Showing results by author "Christopher Cartwright" in All Categories

Fifteen years ago, 8-year-old Ethan Jones watched a stranger bury something in the mining ruins of the Rhyolite Desert, Nevada. Even at his young age, he knew what he’d just seen was important. In present day, a US Navy SEAL takes refuge in a secret chamber beneath the ancient streets of Syria and discovers an unusual stone artifact, like nothing he’d ever seen before. When news of the discovery reaches Sam Reilly, he is forced to return to his past, where his search for the Master Builders originated – and complete a mission he’d hoped could have stayed unfinished forever.

In the dead of night, a decrepit, unmarked motor yacht drifts into the medieval port of Vernazza, Italy. The run-down vessel forms a jarring contrast to the pastel colored tower homes and terraced vineyards surrounding the natural harbor along the coast of Cinque Terre. Less than fifty yards away, a man wakes up on board a small rowboat, covered in blood. Lying next to him is a woman with two – execution style – bullet holes to her forehead. In his right hand he holds a small suitcase. Tucked into his pocket is a Russian built Makarov semiautomatic handgun – with two rounds missing.

On January the 22nd, 1945, a secret weapon of unimaginable power was brought from the quiet town of Haigerloch in Germany’s southwest, and loaded onto a plane waiting at Stuttgart. Less than a dozen people knew of the weapon’s existence, and even less knew where it was being taken. The aircraft, its crew, and its remarkable cargo were never seen again. Until now. When the wreckage of the aircraft is located in present day Washington D.C. with no sign of its deadly cargo on board, Sam Reilly is called in to investigate.

A mystery wrapped in a myth about the origins of humanity. A race to find an ancient pyramid hidden in plain sight. A secret so dangerous its guardians will kill to protect it. And an ancient covenant that might save the world, or destroy it completely. In 1655 a group of explorers from the Emerald Star entered the Namibian Desert in search of an ancient relic rumored to be hidden in a secret temple. None of the crew ever returned – but stories of their mysterious demise continued to be told.

On March 11, 2011, the Japanese fishing trawler, Hoshi Maru accidentally hauled up something deadly into its live-fish hold. The crew, having discovered their mistake, raced toward the harbor in the hope that they might survive. They never made it. Presumed sunk by the tsunami that ravaged the coastline of Japan, its crew were declared dead. Seven years later, the shipwreck washed up on Cannon Beach, Oregon. By the time the US Department of Fish and Wildlife arrived to investigate, people in the nearby towns had started to die in terrifying and inexplicable ways.