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David Leadbeater

The Vatican Secret: The brand-new, completely gripping, fast-paced action adventure thriller series (Joe Mason, Book 1) Kindle Edition

by David Leadbeater (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

1,655 ratings

Book 1 of 2: Joe Mason

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‘This 5-star thriller is a non-stop action-packed adventure… Reads like the latest blockbuster film… I was left breathless, my heart pounding as I turned the last page’ NetGalley review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

You’ve cracked the Da Vinci code, now uncover the Vatican secret…

The deepest secrets are kept in the darkest places.

When ex-MI5 operative Joe Mason is sent to Rome to guard an elderly professor and his daughter, he thinks he’s in for an easy ride.

But on their first day in the Vatican secret archives, a masked assassin gains entry, shoots Joe’s client in cold blood and steals an ancient manuscript. Giving chase, Joe can’t imagine what could lie within those pages that would make someone willing to kill.

The search for answers leads Joe and his comrades in a race against time, across continents and into treacherous mountains. Only they have a hope of rescuing the Vatican Book of Secrets before a centuries-old enemy can succeed in bringing Rome – and the world as we know it – crashing down…

The Da Vinci Code meets Die Hard in this fast-paced, adrenaline-filled, action-adventure thriller. Perfect for fans of Lee Child and Clive Cussler, The Vatican Secret will have you turning the pages late into the night.

Readers are gripped by The Vatican Secret:

‘Cover to cover action… with the pages flying by… A great writer… I loved this book’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘An absolutely thrilling adventure, a rollercoaster ride… Terrific plot and well-drawn characters’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A dynamite premise and a tantalizing plot… Hits its stride from page one… Definitely entertaining’ Steve Berry, author of The Kaiser’s Web

‘A fast-paced book with non-stop action’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘An explosive cocktail of relentless action’ Alex Shaw, author of Total Blackout

‘This book has it all… Action, intrigue, suspense… with me on the edge of my seat itching to know what would happen next’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A high-octane, page-turning thriller that has it all’ Rob Jones, author of The Atlantis Covenant

‘History, excitement and plenty of action. I was totally engrossed’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘You just get swept away with the characters, the action… Magnifico!’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Print length

420 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Avon
Publication date

3 March 2022
File size

1660 KB
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Product description

About the Author

David Leadbeater has published more than forty novels and is a million-copy ebook bestseller. His books include the chart-topping Matt Drake series and the Relic Hunters series, which won the inaugural Amazon Kindle Storyteller award in 2017. The Vatican Secret is the first book in the new Joe Mason series, and David's first book with HarperCollins.

www.davidleadbeater.com

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

Book Description

The brand-new, completely gripping, fast-paced action adventure thriller series

--This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09BLMSFKB
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Avon (3 March 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1660 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 420 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0008518548

Best Sellers Rank: 38,363 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 128 in Techno-Thrillers
- 188 in Technothrillers (Books)
- 251 in Men's Adventure Fiction

Customer Reviews:
1,655 ratings

About the author

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David Leadbeater

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David Leadbeater has published more than 40 novels and sold over a million Amazon Kindle e-books. He has now signed for a major publisher - Harper Collins/Avon Publishing, who will release the first two books of the brand new Joe Mason series in 2022 - The Vatican Secret and The Demon Code - followed by two more in 2023. His books include the chart-topping Matt Drake series. The first part of his Relic Hunters series won the inaugural Amazon Kindle Storyteller award in 2017. For a chronological reading order of the Matt Drake, Alicia Myles and Disavowed series' please visit his website.

www.davidleadbeater.com

Join him on Facebook for news and paperback giveaways: davidleadbeaternovels

The Matt Drake series should be read in the correct order as detailed below.

