If you’re a fan of murder mysteries but eschew the usual genre-formatted adventures that offer too-predictable protagonists and not enough depth, it’s time to take a look at Buried Threads: a horse of another color. More than a murder mystery, this mingles a treasure hunt, an international race against time, a dark prophecy, Japanese culture, erotic encounters and a clever killer’s modus operandi into a story that just won’t quit.

Buried Threads opens with a bang: “Kenji Ota didn’t fit the description of a bloodthirsty killer. Upon meeting him, it would be difficult to believe he’d gotten away with murdering at least twenty-five men.”The tension never ends: as new twists pepper the plot, readers will find their expectations and viewpoints enhanced and expanded. As successful owners of a treasure hunting company, Rachel Lyons and Chase Cohen have, over the years, honed routines virtually guaranteeing success; but their latest lead is anything but habitual and as they delve into international affairs in the process of tracking down a shipwreck’s precious cargo, they fall under the scrutiny of a seasoned, deadly killer.

Fans of Indiana Jones will find a lot to like here: Rachel and Chase move from adventure to adventure with nary a breather. There’s everything from sharks to caves and hidden tombs … and, of course, a gang is involved, thwarting their investigations at every turn.

Rachel and Chase grow and learn from their cross-cultural encounters in the process of their hunt: even Buddhist enlightenment isn’t unheard of in the course of events. Japanese history and ethnicity also lends an extra dimension of cultural understanding to the saga.

Buried Threads is also about broken relationships, healing, and rediscovery: these elements of psychological tension are another unexpected thread running through the thriller format.

There’s a healthy dose of romance representing one of the ties of Buried Threads, there’s high adventure and much mystery, and there’s solid tension in an erotic thriller that just doesn’t quit. Seasoned fans of romance, mystery, and thriller writing will find this crossover title successfully blends elements of all three under one cover, creating a powerful piece of soft-core porn that adds an extra dimension to all three genres.

From geishas and Japanese street gangs to women just beginning to realize their inner strength, Buried Threads incorporates it all. It sounds almost too busy; but all these elements come together in a logical, satisfying progression that uses life’s slings and arrows, twists and turns to provide an outstanding backdrop to what really matters: love. And without giving away the ending of the story (which will take many a seasoned mystery reader by surprise) suffice it to say that ultimately events come full circle, offering both a conclusion and the seeds of new experiences to come in an earth-shaking epilogue that neatly ties everything together. – Diane Donovan, Midwest Review