Golemon's second thriller fails to deliver on the promise of his first, Event
(2006), which introduced the exploits of a supersecret U.S. government agency, the Event Group. The author, a former U.S. Army Special Ops member, draws the reader in with an intriguing prologue: in 1534, explorer Francisco Pizarro and his men, in their search for El Dorado, encounter a vicious creature determined to guard the legendary treasure trove; in 1876, at Custer's last stand, Capt. Myles Keogh takes to his death “a secret from hundreds of years in the past.” In the present day, the intrepid men and women of the Event Group follow the trail of Pizarro's expedition in an effort both to find the lost Incan gold Pizarro was seeking and to rescue the U.S. president's daughter, who has disappeared while on the same quest. A shortage of well-developed characters and plausible scientific speculation, however, makes this a less satisfying adventure than its predecessor. (Aug.)
