The Death Relic

Payne & Jones #7

by Chris Kuzneski

The New World, 1545...
Vanquished by the Spanish Empire, little remains of the Aztec and Mayan civilizations. From the ashes of their cities, a unified legend emerges: the Christians who conquered them possessed a mysterious object, an artifact so powerful-so deadly-that it was known throughout the Americas as "the death relic."

Yucatan Peninsula, present day...
When Maria Pelati's research team disappears in Mexico, Jonathon Payne and David Jones embark on a perilous mission to find the missing archaeologists. The duo quickly finds a link between the group's work and its recent disappearance. Following the clues left behind, the pair try to solve one of the darkest mysteries of the new world, but their quest for the relic might cost them their lives.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Adventure, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Action, Mystery Thriller

503 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Chris Kuzneski is the #1 international bestselling & New York Times bestselling author of twelve novels and one novella. His thrillers have been translated into more than twenty languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. One of his books (THE HUNTERS) is currently being made into a major motion picture, and another (THE PRISONER’S GOLD) won an ITW Thriller Award for Book of the Year.

Armed with witty prose, a unique narrative voice, and a penchant for blackmail, Kuzneski has garnered praise from many of the top authors in the world: James Patterson, Nelson DeMille, Lee Child, Vince Flynn, James Rollins, Tess Gerritsen, Douglas Preston, Lisa Gardner, Steve Berry, Scott Mariani, Allison Brennan, W.E.B. Griffin, Graham Brown, Boyd Morrison, John Gilstrap, Raymond Khoury, David Morrell, Andrew Gross, Joseph Finder, Jeremy Robinson, and his writing idol, Clive Cussler.

Simply put, his books are awesome.

A former football player at the University of Pittsburgh, Kuzneski worked as a journalist until he realized it was easier to make stuff up in the comfort of his own home. He has been writing fiction and sleeping in ever since. The only thing that has slowed him down is his obvious need for a pen name, since most people don't know how to spell or pronounce 'Kuzneski'. [Hint: Seven of the letters are silent.]

Reviews

[Hari Hara · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 out of 5. A Nice thriller which is fast paced and entertaining

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone abducts the children of a Cartel head, in order to get The Death Relic. This all leads to Payne and Jones pursuing the relic as well.

Clive Cussler type stuff.

[Genna · Rating 2 out of 5]

For a quick read that doesn't require too much concentration, this book was fine. I enjoyed some of the historical information. But there were several aspects that I found lacking:
1) The characters - so there's a super-intelligent expert on Christian history who spends her time getting angry with people over nothing and doesn't really show an ounce of intellect throughout the entire book. Then there's Payne and Jones the two ex-service, military experts and close friends who constantly make ridiculous jokes and wise-cracks even when in a wholly inappropriate situation and one of which (Jones, who's a black character) refers to the fact that he's black in every other sentence. Then there's the three older-male intellectuals who fall into the eccentric, upper-class stereotype to varying degrees. Not one of them seemed particularly realistic and all of them were irritating.
2) The plot - the death relic itself wasn't even mentioned until over 400 pages in and really the ultimate mission wasn't very well explained and almost seemed added as an afterthought. Before the gathered-together experts embarked on their mission there was a whole lot of intrigue, kidnapping and murder that didn't seem to have any place in the story.
3) The end - So you read all of this book to find out about the death relic and are then introduced to the possibility that there may be a whole lot of hidden treasure and then before you know it treasure's found and that's it! The finding of the treasure seemed incredibly easy and even I had figured out the reference to a "key" as soon as it was mentioned. No expertise needed.

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 out of 5 stars - I give this a higher rating because of the topic and the setting. I just visited the ruins of Tulum, Chichen Itza, and Coba this past summer and loved the history and the mystery surrounding the lives of the Aztec and Mayan civilizations.

I saw the "praise" blurbs on the back of the ARC book and couldn't wait to get started. (I had previously promised myself to ignore those because I'm so often misled, but these were BIG NAMES in authorland so I got sucked in AGAIN).

The plot was thin, the characters sophomoric, juvenile, trying too hard to be clever ex military secret ops stereotypes, but ending up looking and acting almost like Dirk Pitt and his sidekick in every Clive Cussler novel I've read.The difference was that there was a lot of bodies left behind with more killing and violence than in one of Cussler's novels. I did not like a single one of the characters in the book as they all seem like copy cats from other novels of this type except for the attempt at witty dialogue which I grade a D. UGH. The romance set up = lame.

I will definitely say that I enjoyed reading about the civilizations, the ruins, and the details of life before the Spanish empire vanquished the Maya and Aztecs. I am interested in archeology and anthropology, artifacts, cultures, and everything to do with that part of the world - the Yucatan Peninsula. A few details could have been double checked to be accurate and more realistic but it is probably hard to fully describe the ruins in mere words.

