First Chapter Review: Byzantine Gold by Chris Karlsen

The first chapter of Byzantine Gold by romantic thriller author Chris Karlsen was submitted to me by her publicist.

BLURB: A sunken warship from the Byzantine Era carrying an unusual cargo of gold has been found off the coast of Northern Cyprus. News of the valuable cache has attracted the attention of a terrorist cell. They plan to attack the recovery team’s campsite and steal the artifacts. On the Black Market, the sale of the relics will buy them additional weapons.

Charlotte Dashiell, an American archaeologist, and her lover, Atakan Vadim, a Turkish government agent, are scheduled to be part of the recovery team that brings up the artifacts. While en route to Cyprus, they find themselves caught in the crosshairs of Maksym Tischenko, a Ukrainian contract killer bent on revenge. Charlotte, Atakan and Tischenko share a grim history. As a result, Tischenko is a man who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal—seeing them both dead.

COVER:  A bit busy for my taste, but it is beautiful. The colors work well and it captures the essence of the book based upon the back cover blurb.

FIRST CHAPTER: Charlotte and Atakan are in Paris when Charlotte believes she's seen Tischenko, a man who once kidnapped and tortured her. Atakan isn't so sure, but by the time they make it to where Charlotte thinks she saw him, he's gone.

KEEP READING: For now. Karlsen does a superb job of painting a picture of Paris for the reader. That, with the possibility she has encountered the man who has already attempted to kill her, encourage one to continue. My challenge was the dialogue was stilted by too many "he said, she said" type tags, which break up the natural flow of conversation and slow the pace.

It appears the book will be told by at least two points of view: Charlotte's and Tischenko's. This will add depth and allow readers to understand both sides to the story. I'm looking forward to that.

I would definitely read another chapter or two to see how the story flows. Based upon the synopsis, it sounds fascinating.


File Size: 2253 KB
Print Length: 287 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1481980726
Publisher: Books to Go Now (December 31, 2012)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Language: English
ASIN: B00AVMIHDE

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I received the first chapter of this book from the author through her publicist. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in anyway.