Ryder: American Treasure by Nick Pengelley

Published by Alibi on January 20, 2015

At the conclusion of the first novel in this series, Israel signed a previously unknown peace treaty negotiated by Lawrence of Arabia, causing the formation of a new state called The Holy Land that combines Israel with Palestine. One of the plot threads in the second Ryder novel, American Treasure, follows a conspiracy to undo the peace.

The primary plot thread sends our archeologist heroine, Ayesha Ryder, on another journey to uncover the past. An American presidential candidate wants Ayesha to recover artifacts that the British stole from Washington during the War of 1812. Her search might lead to the discovery of a letter hidden by James Madison. The plot requires the reader to believe that Madison's letter would affect the outcome of the election (his ancestor is also running for president) when any reasonably astute politician understands that most voters don't care about anything that happened more than five years ago. The risks that Madison's ancestor takes to suppress the letter far outweigh the benefit of keeping it hidden.

Meanwhile, America's Secretary of State is engaging in some between the sheets diplomacy with the British Prime Minister, unaware that the CIA is following her. The soft core descriptions of the two women in bed fail to enliven a subplot that is just silly. The PM, in fact, would like to get it on with Ayesha, but Ayesha is "at the mercy of her desires," which involve a journalist who triggers her lust. All of the sex in this novel is pretty cheesy and a serious distraction from a plot that is slow to develop.

Eventually Ryder is framed for a crime and accused of terrorism (in reality, she is a reformed terrorist), notwithstanding the adoration she receives from royalty, politicians, academics, and lusty journalists. The rest of the story involves Ryder's effort to clear her name while pursuing the stolen artifacts, the missing letter, and the Ark of the Covenant.

As in the first novel, Ryder solves improbable riddle-like clues too easily. The reason for the chain of clues is never quite clear. Perhaps the person who left them, peering into the future, wanted to give Ryder something to think about other than sex. Actions scenes are fairly standard for a thriller. Ryder, of course, can quickly dispatch two or three attackers at a time. The various attacks and death traps from which she escapes are also too easy. The story just doesn't generate the suspense for which it strives.

The first novel was over-the-top but fun. The plot in this novel is also over-the-top but the behavior of the characters is way over-the-top to the point of silliness. The coincidence that drives the ending is preposterous. The novel is still fun but the first novel convinced me to suspend my disbelief. This one never did.

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Ryder by Nick Pengelley

Published digitally by Alibi/Random House on September 30, 2014

Sir Evelyn Montagu has been murdered. The police turn to Montague's former lover, Ayesha Ryder, for help. A message in Arabic written in Montague's blood and translated by Ryder suggests that the killing had something to do with the Palestinian struggle for a homeland. Montague's mangled corpse stirs memories of Ryder's childhood in Gaza and the torture she endured. Given the bloody message and the fact that Montagu was a prominent Jewish intellectual, the police are inclined to blame Palestinian terrorists for his death. Ryder has her own theories but her investigation is impeded by the British government and nearly everyone else.

Ryder is a "conspiracy hidden by history" story. The conspiracy dates back to T.E. Lawrence and the early days of the Nazi rise to power. It builds upon existing conspiracy theories surrounding Lawrence's death. Lawrence has left behind an improbable coded message and even more improbably (and rather too easily), Ryder decodes it, setting the bulk of the story in motion. While the death of Lawrence conceals two events from the 1930s, Nick Pangelly delves farther into the past by adding the Knights Templar and the biblical Ark to the mix. Those aspects of the plot are puzzling as they add little to the story's development.

To solve the mystery, Ryder needs to follow a number of obscure clues that Lawrence planted -- so obscure, in fact, that I didn't buy Ryder's ability to solve them. Nor did I buy Ryder's repeated escapes from death. Those are common in modern thrillers but Ryder's escapes are too common. On the other hand, the story moves quickly and it always held my interest.

Ryder might not appeal to readers who have strong feelings about the politics of the Middle East. I think the novel takes an evenhanded approach, recognizing that both Palestinians and Israelis have a history of needless violence, but readers who are more passionate about politics than fiction might take a different view. In any event, I enjoy a good story even when I disagree with its political viewpoint, and Ryder tells a reasonably good story. Some of the novel's events are a bit farfetched and the ending is completely implausible, but farfetched plots are standard fare in modern thrillers. The story engaged me sufficiently to trigger my willingness to suspend my disbelief and to earn a modest recommendation.

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