Monsieur le Chevalier  Louis Domenic de Rienzi is the unluckiest man I know - or at least know of. He has made a discovery that will literally shock the world.  It's 1829 and de Rienzi is sailing back to France with a hold full of precious artifacts, including one in particular that will reshape our knowledge of history and of the Bible.

I'm no historian, but I know enough about the power of the early church in Rome to know that anything threatening their stranglehold on religious power would have been met with swift (and often violent) action. In this case, it appears that no action was necessary as nature took a hand in the game and gutted the Dourado, ripping it's hold open with submerged rocks and sending her to the bottom of the Indian Ocean.

And there de Rienzi's treasure lay; undisturbed; until...

Dourado is the first in a series of Dane Maddock adventures. I am a fan of Clive Cussler's Dirk Pitt adventures and David Wood's debut is a worthy addition to my list of favorite swashbuckling heroes. There's the hero, Maddock, his irreverent partner Uriah 'Bones' Bonebrake, and the beautiful daughter of a fallen comrade. Oh, and of course, the treasure.

The plot may be somewhat familiar: ex-Navy seals running an underwater salvage team run up against some hard luck on their current project and along comes a beautiful stranger with a tale of fantastic treasure to take the edge off their disappointment. The excitement of this new mission soon wears off though, as more than one mysterious group of very dangerous adversaries begins to take an unhealthy interest in Maddock's business.

Wood's characters in Dourado are fully developed and fit into a believable and entertaining plot very nicely. Maddock has his own secrets that often haunt him at night but the flawed hero is not one to shirk from challenge - or duty. The global locales portrayed in Dourado are three dimensional and inviting, and add an authentic and adventurous spice to the tale.

As the plot builds, the main characters - and a few others - are swept up into an international conspiracy, the pages of Dourado turn as swiftly as the water filled her cargo hold nearly two hundred years ago. The final scenes take place in Petra and could only have been written by someone who has been there - or at least who has done a tremendous amount of research.

I can't discuss the final scenes without giving away too much of the story. Suffice it to say that Mr. Wood has crafted an amazing story that combines adventure, faith, history and excitement in equally fascinating measure. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series - Cibola - already available at Amazon.

Dourado is published by Gryphonwood Press.

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