The Crypt Thief: A Hugo Marston Novel – Mark Pryor

“Right now it doesn’t matter who’s right and who’s wrong. The simple truth is, if we treat this as a terrorist act we get more resources from our people and more cooperation from the French.” (Quotation page 27)

Content

A man at the famous Père Lachaise cemetery at night, two whispering voices near the headstone of “James Douglas Morrison”. The next morning a young man and a woman are found dead near the grave. When Hugo Marston arrives at his office at the US embassy, he finds his friend, CIA-man Tom Green, deep in conversation with is boss, Ambassador Taylor. The dead man is American, the son of a senator. The woman on the other hand seems to be connected to terrorism. Definitely a case for the CIA. When Hugo sees a strange injury at the shoulder of the dead woman and more unusual transactions are found out, Hugo Marston, also an experienced profiler, is sure, that there must be not only a terroristic background. Somebody is collecting very special items and does it with a system that Hugo has to find out with high urgency, in order to prevent further assassinations. Who is this person moving unseen between graveyards and leaving small figurines, scarabs, with his victims?

Theme and Genre

This thriller is the second book of the Hugo Marston Novel Series, with gripping actions and investigations and the psychological conflict shows what a painful childhood can make to the later adult person.

Characters

Again, they work together, officially and nonofficially too: Hugo Marston, Tom Green and Capitaine Garcia from the French police.

Plot and Writing

This second case definitely is much more a thriller than a crime investigation, such as the first Hugo-Marston-Novel. A serial killer, lots of action and some unsettling crime scenes could definitely be too much for fainthearted readers. However, the story is still believable, well developed and thrilling. The plot combines two alternating narrative storylines, one of it telling the activities of the Scarab.

Conclusion

An exciting and gripping read.