The Mad Monk’s Treasure Back Cover Copy
“Smart romance with an ‘Indiana Jones’ feel.”
“Like Nancy Drew for grownups.”
A legendary treasure hunt in the dramatic – and deadly
– New Mexico desert....
The lost Victorio Peak
treasure is the greatest of treasure-hunting legends, filled with riches from a
heretic Spanish priest’s gold mine, bandits, and an Apache Chief.
Erin, a shy history
professor, uncovers a clue that may pinpoint the lost cave. She’s ready for
adventure, but when a hit and run driver nearly kills her, she knows she’s not
the only one after the treasure. And is Drew, the handsome helicopter pilot who
found her bleeding in a ditch, a hero or an enemy?
Erin heads into the New Mexico wilderness with her
brainy best friend Camie and a feisty orange cat, Tiger. The wilderness holds
its own dangers, from wild animals to sudden storms. Meanwhile, dangerous men are
on Erin’s trail, determined snatch the treasure from her grasp. How far will
Erin go to find the treasure and discover what she’s really made of? And will
Drew be there to help her in the end?
“The story has it all—action,
romance, danger, intrigue, lost treasure, not to mention a sizzling
relationship....”
“The action never stopped .... It was adventure and
romance at its best.”
“I couldn’t put this book down. You’ll love it.”
This book was originally
published under the title Rattled.
Fans of Mary Stewart, Barbara
Michaels, and Terry Odell will enjoy these stories of love in the wild, from an
award-winning author.
The
Mad Monk’s Treasure Excerpt:
Among all the legends, all the fact and fiction, one
story stood out. The Victorio Peak legend had it all. A Franciscan priest and a
swindler. Torture, murder, a government cover-up. Where was the truth, among
all the stories? Erin wanted to find out. Over time, and with Camie’s
encouragement, she’d started to take the treasure hunt more seriously. It wasn’t
so much for the treasure itself, which would most likely belong to the
government or the landowners. But it would make her reputation, open up new job
opportunities – change her life in ways she hardly dared dream.
She touched the book gently. The pages were falling
out; she didn’t want to risk carrying it around. Instead, Erin snapped a
picture of the petroglyphs with her phone. That would be enough to show Camie
for now.
The timing was perfect; she just had to turn in grades
and field a few tearful last-minute requests for extensions, and she’d be done
for the semester. What better way to spend the summer, than hunting for buried
treasure?
Erin shook her head. Who would’ve thought that she,
the quiet, studious girl who’d spent her entire adult life in academia in one
way or another, would be planning such an adventure?
Erin wheeled
the bike around the front of her house and mounted. At the corner, she paused
and looked both ways. The long frontage road was dangerously narrow, with a
cement wall on one side and a ditch on the other. Fortunately, traffic was
normally light, and at this time of day the road lay empty. Erin pushed off,
still grinning from her find. She rode on the right side, by the ditch, instead
of facing traffic, because it was too frightening to ride alongside the wall
when a car passed.
She’d gone a block when she heard the hum of a car
engine as it pulled out from a side street behind her. She rode along the very
edge of the pavement, even though the car would have plenty of room to pass her
without oncoming traffic.
Erin glanced over her shoulder. The black SUV twenty
feet behind her hadn’t bothered to pull out into the road at all. Jerk. When
would drivers learn to share the road with bicyclists? Erin pulled onto the
two-foot wide gravel strip between the pavement and the ditch. She couldn’t
stop without risking a skid, but she slowed so the SUV could pass.
The engine roared. Erin glanced back again.
Black metal bore down on her. Her heart lurched and
the bike wobbled. This guy was crazy! She whipped her gaze forward, rose up in
the seat, and pumped the pedals with all her power, skimming along inches from
the ditch. He was just trying to scare her. She’d get his license plate and—
She felt the bumper hit her back tire. The bike seemed
to leap into the air, and she went flying. The dried mud and weeds of the ditch
seemed to rise up to meet her.
She didn’t even have time to
scream.
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Kris Bock
writes novels of suspense and romance with outdoor adventures and Southwestern
landscapes. Whispers in the Dark
features archaeology and intrigue among ancient Southwest ruins. In Counterfeits, stolen Rembrandt paintings
bring danger to a small New Mexico town. What
We Found is a mystery with strong romantic elements about a young woman who
finds a murder victim in the woods.
The Southwest Treasure
Hunters novels follow strong characters hunting for long-lost treasures in the
dramatic and deadly southwestern desert. Each stands alone.
Read excerpts at www.krisbock.com or visit her Amazon page. Sign up for Kris Bock newsletter for
announcements of new books, sales, and more.
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