean and Isabel Ryan as they attempt to solve murders, kidnappings and ancient mysteries across the world. Picking up where the previous novel ends, Cairo Puzzle follows Isabel as she searches relentlessly for her missing husband, Sean. Being an American woman travelling alone in modern day Islamic Cairo, she has to be careful about what she says or where she goes. Even more so, with a recent uprising against the Egyptian government occurring synchronically being a foreigner is a dangerous thing. However, Isabel continues her hunt through the hospitals of Cairo eventually ending up at the mansion of an Egyptian billionaire who offers his services. But does her savior have an underlying motive behind his generosity? As he leads her to the Great Pyramids, she discovers a hidden world of deception and ancient secrets.

I will definitely be going back to read the first books in this series, as I await the sixth installment.

I can certainly see why comparisons have been made with Dan Brown here.
This is an absorbing novel so don't plan to do anything else when you open the first page and there's a lot of historical content worth learning about too.
Good, strong characters.
Many thanks.