1. The Bones of Odin

2. The Blood King Conspiracy

3. The Gates of Hell

4. The Tomb of the Gods

5. Brothers in Arms

6. The Swords of Babylon

7. Blood Vengeance

8. Last Man Standing

9. The Plagues of Pandora

10. The Lost kingdom

11. The Ghost Ships of Arizona

12. The Last Bazaar

13. The Edge of Armageddon

14. The Treasures of Saint Germain

15. Inca Kings

16. The Four Corners of the Earth

17. The Seven Seals of Egypt

18. Weapons of the Gods

19. The Blood King Legacy

20. Devil's Island

21. The Faberge Heist

22. Four Sacred Treasures

23. The Sea Rats

24. The Blood King Takedown

25. Devil's Junction

26. Voodoo Soldiers

27. The Carnival of Curiosities

28. Theatre of War (Tenth Anniversary Novel)

29. Shattered Spear

30. Ghost Squadron

31. A Cold Day in Hell

The Joe Mason series:

1. The Vatican Secret

2. The Demon Code

The Alicia Myles series should be read as follows:

1. Aztec Gold

2. Crusader's Gold

3. Caribbean Gold

4. Chasing Gold

5. Galleon's Gold

The Disavowed series should be read as follows:

1. The Razor's Edge

2. In Harm's Way

3. Threat Level: Red

For more information go to: www.davidleadbeater.com

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Customer reviews

5 star		42%
4 star		33%
3 star		17%
2 star		5%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from Australia

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Amazon Customer

Its a no from me

Reviewed in Australia on 5 August 2022

Verified Purchase

I am sure that David Leadbeater is a great author however this story just didn't do it for me. I am an avid reader and have read an average of 1 novel each week for the past 20 years. Most times I enjoy them and rarely have to struggle to read through to the end. This however was one of those novels where reading it was simply an exercise to get to the last page. It all started off rather well but then went downhill quickly from there. Unengaging characters with little depth, the usual Easter egg hunt scene swapping in different countries with the same plot lines, continuity holes such as quoting four clues found after only the second one had been discovered, the list goes on. So, all-in-all, a rather flat story that had so much promise but failed to deliver.

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Amazon Customer

Great read and gripping

Reviewed in Australia on 27 May 2022

Verified Purchase

Loved the book great read very exciting

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Stefan Vucak

Serious readers will drop this lame book after the first 50 pages!

Reviewed in Australia on 11 June 2022

Marduk, the self-proclaimed monarch of the ancient Babylonian sect, the Amori, is determined to destroy the Vatican and Christianity, exposing it as a lie. Rising from the resulting chaos, the Amori would rule the world. To achieve his goal, he organizes a team to steal the ‘Book of Secrets’ hidden inside the Vatican’s Secret Archives. Joe Mason and Roxy Banks, haunted by their past, are given a job to protect Professor Pierce Rusk and his daughter Sally for seven days while they’re engaged on a research project inside the Archives. While there, they encounter Marduk’s thief and Professor Rusk is killed. Bent on avenging her father, accompanied by Joe and Roxy, they embark on an action-packed search for Marduk’s New Babylon in an attempt to retrieve the ‘Book of Secrets’ and prevent destruction of Christianity.

Marduk is revealed as a megalomaniac within the first two pages of ‘The Vatican Secret’, and his team of thieves exaggerated caricatures who lack any credibility. Joe Mason and Roxy Banks carry so much psychological baggage from their past lives, it is a wonder they are able to function at all. In a totally incredulous attempt to retrieve the ‘Book of Secrets’, Sally Rusk manages to easily decipher five clues left in five famous churches that would reveal location of Marduk’s New Babylon. Always one step ahead of Marduk’s assassins, ‘The Vatican Secret’ is filled with car chases, lots of physical action, gunfights, and miraculous escapes. Finally, Joe Mason’s ragtag team confronts Marduk in a climax that will leave readers shaking their heads, relieved they managed to reach the last page of this totally fanciful work that should never have survived the slush pile. The book’s plot has more holes than a kitchen sieve, but David Leadbeater hopes this will not be noticed as each new page thrusts the reader into a new round of totally unreal action sequences. ‘The Vatican Secret’ is a great read for those simply interested in wild chases and gunfights, unencumbered by detailed plotting, characterization, and a believable story. A thoroughly disappointing book from David Leadbeater.

