Suzy da Silva is working to find a link between ancient Egyptian religion and Christianity for her doctoral thesis, but such a potentially explosive idea won't get her funding from the university. The Horus Corporation will provide her with the money she needs for her research, but their sponsorship comes with hidden strings that she can't anticipate. As Suzy travels to Egypt, she uncovers more than a link between Egypt and Christianity, she begins to uncover a secret shrouded in mystery for thousands of years, a secret that could unlock the mystery of the stars, a secret that could get her killed.

MASKS OF THE LOST KINGS features a beautiful, intelligent female protagonist who also has a black-belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu who is willing to push past the assumed facts to reveal the truth. It's a race as history and discovery converge into a single moment of revelation that can change the world. MASKS OF THE LOST KING is truly a fun book to read, but there are two places the story felt off. The first is Suzy's characterization. She just might be the perfect woman. If Suzy were any more perfect, she'd be Wonder Woman. This doesn't leave much room for the common woman to connect with her character and does leave room for some healthy skepticism to creep in. Does this woman even exist? Don't get me wrong, I love strong, female protagonists, but I wish Suzy were just a bit more realistic because flawed doesn't mean weak and strong doesn't equal perfect. The other aspect of the story line that felt off was the romance between Suzy and Dr. Tom Brooking. I liked their mutual respect for each other which grows throughout the story, but they really didn't have much in the way of chemistry. Their romance felt like it was a throw-in to tie up loose ends or to fulfill expectations for the genre. This by no means hinders the plot but it doesn't add anything either.

The first half of the story is really fun to read. Trying to connect clues in antiquity, learning about the myths and cultures of ancient Egypt and the Maya, as well as astro- archeology and the history of early Christianity is fascinating and Bane does a superb job of breaking down all these subjects and drawing correlations between them so they're easily understood. I was hooked from page one, because the sense of urgency and history all coalesced into a heart-thumping moment of discovery and I couldn't wait to see what would be revealed. Unfortunately, some of that urgency and heart-thumping slows down a notch. To be fair, Bane used numerology as clues in the latter half of the story and numerology is a study that I really dislike. The use of this slowed the story for me and made me start questioning some of the 'discoveries' Suzy made.

MASKS OF THE LOST KINGS is good action novel, especially for those who love a mythology, ancient secretes hidden by time, and fans of archeology adventures.