The Secret of the King's Tomb

Richard Halliburton Adventure #1

by GarrettDrake

A deep secret that only one man knew … until the whole world found out.

Richard Halliburton, the world famous travel writer and explorer in the early 1920s and 30s, embarked on a journey to explore the world. But he found much more than he ever imagined—and far more than he ever told.

Following the end of World War I, the German Reichswehr set out on an ambitious—and unconventional—expedition to rebuild the military’s war chest beyond the auspices of the restrictive Treaty of Versailles. But when U.S. Army intelligence got wind of what the Reichswehr was doing, action was required. And Richard Halliburton was the man drafted into service.

Join Halliburton on this pulse-pounding adventure in his race to stop the Germans from uncovering one of the greatest artifacts—and secrets—in Egyptian history.

If you love the Indiana Jones franchise, Clive Cussler, or Dan Brown, you’re sure to enjoy this new series from Garrett Drake.

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

308 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 24, 2019

Reviews

[Corinne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book because the main character is based on a real person, Richard Haliburton, who was a true adventurer from Memphis TN in the 20s and 30s. Indiana Jones was a fictionalized person based on several adventurers, probably including Haliburton. The author had a good grasp of Haliburton. My problem with the book is that I think it should be marketed to 4th or 5th graders. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot back when I was reading Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun adventure. It reminded me of Indiana Jones a bit. Richard Halliburton is an interesting character. He is an honorable, adventure-seeking gentleman that seems to step into trouble and pirouette right back out of it. I thought it was going to be a bit silly but it really wasn’t, it balanced nicely on the edge and ended up being exciting, entertaining, and really fun.

[Patricia Mccammon · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading the original writings of Richard Halliburton many years ago, this fictional version of some of his travels are fantastic with the element of mystery.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Secret of the King's Tomb - a review by Rosemary Kenny

Who would believe the stories in this series are all based on the memoirs of the actual Richard Halliburton?
The Secret of the King's Tomb introduces the young travel writer as he starts his career as an intelligence agent for the Secret Service,
in the early 1920s and into the 1930s, recruited by recommendation by Victor Vance, who offers Halliburton the price of a 3rd class fare to Egypt,
that had been his late grandfather's dream destination, sadly never realised.
All Richard has to do is track a group of Germans and report on their actions, that should be easy and risk-free. Once in Egypt, Richard obtains work
as a tour guide for Thomas Cook, as cover for his activities and to get some much-needed money until he gets paid by Vance.

With shades of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, and a link to the real-life adventure of Howard Carter and his discovery of the Tomb,
Richard Halliburton is a hero straight out of the pages of a Boy's Own Annual, but who works just as well in our modern age, as a young James Bond
in the making too. Great stuff - get your copy today!

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh.. could have lived without having read it
The pacing is very slow and I couldn’t connect with the main character. Wasn’t my cup of tea but I can see how others would enjoy it.

[Kylie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

It wasn't quite the archaeological adventure I was hoping to bemark on, but it was ok

[dennis barron · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Secret of the kings Tomb. Garrett Drake

Richard Halliburton, an explorer and writer during the 1920's and 1930's was quite a dashing and adventurous individual. This is fictional account of one of his adventures in Egypt. A young Mr. Halliburton has a knack for finding trouble and then miraculously escaping. He has been hired by an American intelligence officer to spy and hopefully stop a group of elite German soldiers from finding and plundering the tomb of one of the Egyptian pharaohs. This is an immensely entertaining novel , full of non stop action and adventure. Enjoyed immensely!!

[Shelley Engel · Rating 3 out of 5]

To me, it read more like a screen play than a novel. I liked it a lot. It was an easy relaxing read, that kept my attention. Some instances were very far fetched & fictionalized, although that's what made this such a fun book to read.
I would definitely recommend this book as a light beach/poolside read.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

American man Richard has to stop the German Reichswehr (armed forces) from stealing artifacts. Something about Hank, Wilhelm, and Rich discover the dead Dr. Miller. The story progresses to introduce more people, Felix and Hans and then talking about William Feakins and Pauline. I don’t know if it's due to this being a series, but none of the characters get introductions, it feels like falling into the middle of a show you don’t watch despite this being volume one.

