Review of Richard Doetsch's "The Thieves of Darkness."

 Book Blurb:(Taken respectively from the publisher's detailing of the novel on Amazon.com)
Will A Treacherous Mission Lead Them Into Ancient Paradise...

Reformed master thief Michael St. Pierre thinks his criminal days are behind him when his best friend Simon is sentenced to die in a brutal desert prison.  Breaking into jail for the first time in his checkered career, Michael frees his friend only to discover his own girlfriend in the next cell...

Or Straight To A Ruthless Enemy?

With a madman on their heels, the trio plots a series of daring thefts inside the world’s most celebrated and heavily guarded sanctums to find the mysterious artifact that landed them behind bars: a map to a secret holy place predating Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  From the glittering banks of the Bosporus to the highest peaks of the Himalayas, they embark on a globe-trotting adventure to preserve the relics at stake and protect the fate of humanity.




Blog Author's Side Note:

   In comparison with other reviews of mine, this one will not be nearly as extensive. Instead, it will be rather abbreviated. Surely, every visitor to this blog either remembers or is currently experiencing the college midterm crunch. At this period, half my life is spent maintaining assignment due dates and also reminding myself that my mind is indeed still intact and active.

Review:

    "The Thieves of Darkness," seems to exude some promise of esoteric secrets, based upon the cover and premise alone. When, I first picked up the novel, I certainly envisioned a man with an eclectic wardrobe and strengths being forced into some mystery that is far larger than himself. As the novel progresses, his past almost seems interconnected with the present story in that they each work with one another to impel the character forward towards some higher level of growth.

   In many ways, this novel did not exactly deviate from the generic blueprint that nearly all thrillers follow in some respects. They all have capable, agile characters who are having mundane struggles while some larger force in the background begins to penetrate into their life.

    Later on, the character is then thrust into the fabric of the mystery and the writer then must maintain two separate stories at the same time.  Past and present time becomes entwined as the story chugs furiously towards the climax and the revelation of the mystery. According to this book, it seems to hold the irresistible promise of new found, controversial religious knowledge. Our finely manicured hero must then sort out the mundane conflict of relationship difficulties or personal religious identification problems. Or, he must internally forgive some unforgivable circumstance that befall in within the past.

   Then he must proceed to apply emotional salve to those scars and be allowed to empower himself to overcome this mind fog. It seemed impenetrable and formidable before. But now, he finds that he can focus intently on the problems that are being created in the imminent future.
  
   Certainly, this book was written in a way that engrosses the reader. It also proves to be a book that is filled with an abundant amount of interesting historical factoids. Being a history nut, I really appreciate these because they enhanced the novel's quality and allowed me to keep plowing through the novel. Though, there were some trouble spots that proved to be too formulaic and uninteresting for me to read through. Therefore, having these historical facts or allusions to particular pieces of artwork added to the sumptuous interior of the novel. Nearly all crime stories that involve riches must be written in a way that gives the reader a sense of the sumptuous materials that are implanted within the story.

     Anyways, do I recommend this novel? I am wary to phrase this novel as being groundbreaking by any means. But, I certainly would recommend it for anyone who wants something engaging without the guarantee of being innovative in any way. It certainly proved to be a highly entertaining novel which was fueled mostly by a writer who is definitely adept at grabbing the attention of readers.