Overall - I had a hard time getting through this book because of the characters. The plot was uninteresting -- just another "hidden treasure" hunt adventure with all kinds of bad guys wanting to get to it first. I have not read any previous books by this author and definitely won't look for more featuring Payne, Jones, or Maria Pelati.

This ARC book was provided for review from the publisher and LibraryThing.

[Daltiparmak · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last two novels of Kuzneski give you the impression as if they were novels of him written at the beginning of his career but just newly published. I'n just glad that this was not the first book I've read by Kuzneski, otherwise I wouldn't have read any others by him...

[Birdie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I requested this book from LibraryThing's early reviewer program because the author had been recommended to me by a friend. This will be the first and last time I read anything by Chris Kuzneski. The plot was highly improbable coupled with horribly moronic banter among the characters. Maria who is somewhat the center of the story is unlikable, with her outbursts of anger and bottled up daddy issues. That's 12 hours of my life I will ever get back, what a complete waste.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring, predictable and the plot was mediocre at best.

[S.B. (Beauty in Ruins) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, so the blurb promised Aztec and Mayan civilizations, legends of a deadly artifact known as “the Death Relic,” missing archaeologists, and one of the darkest mysteries of the New World. It sounded like fun, a popcorn treasure hunting adventure, and honestly, my expectations were pretty low.

But now low enough.

I chose to DNF this at Chapter 38, a little more than 40% of the way through, when we were still stuck talking about the missing professor, still bickering about relationship issues, and still bantering about race with the black guy who you really know is black because he reminds you every few pages that he’s black. We literally just left the hotel, where we finally saw some artifacts, but we still haven’t even talked about the treasure. The only redeeming quality of the book has been the villain, who served as our conduit to an info dump as a tour guide details the history of the Aztec people. 2 stars for the history and the tour guide, who I quite liked.


https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2025/...

[Vicky Coughlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. It was nice to go back to Jones and Payne and the rest of the crew. Must confess Maria was getting on my nerves and I just felt like smacking her and tell her to grow up… which she kind of did in the last pages of the book. The story line if this book was very good and Kuzneski did not disappoint! Onwards to the next book!

[Emmie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read! Lots of action, twists and turns and witty dialogue!

[Tad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Death Relic is the latest Payne and Jones thriller from Chris Kuzneski. It’s an exciting page-turner with an interesting backdrop.

One of the things I like best about the Payne and Jones books I’ve read is the extensive research that goes into the setting and the story. In this book, it’s the Maya and Aztecs as well as the Spanish conquer and rule of central and south america. The characters are a lot of fun too, particular Payne and Jones as well as their historian and antiquities friend, Petr Ulster. The non-stop banter between Payne and Jones is entertaining, if a little sophomoric. The action sequences and battle scenes are exciting and well plotted.

While the background for the story is well-researched, the information is not always interjected smoothly into the story. Kuzneski often conveys this information in lumps or lectures that don’t flow well with the story. This was more noticeable early in the book than in the latter part. Kuzneski also feels a need to explain simple concepts, like what a “benchwarmer” is in a sports setting that makes it seem like he’s talking down to you and had me rolling my eyes in a few places. There were also a couple of scenes where Payne became angry for reasons that did not seem to make any sense and took me out of the story for a while.

The Death Relic is another entertaining chapter in the Payne and Jones series and a very quick read. There are a couple of minor annoyances in the story, but if you can overlook those it’s a lot of fun. Recommended read. I was fortunate to receive an early review copy of this book.

[Linda B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Death Relic starts out strong in this archaeological mystery. Dr. Maria Pelati is invited to Cancun to discuss employment working for an archaeologist studying Mayan civilization, Terrance Hamilton. It is out of her expertise, but she is curious and decides to at least meet with Mr. Hamilton. At their initial meeting, he steps out to retrieve some information and disappears.

The book is compelling as it introduces us to Maria, Hamilton, and her friends, Payne and Jones. This is a “buddy” type story with Jonathan Payne and David Jones, long time friends. The information about the Mayan people and civilization was interesting, and the description of the area was done well.

Unfortunately, there were a few things that kept this from being a 5-star book for me. First the crude language added nothing to the personalities of the characters and left me thinking they weren't as smart or sophisticated as they were supposed to be. As the book progressed, the bantering between the two friends started to wear thin. It was like listening to the dialog of 14 year old boys, not adult men. Another distraction for me was the repeated references to a previous case and the relationships between the characters in some previous story. If you have read his previous books, you may enjoy this one, but I came to a point where I just didn't care how it ended.

