If you've never had the pleasure of reading about David Gibbins character, Jack Howard you're missing out. Inquisition is the latest book in the Jack Howard series and Gibbins once again brings readers a book that is a mixture of history, science, mystery and thrills. This author's writing is equal parts exciting and thought provoking. The brutality of the Inquisition is the backdrop to this book which has everything from pirate ships to secret societies. A must reader for thriller fans.



What I liked:



This book gave me all kinds of interesting comparison's. Main character Jack Howard had me thinking about bull whips and leather jackets. He reminded me of my other favorite archaeologist... Indiana Jones with maybe a hint of Laura Croft mixed in for those readers who prefer a female badass. But this time we have a marine archaeologist. Which was a pleasant and interesting surprise. I thought Gibbins did a great job with this aspect of the main characters career and motivations. It's certainly easy to tell that Gibbins has dabbled in this kind of work himself. It gave the character an authenticity you don't often find in thrillers. Jack Howard is one of those very interesting people you might meet that come across as academic and nerdy, but they aren't afraid to seek adventure. Great lead character.



I'm always a fan of a book that brings history to the forefront and this one really does. From the title readers will know the time period. The Inquisition was a brutal time in the history of the church and many innocent lives were lost. I liked the fact that Gibbin's dives into the history surrounding the Inquisition and does not sugar coat what was happening in the world at that time. The book shifts back and forth through history as the past is tied to the present while Jack is on the trail of the "holy grail". It was such an interesting historical mystery and Gibbins is able to make it completely plausible that the "grail" existed both then and now. Just a very good mix of historical background and theory.



Secret societies are always so fun to read about. In this book the Altamanus is the bad guy group that is after the "grail" along with Howard. But these guys are not beyond doing some pretty dastardly things to get what they want. As far as villians go, I think Gibbins finds a group that none of us would like to mess with. Serious Illuminati feels here. When belief in something overrides good sense. It added the required conflict and thrills needed to make the chase for the "grail" realistic and scary in a fight for your life kind of way.



What I didn't like:



There were moments where I felt a little out of my element with this book. There were some technical terms I seriously thought about looking up and bringing a dictionary along isn't fun. But also felt a learned a few new things as well. It's all in how you look at it, I suppose.



There was a lot of excitement and thrills but where were also times when the book dragged a little. There was a ton of history to be imparted as well as mystery and I think that led to a percentage of the book that might not hold the interest of some readers. I liked it, but not it won't be everyone's cup of tea. But it's worth the slow parts to get to the thrilling parts. Hang in there with it and you'll love the outcome.



Bottom Line:



Great lead character, tons of historical background and leanings toward Tombraider, Indiana Jones and even the Da Vinci Code. If that kind of book is your jam... this one will do it for you. I loved Jack, so nerdy but still so adventurous. Gibbins' gives the historical mystery fans exactly what they want with this one. Very informative and interesting.

Even though this is the second book of this series I've read , and I'm slowly getting them to read there something about this series I love , can't wait to see what happens next , because this series is one of my favorite ones to read. With that said thinks Netgalley for giving me a chance at reading and review one of my favorite series .

Dr Jack Howard is a man on a mission and he thinks that he has found a long last treasure from a time in history that saw many murdered because of their beliefs. But what Jack is about to find will change everything and he will put himself & his friends in danger as the treasure is wanted by many. Can he really have found the chalice that has been missing for centuries? Jack has been looking into his family history and he has found a link between the missing treasure that Captain Avery took and the dark history of the Inquisition. Can Jack and his team put all the pieces together and find out why the chalice was taken and where it might be now? But their enemy is on their tail and they will do whatever it takes to find the holy relic before he does. The history of the Inquisition was murdering spree filled with violence and hate that saw many burnt alive for been non Christian even when there wasn't much evidence to prove that they weren't living a life like the Church demanded. Jack's ancestor Joao was a well known Jewish merchant that lived in Tangier and he was taken by the church and accused of many things and he refused to admit to the charges as he knew that his family was safe and that the treasure was many miles away and that the navy's ship would never catch up to the Black Swan and that the Church has lost. But he is about to find out that no one can win against them and he prays that the treasure will be safe forever. But there is a secret society called the Altamanus and they are looking for the holy Chalice and they won't give up until they find it for good. Can Jack & his team find it and deliver to the right person so that it will be kept safe for good? It must have been awful to live in fear not knowing that you could be taken before a court of priests and accused of crimes against the Church without any proof knowing that you will never leave that place again. They killed women, children and whoever they thought was a threat. What I enjoyed about the book is the history of the treasures and how they all fitted together. Do I believe that there was a holy cup I am not too sure but that doesn't stop me from believing that there is some truth to the stories. Who doesn't love learning about the past and how it shaped our modern day world. I really enjoyed this book and I am sure that many others will as well. I was lucky enough to receive a copy in exchange for my honest review via Netgalley & the publishing house.

