City
of Gold
Matthew
Connor Adventure Series, Book 1
by
Carolyn Arnold
Genre:
Action, Adventure
Finding
the Incas' lost City of Gold would be the discovery of a lifetime.
But failing could mean her death...
Archaeologist
Matthew Connor and his friends Cal and Robyn are finally home after a
dangerous retrieval expedition in India. While they succeeded in
obtaining the priceless Pandu artifact they sought, it almost cost
them their lives. Still, Matthew is ready for the next adventure. Yet
when new intel surfaces indicating the possible location of the
legendary City of Gold, Matthew is hesitant to embark on the quest.
Not
only is the evidence questionable but it means looking for the lost
city of Paititi far away from where other explorers have concentrated
their efforts. As appealing as making the discovery would be, it’s
just too risky. But when Cal’s girlfriend, Sophie, is abducted by
Matthew’s old nemesis who is dead-set on acquiring the Pandu
statue, Matthew may be forced into action. Saving Sophie’s life
means either breaking into the Royal Ontario Museum to steal the
relic or offering up something no one in his or her right mind would
refuse—the City of Gold.
Now
Matthew and his two closest friends have to find a city and a
treasure that have been lost for centuries. And they only have seven
days to do it. As they race against the clock, they quickly discover
that the streets they seek aren’t actually paved with gold, but
with blood.
What
to expect from the Matthew Connor Adventure series:
Action-adventure
books for the mystery lover. Does treasure hunting
excite you? What about the thought of traveling the globe and
exploring remote regions to uncover legends that the world has all
but forgotten? If so, strap yourself in for an adventure with
modern-day archaeologist Matthew Connor and his two closest friends.
Indiana Jones meets the twenty-first century.
This
is the perfect book series for fans of Indiana Jones, Lara
Croft, National Treasure, and The Relic
Hunter.
Read
in any order or follow the series from the beginning.
The
Secret of the Lost Pharaoh
Matthew
Connor Adventure Series, Book 2
In
Egypt’s Western Desert lies the tomb of an unnamed pharaoh that
hides a secret so powerful, it could destroy the world as we know
it.Archaeologist and adventurer
Matthew Connor has made a career of finding legends the world has all
but forgotten. Though there’s one in particular that has fascinated
him for years—the Emerald Tablets. Myth says that they possess the
knowledge of the universe, allowing humankind to traverse Heaven and
Earth, and have the power to bestow wealth and wisdom upon whoever
possesses them. But if they fall into evil hands, it could cause a
global disaster.
So when a former colleague stumbles across an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic map that promises to lead to a pharaoh’s tomb and the Emerald Tablets, there’s no way he’s turning down her invitation to join the dig. He only has one stipulation: his best friends Robyn Garcia and Cal Myers come with him.
The road ahead isn’t going to be an easy one, and their shared dream of recovering the Emerald Tablets is being crushed at every turn. And just when they think it’s all over, they learn there are a few clues they have overlooked. But they’re no longer the only ones searching for the Tablets. Now, the fate of the world hangs in the balance, and soon they’ll find out that when it comes to hunting legends, they can’t trust anyone.
So when a former colleague stumbles across an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic map that promises to lead to a pharaoh’s tomb and the Emerald Tablets, there’s no way he’s turning down her invitation to join the dig. He only has one stipulation: his best friends Robyn Garcia and Cal Myers come with him.
The road ahead isn’t going to be an easy one, and their shared dream of recovering the Emerald Tablets is being crushed at every turn. And just when they think it’s all over, they learn there are a few clues they have overlooked. But they’re no longer the only ones searching for the Tablets. Now, the fate of the world hangs in the balance, and soon they’ll find out that when it comes to hunting legends, they can’t trust anyone.
CAROLYN
ARNOLD is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as
well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four
continuing fiction series—Detective Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher
FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and Matthew Connor Adventures—and has
written nearly thirty books. Her genre diversity offers her readers
everything from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and thrillers to
action adventures.
Both
her female detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by
those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining, leading
her to adopt the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENTTM.
Carolyn
was born in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she
also loves the lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted
by her dreams, her overactive imagination insists that she tell her
stories. Her intention is to touch the hearts of millions with her
books, to entertain, inspire, and empower.
She
currently lives in London, Ontario with her husband and beagles and
is a member of Crime Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime.
GUEST POST
Why is Everyone Talking
About the CITY OF GOLD?
“This
book has everything: a kidnapping, murder, a police investigation,
and the hunt for lost treasure. A real page-turner full of thrills
and emotion with excellent descriptive writing and characters that
jump out of the pages and come to life.”
–Beck
Valley Books
I
was feeling a bit of pressure and stress when I set out to write City
of Gold, my first action-adventure
novel. But it was all right, because I was compelled and inspired to
see it through. In order to do so, though, I needed to step outside
my comfort zone of writing mysteries and into the world of
possibilities and legends.
was feeling a bit of pressure and stress when I set out to write City
of Gold, my first action-adventure
novel. But it was all right, because I was compelled and inspired to
see it through. In order to do so, though, I needed to step outside
my comfort zone of writing mysteries and into the world of
possibilities and legends.
