Artifact by C.A. Pack
The main character in Artifact gets killed off in the very first chapter of the book. Well, sort of …
You see, Tray and Carey Lennox are identical twins. Shortly after Carey frantically calls Tray to say he’s in danger and needs help, Tray finds Carey shot to death in an alley. He then switches wallets with his twin brother so that everyone thinks Tray is the murder victim and he can search for the killer as a “dead man.”
That’s the premise for this compelling, fast-moving and wonderfully original thriller — about an ancient artifact known as Hero’s Knot that shockingly becomes a threat to trigger a nuclear holocaust in today’s modern world.
And there’s much, much more to the story as author C.A. Pack somehow makes the unbelievable sound believable.
Deadly Secrets, High-Stakes Missions
Both Lennox brothers work for the federal government — Tray as an FBI agent who specializes in art thefts and Cary as an engineer for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Each of them is involved in secret investigations — Tray with the search for the mysteriously elusive Hero’s Knot and Cary with uncovering a diabolical plot to sabotage America’s nuclear facilities — that put their lives in danger from ruthless forces here and around the world.
Power Beyond Imagination
We learn very early on about the legend of the ancient artifact known as Hero’s Knot.
It began in 79 A.D. when pieces of some alien rubble struck Egypt’s shoreline and was discovered on a beach by Hero of Alexandria, a mathematician and inventor who retrieved and studied the oddly shimmering material which he soon discovered possessed extraordinary features.
Supposedly it has survived to this very day with many people trying to locate it to achieve their own power-hungry goals.
A Race Against Nuclear Devastation
That’s because experts believe this ancient relic from another world has the ability to “triangulate” with the sun’s power to activate volcanos, cause major earthquakes and — most terrifying of all — create a focused beam strong enough to make nuclear warheads explode.
It sounds hard to imagine being true, at first, but Tray Lennox — and the rest of the world — soon find out that the threat of worldwide destruction from Hero’s Knot is very real.
First, a massive money demand is made to British authorities by the man who now possesses the Hero’s Knot and threatens to use it to set off a nuclear explosion in London. When the money is not paid, a nuclear blast hits the Tower of London and other locations, killing thousands of people.
Next, the same kind of ransom threat is made to Washington: pay a huge fee or nuclear bombs will wipe out the nation’s capital. When the President refuses, he is warned: “It’s your funeral. Say goodbye to your loved ones. In a few hours, your beautiful city will become part of your nation’s history.”
It then becomes a race against time to save Washington before the nuclear bombs can be detonated.
Historical Detail That Enriches the Story
One of the best things about this book is the way the author uses her knowledge and background of art history to weave together the whole story for us of the Hero’s Knot — extending all the way back to its discovery in 79 A.D.
She writes this fascinating description about the landing of the alien rubble on our planet all those centuries ago:
“The glowing debris appeared to writhe as it burrowed into the sand. Hero of Alexandria experimented with the intriguing new material he found on the beach, turning it into malleable ropes of metal. He hammered them flat so he could engrave them, but the strands always returned to their curvier shape. However, the inscriptions remained clear. And so, he wove together an odd record of his life’s work, creating an intricate knot of formulas and theories out of the oddly shimmering material. A sense of joy made him smile, and he thought this would be his legacy to humanity. Little did he know.”
Hidden Identities and Twisted Paths
Another gripping sub-plot to the story is that Tray Lennox must search for answers to Hero’s Knot as well as his twin brother’s murder without anyone — not his girlfriend, not his boss, not even the beloved aunt Jane who raised both Tray and Clay — knowing he is still alive after switching identities on his brother’s body. In fact, even Aunt Jane – their closest relative — identifies the body at the funeral home as Tray, not Clay, because they look so identical she really can’t tell them apart.
There are a lot of bad guys in this book (and at least one bad women too) — and a tangled, twisty plot that stretches to corruption at high levels in Washington and deadly forces here and around the world that will do anything they have to — including using the awesome powers of the Hero’s Knot for worldwide destruction — to gain their own dreams of money and power.
No question about it, Artifact is one thriller that’s very different than most thrillers you will read — which is what makes it so interesting!
About C.A. Pack:
C.A. Pack is the author of the Library of Illumination YA paranormal fantasy series and the historical spy thriller Code Name: Evangeline, along with its sequels. An award-winning journalist from New York, Pack has worked as a television anchor/reporter, educator, and producer of PBS documentaries and news programming. She co-authored Over-Sixty: Shades of Gray and created Mind Games & Soporifics, a puzzle book for seniors. Pack, a former president of the Press Club of Long Island, is active in Independent Book Publishers Association, International Thriller Writers, and Sisters in Crime. She resides in Long Island, NY, with her husband, Andrew, and their playful parrot.
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