Tuesday, March 8, 2016

THE ORACLE BY D.J. Niko




Publisher:     Medallion
Published:     November 15, 2015
ISBN:        978-1605426273
Genre:      Thriller, Romantic Suspense
Format:     Print – Paperback ARC
Obtained via:  Publisher
Reviewed by name and email address:  Gina  Ginalrmreviews@gmail.com

FOUR HEARTS


393 CE a woman flees her captors, seeking sanctuary in a hidden cave.  This is no ordinary woman—she is a seer, a priestess of Apollo. But despite evading her captors she still cannot evade her death.   In one final act she tries to leave a record of her story.

Recovered from a horrific plane crash, one caused by human design rather than accident or act of nature, Daniel Madigan is back doing what he loves best—working on an archaeological dig.  But his partner and the woman he loves, Sarah Weston, knows something is wrong.  Despite all they have been through together, Daniel simply will not confide what is going on to Sarah.  Instead he turns to Valium and endures sleepless nights.  Such is the price to pay for a deal with the Devil.

When part of that unholy deal takes Daniel away from the dig Sarah is angry, yet determined to find out what is going on with him.  While Daniel takes instructions, following a path to an object he knows only has minor historical significance, but one several powerful people want.  Sarah too looks for the item.  Seeming at cross purposes they pursue the same object, always missing each other, keeping their knowledge from each other when they do find themselves together.

Each is taken prisoner by a madman—but a well-connected one who is determined to bring about the destruction of the world as we know it.  Can they trust each other to find the object and stop the man behind the pending carnage?  Or will they find themselves as the young priestess did…writing their stories on the walls of a cave before they die?

I’ve enjoyed D.J. Niko’s Sarah Weston books from the beginning with THE TENTH SAINT.  Niko combines non-stop action against a fascinating historical backdrop.  To that she adds a hint of romance between Daniel and Sarah.  They love each other.  There is no doubt about that.  But time and circumstances keep pulling them apart.  In her latest, THE ORACLE, Niko puts them through the ultimate test of trust—the secret Daniel is keeping from Sarah is perhaps the most painful of all.  I found myself practically yelling at the character “Tell her, just tell her!”  But if he did, he would no longer be the Daniel readers have come to know. 

While the series is the Sarah Weston chronicles, THE ORACLE is very much Daniel’s story.  Switching focus is not an easy thing for an author and reader to do, but the way Niko does it is seamless.  There is no way Sarah’s story in this book could be told without Daniel’s being in the forefront.

Both Sarah and Daniel are smart, professional and above all ethical.  They seek historical objects to preserve, not own them.  And they would never use them for their own gain yet in THE ORACLE Daniel is put in the position of having to perhaps compromise his very value system.  Niko does a fantastic job showing how he battles not only that demon, but his own inner fears in the aftermath of the plane crash that almost killed him in THE RIDDLE OF SOLOMON. 

I also enjoyed the inner weaving of what is in many ways a parallel story with the events of the fourth century with Sarah’s in the modern day.  It is almost as if Sarah is righting the wrong done centuries before.

This series makes me want to go on an archaeological dig myself or at least take a class in the subject.  I can’t wait for the next instalment.




This is an objective review and not an endorsement of this book.

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