Heather’s Bookshelf: The Ignoble Lie
Author: Matthew Peters
Released: 04/12/25
Genre: Historical/Religious Thrille
“The Ignoble Lie” introduces Dr. Scott Larson and Zady Jones. Larson’s a scholar and ex-Jesuit and Zady’s an adventurer who was raised by her uncle after the untimely death of her parents.
Zady was raised alongside her sister, Brynn. Larson and Zady have been in treasure-seeking adventures before, so when a situation unveils the need for another round, they both dive in.
Meanwhile, US President John Jenkins has been impeached for crossing the line about separation of church and state. During the proceedings, a terrorist attack on the Great Pyramid complicates things even more. Senator Roberts is determined to reveal the truth about the President and the terrorist attacks. And something’s going on with the Pope…
Zady and Larson get dragged into this bigger mystery when Brynn is kidnapped. The terrorists demand ancient treasures in exchange for the release of Brynn. Will they be able to solve the mystery, find the ancient artifacts, and save Brynn or will they lose more than Zady’s sister along the way?
Trigger Warning: murder, assault, kidnapping, torture
Overall, I was a bit torn on this book. I really wanted to love it as I have an affinity for the “Dan Brown type”. I also happen to really enjoy the history of Ancient Egypt. However, the beginning of this book was both confusing and convoluted. It alluded to previous occurrences and relationships but did so in a telling way that was challenging to get through. I didn’t understand who Zady was, how she knew Larson, and what the heck was going on at times. I checked back several times to make sure I had received the first in the series as it felt like I picked up somewhere in the middle. Add that to the different POVs and the first half of the book took away from the adventure. Once the story settled into the hunt for the artifacts and the history regarding Egypt, it became a lot more interesting. The plot moved along at a good pace and there was enough adventure interspersed with history to keep you reading. However, I felt very little connection to the main characters. Some of that seemed to be due to the “starting in the middle feeling”. There was very little background on either character, peeks into their personalities, and minor allusions to their relationship. It wasn’t enough to make me feel invested. The ending summarizes most of what happens with a letter, but there’s still some items that seem unresolved. I hope this author decides to put out a prequel to this book that explains what was alluded to before and better sets up the characters. That may change my outlook of this tale.
I received a copy of this story in exchange of a fair and honest review.
OVERALL REVIEW:
A historical thriller ensconced in religious and Egyptian references, political intrigue, and adventure. A lack of connection to the main characters and challenging structure for the first half of the book hinder the tale.
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