“These are the times that try men’s souls.” ― Thomas Paine
Title: Necropolis (Whyborne & Griffin #4)
Author: Jordan L. Hawk
Publisher: Self-Pubbed
Pages/Word Count: 200 Pages
Rating: 5 Stars
Blurb: Introverted scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne has spent the last few months watching his lover, Griffin Flaherty, come to terms with the rejection of his adoptive family. So when an urgent telegram from Christine summons them to Egypt, Whyborne is reluctant to risk the fragile peace they’ve established. Until, that is, a man who seems as much animal as human tries to murder Whyborne in the museum.
Amidst the ancient ruins of the pharaohs, they must join Christine and face betrayal, murder, and a legendary sorceress risen from the dead. In the forge of the desert heat, the trio will either face their fears and stand together—or shatter the bonds between them forever.
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Review: There’s just this special sort of adrenaline rush that comes with reading speculative fiction, isn’t there? Not only do the stories themselves raise the hairs on the back of your neck but your own imagination is happy to join in on the fun, filling the shadows in the room with all sorts of boo-wigglies. If you ever in your life have spent a night in the dark with a great book scaring yourself silly, Jordan L. Hawk’s Necropolis might make you want to grab your e-reader for a different kind of good time buried under your covers.
It’s not really a secret that I’m a huge fan of this author’s work. With every new book she releases, I feel absolutely certain it’s the best book she’s ever written, and the best part of that certainty is that with each of her books I read, I feel like I’m absolutely right. The Whyborne & Griffin series just keeps getting better because with each new layer added to this world and its characters, there’s that much more for the reader to wrap our blissfully ignorant heads around. Taking the action out of Widdershins and planting it directly in the heart of the Egyptian desert broke this world wide open to the vast potential of mysticism, and Jordan L. Hawk mines every ounce of that potential in the tombs of the ancients, where terror awaits and betrayal brings the promise of immeasurable danger to our trio. Whyborne and Griffin’s bond grows just that much stronger in this installment of the series, too, and Christine solidifies her rightful place in this small but close-knit family of beloved friends, while Whyborne’s command of the arcane grows that much surer, but why that is and what it’s based in is a mystery yet to be discovered. I, for one, can’t wait to find out.
In Percival Endicott Whyborne, Jordan has created the perfect narrator because he’s both reliable and unreliable, and we know when to trust him and when to scoff at how very un-self-aware and blind he is to his worth where Griffin is concerned. There are some powerfully emotional moments in Necropolis that bring a lump to the throat, all while you’re trying to catch your breath from the Indiana Jones style action that delivers a promise of death if Whyborne, Griffin, and Christine can’t stay more than a few steps ahead of it.
As has become the norm with Jordan L. Hawk’s books, Necropolis isn’t anything so simple as a book filled with words that tell a story. Necropolis is a book filled with imagination, with love, and with the bonds of something powerful. There’s so much imagery in this installment of the series to fill in the shadows of your own headspace that it draws you in and makes your heart beat just a little faster as you bask in the fear and embrace the romance between these two men.
You can buy Necropolis (Whyborne & Griffin #4) here:
I’m so behind on this series. I took a year or so off from reading M/M stuff, and I’m trying to get back in the pool. Must rectify immediately…
I can imagine it must be difficult as a writer to both write and read M/M, but yes, you absolutely must catch up on this series as soon as humanly possible. It’s phenomenal. <3