For years, I’d been so used to writing stories that are grounded in
the real world as we know it with my police procedurals and playing
within its strict confines to create a believable and enjoyable
whodunnit. When it came to this new genre, though, I was able to take
more liberties and let my imagination play in the realm of the
unknown. But as it turns out, I couldn’t leave my mystery roots
completely behind!
In
fact, I wanted to write an action adventure that would appeal to the
mystery lover. I wanted to give my readers something they’d enjoy,
something that would prompt them to step out of their typical reading
comfort zone and join me in this new place. Part of this manifested
by means of a police investigation on the home front while my main
character, Matthew Connor, and his friends were off in search of the
Incas’ lost City of Gold. Really, the basis for the investigation
is what prompts them to set out as fast as they do. Their friend
Sophie was
kidnapped, and the ransom to get her back comes at the highest
price: if Matthew and his friends don’t find the City of Gold for
her captors, they will take her life.
To
get an inside look at what Sophie is going through, take a peek at
the following excerpt taken from Chapter 14 of City
of Gold:
SOPHIE WAS BOUND TO A CHAIR,
her legs and arms secured by zip ties. If she broke free, Liam’s
clone had better run because he’d pay for this. She was certain she
hated being restrained more than the average person did. Even
commitment in relationships had been a challenge until she’d met
Cal. And ironically, the person for whom she had made an exception
was the reason she was here, captive and unable to move.
She squinted, trying to block out the setting sun that was streaming
in through the wall of windows. This told her two things: one,
twenty-four hours had already passed, and two, seeing the CN Tower
told her she was in the entertainment district. It was a good thing
because of the crowds, but a bad thing with her being so many stories
up. Any cries for help would go unheard, but as it was, a gag in her
mouth ensured her silence. She had tried jerking her head and
contorting to no avail. She wasn’t getting out of this chair or
free of the gag on her own.
The place she was being held wasn’t a hotel room. The large floor
vases and sculptures looked too expensive. The paintings on the wall
screamed of money, too. Based on location and the obvious wealth of
the homeowner, she guessed she was in one of the newer high-rise
condominium buildings. And from the angle at which she looked at the
CN Tower, she’d guess it was one on Spadina Avenue near Front
Street.
The last thing she remembered was being at her dream house and the
man showing up. He must have drugged her, though, as a big chunk of
her memory was blank. She recalled him coming to the door and holding
a gun to her stomach. Next thing she’d known, she had woken up
here, a throbbing pain in her head from sleeping with her neck craned
to the side. And he had been filming her.
Afterward, he had made two phone calls. The first must have been to
Cal, as he had used the words your girlfriend. On the second
call, he had demanded to meet someone at a local bookstore. She
guessed that someone was Matthew, and she surmised this all
tied back to India as she’d originally thought when she first
spotted the man following them.
The condo was silent now. She must be alone.
Hope was the one thing that kept her calm. Somebody was likely to
notice she had been taken. The cookies and coffee would both be
growing stale on the counter. The homeowners were away, but surely
someone checked in on the place. And her purse. It was likely there,
too.
Edwin probably wouldn’t worry about her, as she’d sometimes go a
day or two without speaking to him. But Cal had to know something was
wrong even before her kidnapper had called him. He would have been
expecting her to call last night. She cursed herself for changing
their plans.
It was quite possible no one even knew she was missing yet. And if
they did, from what she saw on TV, missing persons reports weren’t
taken too seriously and a certain amount of time had to pass before
one could be filed. She hoped that fictional take wasn’t a
derivative of real life.
The man hadn’t arrived at the mansion in a vehicle. She recalled
that now. She had originally concluded she hadn’t heard one because
she was in the kitchen at the back of the house, but there hadn’t
been one to hear.
Did that mean the man took her here, to his place, in her car? A
glimmer of hope filtered through her. If the police found her car,
they’d be close to finding her. But that hope was short-lived.
Toronto was a huge city with a considerable geographical footprint.
The Liam guy would have had to be pretty stupid to park her car in
his spot in the building’s underground garage. And what would lead
police to his building in the first place? The odds were getting
slimmer the more she thought things through.
If, or when, they started looking, how were they going to find her at
all? There was nothing at the house to point them here. All this
would be enough to drive most people crazy, but she had a fighting
spirit and she was just getting fired up. With every moment she was
left to stew in this chair, limited in movement, with hard plastic
biting into her wrists and ankles, she had a greater sympathy for
wild animals in captivity. Like them, she was ineffective at
resisting her captor.
Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to give in to the overwhelming
sense of hopelessness.
She slowed her breathing and strained her ears as someone shuffled
outside the room. A key was inserted into the door, and it opened.
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