Spear of Destiny, ARKANE Thriller #13, Audiobook

I love how J.F. Penn blends history with the supernatural in her fast-paced thrillers. The Spear of Destiny particularly piqued my interest with its WW2 connections,. WW2 is an era I am very interested in, so I am delighted at the cameo of an Enigma cipher machine (I don't think that counts as a spoiler). The story follows Morgan Sierra and Jake Timber on a high-octane and international race against time to collect pieces of an ancient relic to prevent to misuse of untold power (and save someone close to Morgan). Joanna's writing is so gripping and atmospheric - in the Prologue I really wanted to be in that storeroom with the boxes of uncatalogued archives and I definitely did not want to be in the crypt where... well, you have to read it to discover that you wouldn't want to be in there either. Or listen to the book, as I did with the fabulous narrator, who narrates the entire ARKANE series and adds further depth and emotion to the already evocative descriptions.

I love reading Joanna's author note, which includes details of her research and how she blends fact and fiction. It isn't included in the audiobook version of the book, but I have been able to read it in the ebook edition and she posts more about her research on her JF Penn website so there is always somewhere to find out about where sites and relics in the book.

I'm new to audiobooks and so glad I started with this series! Veronica Giguere's narration is fantastic. J.F. Penn cleverly interweaves the past with the present. The characters are connected in an intriguing net that unravels as the fast-paced thriller races towards the conclusion.

I couldn't stop reading/listening to this book. I pre-ordered the ebook from Amazon, and while I was waiting impatiently for its release, the author loaned me a review copy of both the ebook and the recorded version. All that day, I listened or read, shifting from ebook to recording (I cooked dinner while listening). This story is worthy of the ARKANE series. In fact, it may be one of the best. I especially liked that the female agent, Morgan, rescues the world solo (almost). So, try it; you'll like it! I preferred the audio book, both because it was well done, but also because I could cook without having to stop reading!
There's an author's note at the end of the ebook, which is a really interesting bibliography of the author's research into the real world story.

When I was offered a review copy of Spear of Destiny, ARKANE Book 13, I immediately accepted, and once I had the eBook and audiobook loaded into my BookFunnel app I set aside any other reading or listening plans.

I listened to Veronica Giguere’s excellent narration of this latest ARKANE thriller was a highly entertaining experience. She did a great job of providing voices for Morgan, Martin, Jake, and a couple characters who are exclusive to this story – Gabriel and General Stronghold. Veronica also took an already excellent story and brought it to life to the point if I closed my eyes I could see the scenes. Of course, being able to visualize the scenes wouldn’t have been possible without Joanna Penn’s descriptions of surroundings, and action.

Spear Of Destiny is a welcome addition to the ARKANE series. It has all the action, suspense, interpersonal interactions, and geographic destinations with full descriptions that readers of the ARKAKNE series have come to expect. This book had an extra twist that I found to be unexpected and an interesting element to the story line. If you want to know what the twist is, you will need to read or listen to Spear of Destiny.

I received an Advance Reader Copy of Spear of Destiny from the author through BookFunnel and chose to provide my review.