Richard catches a ride on a ship headed to Alexandria, Egypt- hoping to stop the Germans from getting their hands on a literal treasure map. Rich slaps on a fake mustache and gets in trouble. Bla bla he makes it to Cairo where his tour guide (Jabari) is kidnapped by the Germans before Rich gets there. Rich sneaks aboard their ship and concocts a plan to get to the treasure first with Jabari.

Blabla stuff happens and the tomb is said to be Tut's! They must be weary of Egyptians also guarding the place. More drawn out plot to get one up on the Germans. I do like the progression but I don’t find it all that compelling. They save the treasure and I’m left not wanting more.

The writing is very plain with short chapters, another reviewer was correct, younger grades would enjoy this.

[Sky Winstone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

Couldn't put the book down, the anticipation and excitement kept me turning page after page. Looking forward to the next adventure.

[Alan Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great adventure.

Thoroughly enjoyed the story. Never a dull moment and flowed very well. I look forward to the rest of the adventures of Richard Halliburton.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Indiana Jones you will live this book. Richard get tied up and thrown into the crocodile infested Nile, trapped in a tomb and avoids a train on a trestle by swinging on a rope under it. Constant action.

[John McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun tail of adventure. The author has quite an imagination.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting historical fiction. Fun read pre-WWII the Germans are trying to fund rebuilding and WWII spin up by raiding treasures from far off lands. Can our hero stop them from stealing a great treasure from Egypt?

[Phil Matthews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not so good

Wonderful idea but flows exceedingly slow. I got bored with the slow pace. Too many interruptions and obstacles to his travel.

[John Tanaschovsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Great read lots of non stop action and excitement story line is excellent it kept you glued to the book can not wait for the next one

[Penelope · Rating 4 out of 5]

MY RATING GUIDE: Rounded to 4 Stars. This was fun 😁 and the narration was excellent!
1= dnf/What was that?; 2= Nope, not for me; 3= This was okay/cute; 3.5= I ENJOYED THIS; 4= I LIKED THIS A LOT; 5= I Loved it, it was great! (I seldom give 5 Stars).

1922, Egypt ~
Young American adventurer and freelance travel writer Richard Halliburton is recruited by a government agent/handler to accomplish a risky task. Richard, alone, is sent to Egypt to prevent the successful discovery and raiding of the tomb of Tutankhamen. The agent believes that a secret German sect is seeking the tomb for its rumored buried treasures of wealth and certain mysterious artifacts that might bring great danger to the world.

Comments ~
1) This is bk 1 in the Richard Halliburton series. Richard begins the tale as a rather young, gullible and inexperienced adventurer who immediately makes certain mistakes. Thankfully, Halliburton’s learning curve is steep and he doesn’t tend to repeat his mistakes more than once. This allowed my husband and I to sit back and enjoy the tale which is largely written with an Indiana Jones-type spirit.
2) The narrator, Dwight Kuhlman, does an excellent job narrating this tongue-in-cheek adventure. I listened at 1.2-1.4 speed.
3) The Halliburton tales move at a quick pace with a lot of action and fun (but few graphic/violent details). For the best enjoyment, the reader should be willing to shelve skepticism and simply enjoy the ride.
4) I own and have listened to 2 other audio books in the Richard Halliburton adventure series. The others were narrated by John Pirhalla. IMO, the audio version is perfect for capturing the lively spirit of this Post-WWI (PreWWII) series. I intend to purchase the last audio book soon.
5) IMO, these titles could be enjoyed by adventure lovers of all ages (YA and up). Richard travels the world on his adventures.

