The Golden Crown of Seville by Roland O’Brien (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DF6NLS7J) is ostensibly a contemporary suspense novel but it uses the format to explore social and political issues in modern Spain (and Europe), including the legacy of the Spanish Civil War (1936-9), the tension between nation states and the European Union, and the effect of internal migration.
The story follows the testing journey of discovery made by a family who desperately need money to pay for life-saving medical care for an elderly parent. An opportunity arises that might – just might – allow them to get the funds, by searching for a lost hoard of Dark Age golden relicts.
What they don’t realize is that an evil force is playing with them. The family’s perseverance, moral courage and faith help them navigate challenges and confront unexpected discoveries about their own history, and their nation's history…but will they discover and counter the evil force before it’s too late?
The book is in part a historical mystery: the lost treasure is real (based on the Guarrazar hoard, a Visigoth treasure stolen from museums during Spain's anarchic pre-war period); many of the personalities and events that drive the storyline are real (e.g. Heinrich Himmler, who visited to Spain during WW2 and was gifted Visigoth artefacts by the fascist regime).
The novel is not quite a Christian mystery, though religion is important to the main characters and there is no profanity. The narrative also avoids graphic sex and violence, but this is because I was fed up reading novels that overused these devices: an entertaining read doesn't always need them! Aspects of contemporary culture and politics create problems and moral dilemmas for the protagonists. The novel takes an unorthodox stance on various issues, which may surprise the reader.
The story follows the testing journey of discovery made by a family who desperately need money to pay for life-saving medical care for an elderly parent. An opportunity arises that might – just might – allow them to get the funds, by searching for a lost hoard of Dark Age golden relicts.
What they don’t realize is that an evil force is playing with them. The family’s perseverance, moral courage and faith help them navigate challenges and confront unexpected discoveries about their own history, and their nation's history…but will they discover and counter the evil force before it’s too late?
The book is in part a historical mystery: the lost treasure is real (based on the Guarrazar hoard, a Visigoth treasure stolen from museums during Spain's anarchic pre-war period); many of the personalities and events that drive the storyline are real (e.g. Heinrich Himmler, who visited to Spain during WW2 and was gifted Visigoth artefacts by the fascist regime).
The novel is not quite a Christian mystery, though religion is important to the main characters and there is no profanity. The narrative also avoids graphic sex and violence, but this is because I was fed up reading novels that overused these devices: an entertaining read doesn't always need them! Aspects of contemporary culture and politics create problems and moral dilemmas for the protagonists. The novel takes an unorthodox stance on various issues, which may surprise the reader.
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