Search This Blog

Golden Chariot by Chris Karlsen: Review and INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Comment for a chance to win a $75 Amazon Giftcard Grand Prize!!!  Comment on this stop for a chance to win ebook copies of Chris Karlsen's paranormal series!

The rare discovery of a ship sunk during the time of the Trojan War has been found off the coast of Turkey, near Troy. Charlotte Dashiell is an American nautical archaeologist and thrilled to be part of the recovery team. The wreck may contain proof of her highly controversial theory about the Trojan War.
 Charlotte is present when the Turkish government agent assigned to guard the site is murdered. Her possible involvement and a questionable connection to a private collector of black market relics bring her under suspicion. Atakan Vadim is the Turkish agent sent to investigate her. Unknown to either of them, the smuggler behind the murder plans to steal a valuable artifact and frame Charlotte for the theft...after they murder her.
Goodreads Summary

The Goodreads summary above gives a great description of the novel without any spoilers.  Readers have heard many theories concerning different topics, but probably haven't heard too many about the Trojan War.  Things begin to heat up after a murder without a clear-cut motive takes place.  Charlotte, the main character, must think on her feet and try to solve the mystery while proving her own theory. 

Charlotte is not a shrinking violet.  She manages to portray bravery, intelligence, and a take-no-prisoners strong personality.  Many readers will love the strong female heroine who doesn't need a savior or hero.  The other characters are interesting.  Atakan, sent to investigate and watch Charlotte, may move up in the readers' esteem when he slowly comes around to Charlotte's side.  At first, everyone seems to suspect Charlotte...as the story goes on, some characters, notably Atakan begin to trust her. 

Overall, this story has the excitement, mystery, and intrigue necessary for a fast read.  This book is recommended to adult readers.

4 Stars

Find this book:
Amazon

Excerpt:

Shouts of “fire” came from all sides of the camp. The west wind blew sparks in the direction of the lab. They could lose the entire camp, but not the lab, not the artifacts.
Charlotte grabbed an empty barrel from the fire line. She ran with it and started climbing the stairs to the shower stall’s water tank. A man’s large hand covered her mouth. His other hand brandished a gun. With the cold barrel to her ear, he walked her backwards down the few steps to the ground.
“Don’t scream.” Little-by-little his palm came away from her mouth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author Bio:
I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books.
My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.
I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream.
I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband, four rescue dogs and a rescue horse. 
http://www.chriskarlsen.com/index.html
http://www.facebook.com/#!/chriskarlsenwriter


Chris will award eBook copies of her paranormal romance series to one commenter at every stop, a $75 Amazon GC grand prize to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour and a $50 Amazon GC to the host with the most comments (excluding hers and the hosts).




This product or book may have been distributed for review, this in no way affects my opinions or reviews.

66 comments:

  1. Just the mere mention of Troy conjures up all sorts of wonders. I'm looking forward to finding out more.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

  1. Thank you for hosting Chris today

  1. Sonia said...:

    I love mystery stories! It sounds intriguing. :-)

    transportbybooks(at)yahoo(dot)com(dot)hk

  1. Erica G said...:

    I love the Goodreads synopsis. Just enough to reel me in, but not giveaway the entire book.

    Thanks!
    cinderwhims at gmail dot com

  1. I'd like to thank Krystal for inviting me here today and for the lovely review. It's always a pleasure to hear when a reader has made a strong connection with one of my characters.
    Chris

  1. Karen H said...:

    I'll have to check out that Goodreads synopsis. The setting of your book is not one that I've read much about and I like to read books where I can learn something about the setting locale.

    This book sounds like it would make a good movie. If it was every made into a movie, who do you see playing the main characters?

