Tom Harper (1) (1977–)

Highly recommended! A gripping action/adventure with a nice dose of life's mysteries.

Read for York's Big City Read. I've never read anything like this before, but very much enjoyed it. A little like Mosse`s Labyrinth, but with less of the ancient conspiracy theme.

I found this a good enough light read, well paced and not completely implausible (although you do have to ignore the lead character making some major choices without very clear or plausible motivation). The historic storyline dragged in the first half; there simply wasn't enough plot to justify the word count. The London setting is well drawn without getting overblown. Don't expect too much and you may well enjoy it.

Sadly, this was a difficult read. It had a very slow start and I struggled to stay focused. The two parallel storylines were okay, but I found the modern day one with Ellie far more interesting although I was continually shaking me head at the stupid mistakes she kept making. When it came to the 12th century story, I soon found myself skimming those sections as they didn't hold my attention at all. Personally, "The Lazarus Vault" felt like a Dan Brown wannabe which failed.