The Death Relic by Chris Kuzneski

The Death Relic starts out strong in this archaeological mystery. Dr. Maria Pelati is invited to Cancun to discuss employment working for an archaeologist studying Mayan civilization, Terrance Hamilton. It is out of her expertise, but she is curious and decides to at least meet with Mr. Hamilton.  At their initial meeting, he steps out to retrieve some information and disappears.

The book is compelling as it introduces us to Maria, Hamilton, and her friends, Payne and Jones.  This is a “buddy” type story with Jonathan Payne and David Jones, long time friends. The information about the Mayan people and civilization was interesting, and the description of the area was done well.

Unfortunately, there were a few things that kept this from being a 5-star book for me.  First the crude language added nothing to the personalities of the characters and left me thinking they weren't as smart or sophisticated as they were supposed to be.  As the book progressed, the bantering between the two friends started to wear thin. It was like listening to the dialog of 14 year old boys, not adult men. Another distraction for me was the repeated references to a previous case and the relationships between the characters in some previous story.  If you have read his previous books, you may enjoy this one, but I came to a point where I just didn't care how it ended.

I received a review copy of this book in return for an honest and fair review.  I provide a link to Amazon.com to purchase the book, but it is only as a courtesy and I receive no compensation if purchased.