How does one review a serialized story without spoiling things? It's an interesting conundrum. I think, in the future, I'll wait for the collected editions from Serial Box (I've done this with The Witch Who Came in From the Cold).

Stolen Treasures continues the good story, building in more details and developing the characters more. Enjoyed it.

Thanks to netgalley.com and Serial Box for the advance copy for my honest review.

'Stolen Treasures', is the fourth installment of a series that, will total 11 episodes, that makes up False Idol, Season 1 and the author varies with each episode.

Liked this one better than the last installment from the author, has a lot of details in it, that will build the foundation for the rest of the story and you realize how strong Layla is with what Pierce is doing.

Like the previous episodes, this one begins exactly where the previous ended.

This whole episode felt a bit formulaic – Layla gets caught, comes up with a random excuse that saves her and soon gets into another mess.

However, there are a few aspects in which the formula wasn’t strictly followed.

For example, there are some real changes to Layla. Okay, her relationship still annoys me, but she still knows what she went to Egypt for.

Not only that, other characters become more three dimensional, which is always important – especially in a serial like this.

To top it off, this episode has some actual conflict, things are changing.

All in all, this was an okay episode (at best!) but it means a lot for the serial given that things are changing.

Rating: 3.5 stars

The Series didn't really hook in me so I won't be reading the rest of them!

Thank you Netgalley and Serial Box for providing a copy of Stolen Treasures in exchange for an honest review.

I am absolutely loving this series! The cliffhanger from Episode 3 kicks off Stolen Treasures and I held my breath the whole time Layla was in the cross hairs of Bennett's security guard. Layla manages to talk her way out of trouble, but she finds herself conflicted on the new information she has gathered on Bennett and whether or not she wants him behind bars. After running into trouble of being able to get in touch with her boss, we soon find out what could be effecting that. I'm looking forward to the next episode.

4 stars
I continue to enjoy the twists and turns in this suspenseful serial read.
The fourth installment resolves the cliffhanger from the 3rd after Mackey, Bennett’s head of security, sees Layla exiting Mackey’s office. With a quick, little lie that is plausible, Layla gets herself out of Mackey’s direct scrutiny. Yet it appears his suspicion is raised as Layla suspects him of following her on at least 1 occasion.
Layla continues to get deeper into her role at the Rothkopf gallery and gets invited to join them in a trip for the gallery to New York City. Layla also attends a fundraiser at the Egyptian Museum where she meets an Italian journalist, Alberto Rossi, who is investigating stolen antiquities. After their conversation, Layla researches the stolen artifacts on line and finds that one of the scarabs stolen just happens to be a jade beetle scarab that Jehan, daughter of Noor, received for her birthday. This reinforces the link between Noor and Bennett Rothkopf from whom the scarab was purchased.
Of course, at the end, another cliffhanger. But this time, issues are presenting themselves with the reliability of Layla’s handler, Pierce.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher, Serial Box, for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This series is really hitting its stride right now, ramping up the tension and leaving Layla in a place where there's no one she can rely on.