I received a review copy of this book in return for an honest and fair review.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kuzneski always puts together a great read, filled with some good action, a little humour, and some sensational historical references. I feel as though I learn a great deal and am not only entertain, but educated as well. While the dialogue can be somewhat juvenile at times, I do enjoy the character development and how the two main characters feed off one another.

Set primarily in Mexico, Kuzneski takes the reader on an adventure into the depths of the Maya and Aztec tribes and their fall from power. Utilising much history and painting an interesting picture of First Encounters from the Old to the New World, Kuzneski supports a theory that the Europeans were quite self-centred and more concerned with Catholicism than the preservation of history.

The action kept the story going, though there were times I did feel Kuzneski spent chapter upon chapter laying out the historical background (ironic, since one of the characters chastises a minor one for going on and on about background info).

Kudos Mr. Kuzneski. When shall I read an early release (pre-US release) copy of your next work?

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe if I had some history with the characters I might have enjoyed this more. As it was I didn’t connect with them much. I liked the idea of the long standing relationship between the two friends with all sorts of history that leads to friendly banter. Unfortunately it didn’t work out as well as I’d hoped. The banter was odd and forced and sounded awkward and ended up taking away from the story instead of adding to it. And unfortunately there were long passages of it. There is some good action and mystery with people who are not who they seem, plots and schemes, fire fights and ancient puzzles. And you get to learn something about the Maya. But after all the action and mystery, just when it seems to really be picking up, it just sort of ends. Abruptly. It felt like the book was leading us somewhere and then decided at the last moment not to go there. And I was left feeling that the ending didn’t really deliver what the rest of the book promised.

[Cindy Meilink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chris Kuzneski's attempt at delivering a fast-paced, action-loaded book falls a little short.

Normally, I love books based on the treasure hunt, or ones that delve into history to shed light on unsolved mysteries, but although the hunt for secrets of the Maya and what may have happened to their treasure is enticing, the book dragged with poor dialogue and the author's attempts at injecting humor into the characters.

The history that the author disburses throughout the book to bring the reader up to speed on events leading to this moment read like something directly out of a history text.

The result was a book with bad flow and one that was difficult to finish reading...in short, a disappointment.

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the early books in the Payne and Jones series it is easy to see that the writing has vastly improved. Although the sentence structure and grammar might just be down to better proof reading. However, the plots have suffered, both in this offering and the previous book (The Secret Crown). In this one I found myself about 60% of the way through the book before the plot really started going. It read more like a tour guide with plenty of historical information, but it didn't really tick any boxes as a thriller. Once again the ending was very anti-climatic.
Characters from a previous earlier book were re-introduced into this one, but even they couldn't really salvage it. It was an OK read, and that is about the best that I can say about it.

[Kislay Verma · Rating 3 out of 5]

My complete review is at Solomon Says.

This book is quite out of character with the rest of the book in the Payne and Jones series. It is more historical lesson than it is a action/adventure novel. The mystique of the Mayan civilization and the research Kuzneski has put in to get to it is clearly evident in the passionate characters and descriptions.

The main characters are bit of a let down. Too much whining, romancing, and breaking up. The story curtails the aggression of our protagonists and leaves them puppets in the hands of someone else.

It is an engaging read, but for its history rather than its action.

[Sharron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much better than the last one i have to say albeit rushed at the end I thought, I was disappointed that the story didn't actually really centre around the death relic, it was almost an after thought. I also thought there was a little too much emphasis on the racial jokes, it got rather tiresome after a couple of dialogues to be honest. Other than that, the action was good and I flew through it when I had chance to read

[Wenzel Roessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the interaction between Payne and Jones. And the author gives you quite a bit of background and facts in a way that does not make you feel like you are sitting in a school room. Although I don't understand why some of the characters did what they did in the book, seems like quite a bit of and trouble to go thru. And the ending was wrapped up pretty quickly, not the puzzle solving mysteries you would find in a Dan Brown book!

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book. The jumps in viewpoint were jarring as were the sudden tense changes. I also found the cultural information to be shoehorned into the story, the facts droning on without being organic to the story telling. Most of the times I think the author would have been better served by adding footnotes about the subjects.

[Alison · Rating 1 out of 5]

Possibly the worst book I have read in my adult life. Predictable, badly written with dumbing down and repetition of information to the point of frustration. Thoroughly disappointing and a waste of time. Surprise surprise we end up with hidden treasure in a church... very original.

[Rustum · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you very much Mr. Chris Kuzneski, this is the only book I would read in your so called JP/DJ series, its 99% Death for readers and 1% relic, two stars for keeping is short!

[Blysse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Formulaic with clonky character development and an unsatisfying plot.

[Crestial Wintersmith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring ass book. Too much talking

[Tori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Took an inordinate amount of time to get to a boring ending.

[Lawrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for simple brain candy to read, and so my expectations were not high when I picked this story, based on recommendations for this series on Goodreads. However, this story failed to meet even my lowered expectations.
First, what I enjoyed. The background on the Spanish conquest of the civilizations in Mexico was interesting. I have visited the place in the climactic scenes and found it fascinating. I also give the author credit for carefully holding out until the climax to reveal the title artifact, which probably kept me reading to that point.
Now, what disappointed me. The main characters of the series, Payne and Jones, simply were not characters I liked, and the more I read, the more my dislike grew. They were definitely meant to be heroic, but their banter, which might have appealed to me in junior high, moved quickly from eye rolling to annoying to grating on my nerves. Secondly, the “bad guy,” a female, was regularly described as attractive, in my opinion, to make more jarring her willingness to rack up a body count. And when necessary, she makes use of Payne and Jones skills to increase the death toll.
I read this genre for the pure escapism: exotic locales; slightly plausible quests; a lurking, menacing threat to the quest; harrowing escapes; and a protagonist(s) that I want to see accomplish the quest. This story, judging from its cover, could have had that. Sorry to say, if you’re a fan of this series, I think the story would have been better if Payne or Jones, or both, had been written out of the story 80 percent of the way through, and then the final conclusion to the quest was reached.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good, fast paced story and unforgettable characters.
Dr Maria Pelati is an Italian archaeologist. She is contacted by Terrence Hamilton and asked to meet him on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as he has a proposal for her. She's to treat this as a working holiday. Maria flies to Mexico and meets with Hamilton. During this meeting, he goes to fetch something to show Mariaclues being left for them, and they and disappears. Enter Payne and Jones.
Maria had met Payne and Jones when she was working with Charles Boyd a few years previously. Maria asks the two men to come and help, as she's concerned about Hamilton's disappearance and the theft of her passport from her ransacked room.
Payne and Jones arrive a few hours later from a snowy Pittsburgh and begin their investigation.
There is also a double kidnapping being sorted out at the same time. The victims are the son and daughter of a Mexican professional kidnapper and he agrees to the demands being made.
The two mysteries come together and Payne and Jones phone their friend, Petr Ulster, in Switzerland. He flies out to help them.
The two ex-soldiers call in favours from a CIA contact in Washington, but he stops helping them at a crucial point of the operation.
Maria and the team follow they eventually meet up with an old adversary, who gives them the final clue in their hunt for missing Mayan/Aztec treasure. This involves Maria, whose field of expertise is Christianity, working out what the Maya and Aztecs called the 'Death Relic'. When she does so, it's so obvious.
The pressure is on the main characters from the start, as they face violence, death and destruction from outside forces. Well worth reading.

[Sharon King-Hanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jones and Payne are back at it again, thrust into a life-or-death scenario when Payne receives a call from Maria Pelati, world-renown expert in Christianity. She has been summoned to Mexico by archeologist Terrance Hamilton, who vanishes during their initial meeting about a job opportunity related to the Maya civilization. Before Maria can figure out what her expertise has to do with Mayan history, the stakes grow even higher. Toss in a Mexican gang, a covert CIA operative, a henchman bent on revenge, and hundreds of stolen Mayan artifacts, and its a typical Kuzneski roller coaster. This ride, though, is less thrilling than previous Jones/Payne novels. The banter between these ex-military best friends and co-workers reads more like an adolescent’s guide to sexual innuendo and tasteless jokes. Come on, Kuzneski. Your readers expect more from you and from your main characters. Hoping for more from the next novel in this series.

[Rohan Raj Kansal · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am in a way very disappointed with this book. Although the historical events captured in this book are the capture of the Maya and the Aztecs by the Spanish conquistadors, which was very interesting to know about. All the historical facts and figures were very interesting like always and the way he blended the facts with fiction also had certain charm to it.

But overall this was below average book. Payne and Jones didn't do much in this book, even Randy didn't do much, everything was handed to them by a man from their past. They were played in he whole book and I didn't like that all.
The book could have been more interesting, but well not every book is a best seller I guess. And maybe this is where Chris ran out of his ideas. Although I have heard that the Malta Escape is one of the best books in the series.

[Coleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, Payne & Jones are great. I have not read any of their previous 6 adventures {note this is #7}. They are the team that keep the action moving in the book and the plot interesting. I definitely would read any of their previous -or successive- books.

This story concerns archaeology which is an intriguing subject for me... and I can honestly write that I know little to nothing about the subject except what I read in fiction. But that is a lot and one can always learn, as in this book. Seriously, however, the story has good [and bad] characters, besides Payne & Jones, and quite a bit of action and keeps the reader reading.

Although The Death Relic is the title, I kept waiting for it to surface either in reality or discussion. Be patient but it does turn up before the book ends.