Helpful

Happy to recommend to anyone that likes a fast paced, thriller.

Reviewed in Australia on 10 March 2022

This book is for lovers of stories like The Da Vinci Code, lots of action, story pivotal to religion and a stoic hero or two. Joe Mason has a military career that killed his friends and destroyed his marriage. He now works for a private security firm, and is sent to Vatican City as the personal protection of a researcher, Professor Rusk who along with his daughter Sally as a research assistant, has been granted access to the Vatican archives.
While on duty with his fellow security person Roxy (a woman he is trying to figure out), someone breaks into the archives and steals a well guarded secret book. The chase is then on. Joe and Roxy soon form an alliance as they set off on a journey with the daughter of the researcher, Sally trying to piece together clues to lead them to the book.
The story moves through Israel, Paris and Iraq at a cracking pace. There are multiple 'car chase' scenes and each time our heroes seem to bounce back only to come up against the next obstacle.
Happy to recommend to anyone that likes a fast paced, thriller.

Helpful

action thriller which traverses Europe

Reviewed in Australia on 3 March 2022

The first of two books published this year, The Vatican Secret by David Leadbeater is the first of the new Joe Mason series. Joe is an ex-MI5 operative and gets a job guarding an elderly professor and his daughter in Rome. A cushy task until the professor is killed and an ancient manuscript taken, forcing Joe to decide whether to hunt down the killer. Teaming up with an unwanted partner, they decide to follow the clues and solve the mystery. An action thriller which traverses Europe in order to find the manuscript and help the daughter save her father’s legacy. An enjoyable action adventure with likeable characters and fast paced narrative that makes for a three-and-a-half-star rating. With thanks to Avon Books UK and the author, for an uncorrected advanced copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given, without persuasion.

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Kindle Customer

Action packed adventure.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 March 2022

Verified Purchase

Action packed adventure and so much more can be found in this the first book of a new series, which I'm sure will be another bestseller for David Leadbeater. this book introduces a mixed bunch of characters, tasked with a babysitting job which rapidly becomes something completely different. A wee cheeky mention of a certain Yorkshire man didn't go unnoticed either. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series. (which is on pre-order) and won't disappoint.

2 people found this helpful

Elena

Spoiler Alert

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2022

Verified Purchase

This all started out so well. Liked the Characters, fast paced, good read..then it gets spoiled by the usual drivel, the Church hiding that they found the body of Christ. I love a good mystery attached to the Church but really! It's becoming old hat, a different take would be great, what if someone actually wrote pro Christianity, it would be much more novel (pun intended).

One person found this helpful

Caroline atkins

Gripping story telling

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 April 2022

Verified Purchase

Join Mason and his motley crew as they chase the clues leading them to The Book of Secrets around the world. Will they stop an ancient sect from destroying Christianity and will they find themselves and move on with their lives? Great action and story line. I'll be reading the next in the series as soon as its released.

One person found this helpful

Oldenuff2nobetta

Very disappointing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 2022

Verified Purchase

The story commits one of the biggest faux pas I have come across when an APACHE HELICOPTER somehow carries 5 passengers
on their journey into Iraq. Even the SAS cannot manage that since the APACHE ONLY carries 2 pilots and NO passengers!!!

The rest of the book was not only far fetched but incredibly boring, reading all the religious facts and figures which were doled out
in large amounts.
Sorry, not for me.

Kindle Customer

Awful

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 June 2022

Verified Purchase

Histrionic characters too unlikeable and unbelievable.

If there's another adjective to describe one of the character apart from 'Raven haired American' I didnt find it.

I couldn't finish this book. The characters were caricatures and not the slightest bit empathetic.

The plot flew off into wild fantasy.

I dont like putting bad reviews but I really could not finish this book.

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The Vatican Secret: The brand-new, completely gripping, fast-paced action adventure thriller series (Joe Mason, Book 1) Kindle Edition

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