Trust no one A thriller

This breezy standalone from Rollins (Arkangel) isn't up to the author's usual standard. Sharyn Karr, an American student of magic and occult science at England's University of Exeter, is studying in the school's library when professor Julian Wright frantically entrusts her with an ancient tome. The book, a locked and encrypted journal from the Count of Saint-Germain, an 18th-century alchemist, supposedly contains the location of the Count's vast treasure, and perhaps even the secret to immortality. When Wright is killed shortly after handing Sharyn the volume, she and four other students are blamed for his murder and go on the run from both law enforcement and a shadowy group called Confrérie des Illuminés that's determined to seize the book. Malick Laurent, member of an opposing group that has sworn to protect the diary, joins the quintet as they're pursued across England and France to the Italian Alps. Solid action and eye-catching historical tidbits enliven the proceedings, but they can't offset the story's underdeveloped characters, dull villains, and improbabilities. Readers drawn to the Dan Brown--esque premise will be disappointed. Agent: Russ Galen, Scovil Galen Ghosh. (Feb.)

A modern-day thriller rooted in ancient alchemy. Attackers slit a woman's throat in Norway as her captive husband refuses to divulge the location of a unique book. The man was the Twelfth Keeper of the strange tome, which he's already spirited away to the Thirteenth Keeper, a professor at the University of Exeter in England. Fearing he will be discovered, the professor urgently passes it to Sharyn Karr, an American graduate student in witchcraft. (Yes, that's a real thing.) She must take the book, never open it, and keep it safe. "Trust no one," he admonishes. Soon after, the professor is found in the Old Library with a dagger in his heart. The book has quite a provenance: It's the work of 18th-century alchemist Comte de Saint-Germain, "a man who does not die, and who knows everything." Initially entrusted to a woman close to Marie Antoinette, its pages are "suffused with a combustible elixir" that will ignite should anyone attempt to force it open. It's so important because it contains a map and three adages that contain the secret to immortality. The Confrérie, or Brotherhood, are willing to kill for a secret that extends life and betters the human condition. (Wait, what?) The object of their lust is bound in copper and leather, with a mysterious, intricately decorated crystalline orb that locks it. So Karr and a few friends--whom she trusts despite the warning--go on the run. "For truth be told," she muses, "what harm could come from a book?" Certainly none from this enjoyable, high-energy thriller, but likely death from possessing Saint-Germain's combustible creation. The friends go to the Tower of London, brave a fierce blizzard in Italy, and find ancient, disused caves in the Dolomite mountains, but their enemies know where to look. One of the scoundrels is a cardinal from the Vatican, bless his heart. Readers will like the raven that's fed blood-soaked biscuits and the lynx that enters the fray. Fans of Dan Brown and Clive Cussler will love this book. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.