The Altar of Bones

This conspiracy thriller from the pseudonymous Carter opens in 1937 with a rousing Siberian prison camp escape, but the present-day action soon turns predictable. After the murder of Katya Orlova, the grandmother of San Francisco lawyer Zoe Dmitroff, a letter written by Katya reaches Zoe informing her that she's now the "Keeper" of an ancient secret involving a Siberian cave known as the Altar of Bones. Many people try to wrest the secret from Zoe, including her own mother, a mysterious business tycoon, and the Russian mob. Ry O'Malley, a hunky tough guy, signs on to protect Zoe, and soon they're on the run. Zoe and Ry prove to be amazingly lucky, to the point that by the time the unsurprising ending rolls around, all suspense has been drained from the action. Readers should be prepared for prose typical of erotic romance fiction (e.g., "He tried to gentle his kiss, but then she tangled her fingers in his hair and sucked on his tongue, pulling it deeper into her mouth, making love with their mouths, sucking, tonguing, and he was lost"). (Mar.)