Ernest Dempsey is a huge fan of action/adventure thrillers and science fiction.
He has been creating stories since he was in high school but never published a book until 2010, long after the days of high school were gone.
His action & adventure books come from a lineage similar to Clive Cussler, Dan Brown, Steve Berry, and James Rollins. While his science fiction novels are full of influence from Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, The Matrix movie, and Gladiator directed by Ridley Scott.
He is quickly becoming one of the hottest fiction authors in the book world.
This tiny (45 page) novelette should be read before Sean Wyatt's 2nd adventure The Cleric's Vault in the prolific Ernest Dempsey's The Lost Stones trilogy, as it introduces his feisty, fulsome and MMA fighter heroine Adriana Villa, a Spanish multi-millionairess who runs a 'philanthropic' criminal network with her father in Spain - think Salma Hayek or Penelope Cruz meets Lara Croft - and details how she seeks artefacts and paintings looted/stolen from their owners, then returns them.
As a threat sets her on a race against the clock, (not to mention enemy factions) the action really ramps up to fever-pitch. Adriana must find the eponymous lost van Gogh masterpiece, that allegedly promises to reveal eternal life to the holder of the answer to the riddle hidden within. Can she find it first? Get yourself a copy today and find out - then read all Ernest Dempsey's unputdownable full-length thrillers - but clear your diary first, as you won't want to stop til you've read them all!
To be honest; I am really sad Mr. D. The pandemic isn’t over and I have read all of your works...Oh well, guess that means I go back to the beginning and start over! Anything new coming out? Please....pretty please with a cherry on top? Thank you for all of the wonderful adventures!
Introducing Adrianna Villa who seems to match Sean Wyatt in moxy - hope they will team up at some point in one book - very short story but very entertaining.
Adriana Villa , a thief who steals stolen art and returns it to rightful owners. is given a van Gogh painting, The tree which promises the secret of immortality. People are killing to get it.
This novella introduces Adriana Villa, who joins Sean Wyatt's crew of treasure hunters in The Cleric's Vault, which is Book 2 of that series (making this story Book 1.5?). Although not crucial to the series, The Lost Canvas gives us Adriana's backstory and her reasons for joining Sean's team. Even Sean hasn't figured that out yet -- she is still a mystery to him.
Adriana is in Germany in search of a painting believed to be part of the treasure trove the Nazi's looted throughout Europe during World War II. It is here she learns of a group of people also after the same painting, but for much more nefarious purposes. You see, this particular piece of art is believed to hold a clue to the secret of immortality -- a prize once sought by Hitler and now by the leader of this other group, the Order of the Golden Dawn. They are also after Sean Wyatt and his team for the same reasons. The Order will stop at nothing to get it, including murder and arson.
The book starts out with Adriana running and it kept me turning the pages until the very end. Being a novella, character development is sacrificed for action, which is not a bad thing. The plot moves along swiftly and, by the end, it sets the reader up nicely to continue the Sean Wyatt series.
It kept me reading as much for the story as to when Sean Wyatt was going to show up. This is his kind of story. But had to laugh at the end when I got my way and there he was. Adrianna would make a good partner for Sean. Trouble just follows. Adrianna did pretty good standing up for her self and taking on a big task. Hope more to come on this.
This seems to be book 1.5 in the Sean Wyatt series in that it gives some backstory to Adriana Villa who appeared for the first time in The Cleric’s Vault, book 2 in the Sean Wyatt series. Adriana Villa is an unusual thief in that she only steals from those who have stolen. A non-essential story but not without interest. However, the ending is confusing - what gives?
This book will catch your attention and hold it right till the ending which leaves you hanging "on the edge of a cliff" trying to figure out what is next! Great Read!
Novellas, especially well written exciting ones like "The Lost Canvas" will leave the reader wanting more and at the same time disappointed because they are too short. This nouvelle would have earned 5 stars if it had been full length
This is another short story and introduces another character to the series. Great description and story with good character building looking forward to reading the first full length novel.