READER CAUTION ~
PROFANITY - Limited, if any.
VIOLENCE - PG. Think Indiana Jones.
SEXUAL SITUATIONS - None.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book only because the main character is based on the real-life Richard Halliburton. I wasn't sure but what it would be an "in name only" portrayal but I enjoyed the book more than expected because the author really captured some of Halliburton's signature traits. He could be practical and plan ahead but he could also be impulsive. He was a man who toured Asia and the Middle East carrying only a knapsack and coping with the heat by wearing his old Boy Scout shorts but also jumped on trains and talked his way into first-class without any ticket and he never ever turned down a free meal.

The big addition to the fiction, that Halliburton was asked to do some spying, is actually something that I wondered about. It could have happened. Frank Wisner, who was the CIA’s operations chief in its early days, was looking for “amateurs, not ex-FBI agents, former cops, bureaucrats,” writes Evan Thomas in The Very Best Men: The Daring Early Years of the CIA. “They needed to be fluent in foreign languages, and they needed grace and confidence under pressure.” Halliburton fit the description; he attended Princeton, spoke French, loved to travel and could charm the dew off the honeysuckle.

I will be reading the next book in the series.

[Carlos Mock · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Secret of the King's Tomb (Richard Halliburton Adventure #1) by Garrett Drake

Imagine if you will, two real characters. The first is Richard Halliburton b. January 9, 1900 - an American traveler, writer, and adventurer - who died under mysterious circumstances in 1939. The second is Howard Carter - a British archaeologist and Egyptologist who became world-famous after discovering the intact tomb (designated KV62) of the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh, Tutankhamun in November 1922.

Mr. Drake combines the fortunes of these two real characters into a fictionalized tale where our hero - Mr. Halliburton - pushes his way, working for Hank Foster - an American Army intelligence officer on his quest to stop Karl Wilhem - A German Reichswehr set out on an ambitious - and unconventional - expedition to rebuild the military’s war chest beyond the auspices of the restrictive Treaty of Versailles.

The plot is very superficial and totally unbelievable, the characters are poorly developed and two dimensional and the tale, even though you can tell that a lot of research went into it - never takes off. I lost interest right away and finished it just because I wanted to see how it ended.

I would not recommend the book nor would I read the rest of the series.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed the book- It is well-written over all, with its main character loosely based on the real-life Richard Halliburton. It reminded me of an Indiana Jones movie. If you liked those and enjoy reading, I think you will enjoy this book. It is full of adventure, creative daring-do, and overcoming bad guys. It may be a bit superficial in respects to the characters- doesn't go deeply into backgrounds, motives, etc, but quite sufficient to the story- and I really don't care in this case. Few of the characters even get to know each other very well, as they pass briefly through the story, and those who maintain lengthy contact throughout the story, mainly the bad guys, are the sort that likely could not have cared less personally about their associates beyond their usefulness-there is no mourning among them when one is killed, for sure. In short, I am not inspired to care what happens to any of them, certainly not the bad guys, or even the briefly appearing helpers or acquaintances met along the way, not even the young lady, but I AM inspired to want to follow Halliburton's next adventure. Apparently the author is also a bit of an adventurer.

[William Bentrim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Secret of the King’s Tomb by Garrett Drake
Richard Haliburton was a true adventurer. I have a moth eaten, dog eared copy of a book from the 1940’s chronicling his adventures. Drake turned him into a fictional character for this book. He included Dr. Howard Carter another real person who really discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun. This is a fictionalized account of Haliburton, as an American agent, assisting Carter in finding the tomb while preventing Germans from seizing the treasure found within.
Haliburton was portrayed as having little common sense and open for every experience. Oddly enough that is no too far from the real Haliburton. Haliburton did swim in the Taj Mahal reflection pool and he even swam the Panama Canal. The story had plenty of action but I was not enthralled with the presentation. The book felt more like one of the serialized thrillers on the radio in the early fifties.

