Book One of this year's challenge

Yep, you read that right. I just finished book number one for this challenge. I don't know how many pages the "real life" hard copy is, but my e-copy was 494 pages. So, that takes awhile. The first book for this challenge was Crown of Serpents by Michael Karpovage.

Plot: Army Major Jake Tununda is on his way to an appointment when an emergency call is picked up on his portable police scanner. GPS coordinates read out by the dispatcher indicate he's very close to the scene. So, he stops to give aid. Little does Jake know he's about to become involved in something much deeper...a plot involving the Free Masons, a Native American secret society, and a politically powerful fellow tribesman bent on gaining even more pose. It all centers around a tidal legend and the torture and death of a revolutionary war soldier - a true event that's never really been explained satisfactorily.

This is a first novel, self-published and I had a heck of a time finding a copy in my local libraries. I eventually purchased it electronically. It's been on my to-read list for a good couple years now. I have no idea how I found out about it, but I'm glad I did. Secret societies, family secrets, loads of action, treasure hunting...what's not to like?

Some of the writing seemed a bit forced. Some of the plot points were wrapped up a little too neatly for my liking. Still Karpovage has great potential as a fiction author. His website indicates he's at work on book number two. I'll be watching for it to add to my to read list.

Highly recommended to fans of Dan Brown novels, stories involving secret societies, and fans of movies like National Treasure.

Current tally:
Friday night
9:10-9:25 read more of Crown of Serpents while preparing for bed. (15 minutes) 

Saturday
5:34-7:39 listened to Night Train to Memphis while out on my morning walk. (2 hours 5 minutes)

8:04-8:15 read Crown of Serpents (11 minutes)

8:44-2:19 finished Crown of Serpents (5 hours 35 minutes)

2:22-3:01 logging book here and at Good Reads. (39 minutes)

 Total reading/blogging time so far: 8 hours 45 minutes