  1. Hi Marybelle,
    Thank you for coming by. I agree with you, Troy does immediately conjure images in our imagination, mostly the Trojan Horse. I loved using Troy in the story for that reason.
    Chris

  1. Hi Sonia,
    If you like mysteries, I think you'll enjoy Golden Chariot. The story has a good number of villains for the heroine and hero to fight:)
    Chris

  1. Hi Erica,

    I agree, Krystal's review was an excellent teaser. Enjoy the story and have a wonderful day.
    Chris

  1. Hi Karen,
    Setting is so important, especially in a romantic thriller like Golden Chariot. I think you'll enjoy reading about the Aegean Sea locale and the underwater world.
    I love to "cast" my books:) I see Stana Katic, from the tv show Castle as Charlotte and Oded Fehr as Atakan. You might remember Oded Fehr from the Mummy movies a few years back. Nice looking man and Stana is stunning IMO.
    Chris

  1. I LOVE books about treasure hunting! This book looks like it would be perfect for me. Thanks for the review, it was really informative :D

    megnate at telus dot net

  1. Anonymous said...:

    Not my usual genre, but it sounds intriguing! Thanks for the excerpt...

    vitajex(at)aol(dot)com

  1. Ive never read any of your work, but it does sound pretty good. I enjoyed reading the post:)

    elliott2668(at)yahoo(dot)com

  1. Hi Meagan,
    If you like reading about shipwrecks and the relics from them, then I think you'll enjoy Golden Chariot very much. More than that though, I think you'll find the heroine and hero pretty interesting too:)
    Chris

  1. Hi Anonymous,
    Although it's not your usual genre, I hope you give Golden Chariot a try.
    Chris

  1. Hi LorettaLynn/Temperance,
    I'm glad you liked the post. You can find excerpts, blurbs and trailers for my other books on my website: www.chriskarlsen.com
    I hope you'll check it out.
    Chris

  1. Anonymous said...:

    Great post and this story looks great. I wonder if the author will do more in the same vein. I love adventure/archeological and spend way too much time searching through lists for them when the mood strikes. At any rate, I'm picking this up now at Amazon. Thanks again, Tammy at NovelOpinion

  1. Would love a chance to win what sounds like an interesting read! Thanks for hosting this great giveaway!
    nadja.notariani@gmail.com

  1. Hi Tammmy,

    Yes, I'm doing another in the same vein. I finished the draft of the sequel to Golden Chariot. It's set in Cyprus and involves a Byzantine shipwreck. Charlotte and Atakan return along with several other characters. I'd like to do a third in the series down the road. Have to think up a plot for it though.
    Thank you for buying the book:)
    Let me know what you think.
    Chris
    www.chriskarlsen.com
    BTW-I have photos and other info related to the story on my pinterest page: pinterest.com/chriskarlsen

  1. Hi Nadja,
    Thank you for your interest and coming by today to hear about my story. Good luck.
    As I mentioned to Tammy, I have some photos of Turkey and shipwreck info on my pinterest page: pinterest.com/chriskarlsen and research info on my website: www.chriskarlsen.com
    Chris

  1. The summary soounds awesome. Can't wait to read it.

    autumnflower6ATaolDOTcom

  1. Vesper said...:

    archaeology and murder - a great combination

  1. Hi Jennifer,

    Thank you for liking the summary and I hope you enjoy the book.
    Chris

  1. Hi Vesper,
    Mixing archaeology and murder was fun. I liked setting the two in the beautiful Aegean Sea.
    I have photos and more info related to the book and travels on my pinterest page: pinterest.com/chriskarlsen
    Chris

  1. Unknown said...:

    thanks for giveaway

  1. Hi Liza,
    You're welcome and good luck.
    Chris

  1. Unknown said...:

    This book sounds stellar!! Thans for the awesome giveaway!! I look forward to the tour!!!
    viajeradelmar@aol.com

  1. Anonymous said...:

    Sounds great. I look forward to reading this. Thanks

    rachel at thejeepdiva dot com

  1. Hi Nikki,
    Thank you for the kind words. I wish you good luck with the giveaway and appreciate you following me on the tour.
    Chris

  1. Hi Rachel,
    Thank you and I wish you good luck for the giveaway. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the book after you read it. I can be reached at:www.chriskarlsen.com
    Chris

  1. Sounds like a seriously great read.

  1. love mysteries and this one sounds great. Thanks. Gale pgan427@yahoo.com

  1. Amy S. said...:

    I love a good mystery, and really like that this is set in Turkey. That makes me really want to read it. Thanks for the chance to win a copy!

  1. Unknown said...:

    Love it!! Looks so good! I love archaeology and ancient history so this is perfect for me!