[Holly Lenz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Secret of the Kong’s tomb is a fun if somewhat silly adventure about a young, inexperienced American spy and writer investigating murderous German agents searching for an Egyptian tomb in the early 1920s. The story has been compared to Indiana Jones, and while I understand the comparison, it’s not quite in the same league (but then again without Harrison Ford...). The hero isn’t my favorite- he takes huge risks, makes dumb decisions, and is constantly getting into trouble as a result. Don’t be scared away by the strange choice of cover art (Queen Hatshepsut’s temple I believe). The author has done a fair amount of research and knows a thing or two about the subject matter.

The narrator took a little getting used to, but overall he did a good job with the story.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered Richard Halliburton as a kid and have remembered him for about 65 years. Even though his exploits were like so many other adventure books, I loved it. Had a lazy Saturday and read late into the night just to finish the story. The character of Richard is so well developed that I lived the story along with him. There is adventure, suspense and involvement with character in France and Egypt. Of course, he managed to reach his goal of having adventure in Egypt in his Grandfather's memory. Grandfather had a life long dream of going to Egypt. If you like books with larger than life adventure you will enjoy this book. One of my few 5 stars.

[Kelvin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was OK but rather shallow. Each scene lacked depth and as another reviewer noted it felt more like a screenplay than a book. The story just raced ahead. For once I think I wish a book had had more pages to let each character and scene develop more. The Indiana Jones style action was suitably campy but the fact that the hero of the piece never once seemed to get flustered was just a bit too much for me. I did like how some of the real history was woven in and as I read it for free I may read the next (also free on Kindle Unlimited) one but compared to similar novels by authors like Steve Berry this was not even close to as fulfilling. It was too easy to put down.

[Bruce Mendelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book. It is a watered down version of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The main character is a semi academic that was educated at Princeton and the "bad guys" are Germans seeking ancient artifacts that will help build their military power. Sound familiar?
There is some excitement. But, many of the sequences are repetitive. I was also hoping for some historical information about Ancient Egypt- there was essentially none. The good points are that the book is fast paced and a quick read. But, I was hoping for a good first book of an interesting series. Instead I found a cliche first book and I will not read further books in the series.

[Jim Bean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indiana Jones Lives on

The setting, the plot and the characters are all shadows of an Indiana Jones adventure. Even the bizarre situations are straight from the movie script. All that's missing are the hat, jacket and whip. You can even picture Indy as the character Richard as you read the story. I finally had to quit reading after 90 percent was read. The story became surreal and monotonous and I stopped. Sorry. Indiana Jones followers should relish the narrative. Enjoy

[David Brook · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riveting fictional account of Richard Halliburton's adventure into Egypt

All the books in this series depict the fictional (fact based possibly) adventures of writer and explorer Halliburton 's travels in the 1920's & 1930's. The book had me hooked from the Get go being already interested in ancient Egypt and having read some of Halliburton's memoirs. Looking forward to the next one now

[Libby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this might be a young adult book as it certainly doesn’t read as an adult adventure. I got bogged down in it Several times. The German dialogue, only a few years after the Treaty of Versailles, made them sound like Nazis during WWII. I know the hero was supposed to be based on a real person but it is inconceivable that he would have been assigned something so important with no training... just because he liked adventure? Really?

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a rather short adventure book and I can’t help but think the author could have used some extra space fleshing things out a little more. It certainly goes from one tense situation to another but there’s no depth to the story or characters for me. Some of the situations the main character gets himself into are bordering on plain stupidity rather than having a sense of adventure. Not my cup of tea, not enough in this book to get me to read the next in the series.

[Mary Herzog · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exciting....but

This story was exciting as it jumped from one adventure to another with lots of fast paced action. The characters were shallow and for the most part, emotionless. It was difficult for me to connect with them as they quickly passed through the story. This read was more like a newspaper article rather than a story to be read for enjoyment and entertainment.