This is book 10 in the Jack Howard series. I have not read any of previous books, but I can say that the author does a nice job of filling in the pertinent previous events, so I did not feel lost as the book progressed. It works well as standalone.

The book begins with a prologue from the Rome Catacombs of Callixtus in AD 258, and a man who is being chased desperately trying to save the Holy Grail. David Gibbins does a very nice job of including details that make this scene come to life. From there, we move to the first chapter and the present time period. The book has some history that fills in many blanks, and the details about what it’s like to look for shipwrecks was interesting. I must admit that as carefully as he explained what they did and how they did it, some of the information was beyond me.

This isn’t typically the kind of book I read, but I did enjoy it.

Lost relics, sunken treasure, the lure of history buried beneath the seas, a tantalizing mystery that will lure marine archaeologist Jack Howard into a quest to uncover the mysteries behind the disappearance of the Holy Grail.

From the days of Pope Sixtus when Christians were martyred to a seventeenth century attempt to retrieve treasures over a thousand years old, to the sunken ruins of a pirate ship off Jamaica, a single coin will become the piece of a puzzle long though unsolvable.

INQUISITION by David Gibbins crisscrosses time to tell the story of great faith, brutal torture and secret sects who will stop at nothing to retrieve the Holy Grail and Jack Howard is determined to honor both the past and the bravery of men long dead. What does Jack uncover and at what cost to himself? Has the sect withstood the test of time while never giving up its quest?

For lovers of adventure, dark mysteries that have remain unsolved through time and the human need for answers, prepare to set sail across the globe to the warm waters of the Caribbean as man, nature and technology come together. Larger than life heroes, moments of humor, life threatening danger and ancient mysteries unravel before our eyes as we explore the depths of the sea and the skeletons it hides.

David Gibbins has created an intriguing tale around one small coin that is both entertaining and thought provoking! I was mesmerized by the historical aspects, in particular, the human interactions, both the honorable and the brutal.

I received an ARC edition from St. Martin's Press!

Series: Jack Howard - Book 10
Publisher: St. Martin's Press (April 10, 2018)
Publication Date: April 10, 2018
Genre: Thriller | Suspense
Print Length: 288 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
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A series in the vein of Clive Cussler, this is the tenth adventure featuring Jack Howard. It was my introduction to the character, but the author made a good job of recapping important events and establishing relationships amongst the characters, so I didn't feel like I was missing anything. The chemistry between Jack and his best friend Costas sparkles and gives the story its sense of humor. They are both very smart and resourceful and didn't fall into a common trap in these kinds of books when there is a need to propel the action: acting dumb. The criminals sometimes get the upper hand, but it is truly because they are also smart, not because the characters suddenly come down with a case of the stupids. I really liked the chapters devoted to Jack Howard, even if some technical terms about diving and seafaring went over my head. What I didn't enjoy as much was the historical chapters where we see what happened to the key figures that Jack is following in the present. Fans of historical novels will love them, but to me it just slowed down the action and made my attention slip. Still, the story is entertaining enough to spend a snowy afternoon in the Caribbean seas

I enjoy reading David Gibbins' books. This series is really interesting. He must do a lot of research while writing, because the detail he puts into his books is amazing. This book did drag a little to start with, but the ending was great.

Jack Howard is exploring the wreck of famed shipwreck off the coast of Cornwall when he discovers clues to the whereabouts of one of the most coveted item in Christendom, the Holy Grail. Following the trail to Port Royal, Jamaica, Howard is accosted by others who also seek the Cup of Christ, and some of them will kill to possess it. Gibbins has another winner that will be popular with fans of Clive Cussler and James Rollins