-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
by Brad Ricca
Just in time for Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, True Raiders is The Da Vinci Code meets Lost City of Z and is the true story of one adventurer's incredible 1909 quest for the legendary Ark of the Covenant.
From Edgar Award-nominated author Brad Ricca, this book tells the true story of Monty Parker, a British rogue nobleman who, after being dared to do so by Ava Astor, the so-called "most beautiful woman in the world," headed a secret 1909 expedition to find the fabled Ark of the Covenant. Like a real-life version of Raiders of the Lost Ark, this incredible story of adventure and mystery has almost been completely forgotten today.
In 1908, Monty is approached by a strange Finnish scholar named Valter Juvelius who claims to have discovered a secret code in the Bible that reveals the location of the Ark. Monty assembles a ragtag group of blueblood adventurers, a renowned psychic, and a Franciscan priest, to engage in a secret excavation just outside the city walls of Jerusalem. They encounter traps, spies, mysteries, secret societies, and dark forces more ancient than the Old Testament itself. In a sprawling adventure that reaches from King Tut's tomb to the Titanic and even to the cold streets of Whitechapel, True Raiders tells the true story behind one of the world's most beloved movies -- and how it's all somehow connected.
Using recently uncovered records from the original expedition and several newly translated sources, True Raiders is the first retelling of this group's adventures- in the space between fact and faith, science and adventure.
"The story of the expedition has the elements of a good thriller―desperate characters, hidden tunnels, an ancient code, and intrigues among the treasure hunters themselves―and aims for a cinematic feel." ―Wall Street Journal
"Deliciously fun." ―Shelf Awareness
"Brad Ricca tops all his previous work with this page turner about the actual search for the Ark of the Covenant." ―San Francisco Book Review
"True Raiders proves that the best stories are often the true ones. Filled with a compelling cast of characters, Brad Ricca's book unfolds like the best adventure novels. Prodigiously researched, it's a rollicking, riveting ride and a fascinating read." ―Buddy Levy, Bestselling Author of Labyrinth of Ice, Conquistador and River of Darkness
This information about True Raiders was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Brad Ricca is the Edgar-nominated author of six books, including True Raiders, Olive the Lionheart, Mrs. Sherlock Holmes, and the award-winning Super Boys. He has written for The Washington Post, Narratively, The Beat, and the official Star Wars website. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
If you liked True Raiders, try these:
by Erin Morgenstern
Published 2020
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Night Circus, a timeless love story set in a secret underground world - a place of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a starless sea.
by Stewart O'Nan
Published 2017
From master storyteller Stewart O'Nan, a timely moral thriller of the Jewish underground resistance in Jerusalem after the Second World War
by Margalit Fox
Published 2014
The Riddle of the Labyrinth: The Quest to Crack an Ancient Code tells one of the most intriguing stories in the history of language, masterfully blending history, linguistics, and cryptology with an elegantly wrought narrative.
Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.
Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!
Can you name the title?
Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