  1. Thanks for the giveaway!
    throuthehaze at gmail dot com

  1. I am brand new to Pinterest...just this week as a matter of fact. I'll check out your pins.

    catherinelee100 at gmail dot com

  1. HI Jessica,
    Thank you for the compliment. I hope your interest in the book is piqued:)
    Chris

  1. Hi Gale,
    We talked earlier on another site. I like writing a different sort of mystery. This is along the lines of a thriller in that the reader knows who the villains are but the characters don't.
    Chris

  1. Hi Amy,

    I have pictures of Turkey including some from my personal album on my boards-pinterest.com/chriskarlsen. I think you might find them interesting:)
    Chris

  1. Hi Shauna,

    The archaeological research was daunting but fun. Some fab articles, books and DVDs out there on the subject and region.
    Chris

  1. Hi Catherine Lee,
    I'm fairly new to pinterest too. My publisher and editor badgered me into establishing a page there. Now that I'm on it's fun. I'm hoping to add another board soon called, "Quotables" with great dialogue or quotes from movies and books.
    Chris

  1. Hi Throuthehaze,
    We talked earlier on another site. I hope your interest in Golden Chariot has been piqued:)
    Chris

  1. Anonymous said...:

    This book sounds like a good mystery :)
    I will give it a look :)

    dakotagirl16AThotmailDOTcom

  1. erin said...:

    Thanks for the great post! I really like the premise. Definitely going to go check it out :)

  1. A mystery is just no good without a great villain to hate...This book sounds fantastic and I will definitely check it out. Thanks for the excerpt and post:)

  1. Rebecca Hipworth said...:

    Thank you for the giveaway. :)

    Becky01x@gmail.com

  1. Christina K. said...:

    I love that there's a bit of archaeology and mythology here! Sounds like a great story!

    Thanks so much:)

    ccfioriole at gmail dot com

  1. Jennifer said...:

    I hate it when the summary gives too much away. Good that it doesn't.

    Sounds interesting.

    jlkalman26 at gmail dot com

  1. Rachel said...:

    Trojan War is one of my favorite stories. This seems very interesting!

  1. Hi Dakota Girl,
    I'm glad your interest is piqued. Hope you enjoy the story.
    Chris

  1. Hi Erin,

    Let me know what you think after reading the book.
    Chris

    chriskarlsenwriter@gmail.com

  1. Hi BrendaJean,

    There are a couple of villains in the story but I think you'll find Maksym Tischenko an especailly interesting bad guy:)
    Chris

  1. Hi Rebecca,
    Hope you check out the story and like what you see:)
    Chris

  1. Hi Christina,

    It was fun mixing the myth with the mystery/thriller aspect and romance.
    Chris

  1. Hi Jennifer,
    I appreciated Krystal's summary too and her lovely review:)
    Chris

  1. Hi Rayray,
    I like the Trojan War story too, obviously:) I have photos on my boards at pinterest.com/chriskarlsen from the region and shipwrecks and some Troy stuff.
    Chris

  1. Lana A said...:

    Hi Chris,
    just viewed your fotos and found a place I visited as well, Corfu and the church on the photo. :)
    Turkey is still on my to visit list.

    anzuazura at yahoo dot de

  1. Cathy C said...:

    looks like a great read

    catherine0807 at hotmail dot com

  1. Chrissy said...:

    Thank you for the chance to win, looks like an interesting read. denberry151 AT gmail DOT com

  1. Unknown said...:

    Ok this sounds really interesting. I'm extremely interested in history & I love the mysterious archaeology based type books especially with a strong female character. Thanks so much for the review & chance to win. I came here for the chance to win the Amazon money (of course) but I really hope I win the book too :p

  1. this sounds very interesting!!! i look forward to reading it!

    smp0804@hotmail.com

  1. Darlene said...:

    I'm fascinated by archaeology! Charlotte sounds like a really complex character, and I'd love to read more about her!

    Thanks for the giveaway!

    darlenesbooknook at gmail dot com

  1. Thanks for the giveaway. A wonderful review and excerpt,can't go wrong.
    r.d1@myfairpoint.net

  1. Daniel M said...:

    sounds like a fun read! - regnod(at)yahoo(d0t)com

  1. Brionna said...:

    Sounds like an awesome read. I love books!

    Winteriscoming28(at)yahoo(dot)com

  1. Enjoyed the excerpt. This is not typically my type of read, but I'm intrigued