The Atlantis Cipher by David Leadbeater (The Relic Hunters #2)

 

From the Back Cover

A lost world. An ancient code. A deadly chase.

Five ancient statues have been unearthed in South America, each containing a mysterious coded message hinting at an origin many thought impossible: the mythical world of Atlantis. As word of their discovery spreads, the prized figurines become a treasure bounty hunters will kill for.

CIA agent Heidi Moneymaker calls in the only team for the job: Guy Bodie and his posse of relic-hunting thieves. If they are to find the ancient civilization, Bodie and his team must decode a series of clues—starting with the cipher on the statues themselves—that will take them across the world and to the deepest depths of the ocean. But they are not alone in their mission.

Pursued by mysterious forces intent on keeping the legendary empire hidden, hunted by Chinese special forces and the relic hunters’ lethal foe, the Bratva, the team races to find the lost land—and Bodie’s enemies will stop at nothing to be the first to discover Atlantis’s secrets.

The Atlantis Cipher (The Relic Hunters #2) by David Leadbeater

This is the second Relic Hunters novel and we see the team more at ease with the situation and lots of dialogue amongst themselves, sometimes too much of those.

Despite being a sequel the book reads like a standalone book and references to the first book are at a minimum and do not hamper the reading of this book. Despite this I would recommend reading the previous book as it was a superior story to this one. A question that arises is that why this group and not anyone else. With the CIA's bottomless budgets and their famed black budgets at the background any team would be good to go for this kind of challenge. The RH team does not show any great skills or intellect which would define them as the go to guys for this kind of adventure. If it is a case of plausible deniability then any person would fit the definition. With unlimited budgets best of teams even from within the ranks of the US superior to the RH team could be ready to enter the game. Leadbeater's own Matt Drake series is an excellent example. 

Guy Brodie and his team are still serving their CIA masters and taking a cue from the first book are eager to continue their search for Jack Pantera. 

The story also brings some focus on the character's back stories and some like Heidi's gives the reader an understanding of the CIA's focus on this team and in turn the story and also some of her motivations and actions. 

We get to experience Brodie's story and the dynamics and his attachments with his team members. The book shows the team's great camaraderie and this works well in the action sequences where they seem to team up so well and defend each other well during crunch situations. 

The story carries over well from the previous book and gets into stride with another critical assignment for the team with more action and lots of humor. So far so good but the story has a tendency to meander with lots of repetitions and similar kind of situations. I got waylaid by this and the book lay unread in my kindle for a long time. 

The team is now on the road to the lost city of Atlantis and with expectations of advanced technology from the lost city, other malevolent powers come into the chase and we see a tussle between powers to get the road map. 

There is wanton bloodshed on the way and a wacky ending raises the book above its initial contents. 

The final twist in the epilogue lays a platform for other books in the series which I have still not decided upon but 3 stars for this book. 

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https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4469827425