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Rogue Angel #38
The Matador's Crown
A dead man. A stolen artifact.
An invitation too irresistible to refuse from the Museum of Cadiz leads archaeologist Annja Creed to the sun-drenched southern coast of Andalucia, Spain. In a region rich in Moorish and Roman ruins, she leaps at the chance to join a dig across the Bay of Cadiz, where she unearths a bronze bull statue that makes the entire trip worth every minute. Until the day after her discovery, when she sees the same artifact beside the body of a dead Spaniard, killed by the estocada, the final sword thrust used by bullfighters to bring down the bull.
Whoever killed the man left clear signs of having taken something. And yet the bronze bull remained. What was so valuable the murderer chose it over a priceless artifact? How had her find come into this dead man's hands? With few leads and a growing body count, Annja's investigation takes her through a colorful world of flamenco and bullfighting to a renowned matador and an illegal--and deadly--collection of Visigoth votive crowns.
An invitation too irresistible to refuse from the Museum of Cadiz leads archaeologist Annja Creed to the sun-drenched southern coast of Andalucia, Spain. In a region rich in Moorish and Roman ruins, she leaps at the chance to join a dig across the Bay of Cadiz, where she unearths a bronze bull statue that makes the entire trip worth every minute. Until the day after her discovery, when she sees the same artifact beside the body of a dead Spaniard, killed by the estocada, the final sword thrust used by bullfighters to bring down the bull.
Whoever killed the man left clear signs of having taken something. And yet the bronze bull remained. What was so valuable the murderer chose it over a priceless artifact? How had her find come into this dead man's hands? With few leads and a growing body count, Annja's investigation takes her through a colorful world of flamenco and bullfighting to a renowned matador and an illegal--and deadly--collection of Visigoth votive crowns.
320 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 2012
9 people are currently reading
355 people want to read
About the author
Alex Archer
99 books238 followersA house name for the Rogue Angel series, published by the Harlequin Publishing's Gold Eagle division.
The first eight novels were written by Victor Milan and Mel Odom. New writers joining the series starting with book nine include Jon Merz and Joseph Nassise.
The first eight novels were written by Victor Milan and Mel Odom. New writers joining the series starting with book nine include Jon Merz and Joseph Nassise.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 12, 2015
Thirty-eighth in the Rogue Angel urban fantasy about an archeologist/TV show host who wields the sword of Joan of Arc in a search for justice.
My Take
Doing a riff on the cover's tagline, Archer "will write anything to crank out another Rogue Angel". I wonder if he was on drugs when he wrote this? It's terrible. He leaps from accusation to possibility with everyone. It's so incredibly disjointed...that I have no words.
This story doesn't even manage to achieve a C-level. I'd rather watch commercials. Annja is being stupid. Garin is all over the place. Soto is playing both sides and seems to be equally earnest. The seeming reason he allows the murderer such leeway is beyond me. Harlow doth protest too much. What was with Ava? I don't see the point of bringing Drake in. What was the point of going to that warehouse? Why would the "thieves' ignore them and then chase them later?
In the confrontation at the dig when Annja and Garin find the dead body, why doesn't Crockett at least ask Annja what's up? Why doesn't she ask/he tell what he saw? Instead he simply makes a blanket statement and Annja never asks for details.
There are so many loose ends and flapping bits. And obviously no one has any clue about the feminine/masculine agreements in Spanish. Gato Negra?? Ava calls Annja a loco americano?? Oh, brother. I also suspect that he meant to say "clink" and not "brink".
The best I can say of this story is we do learn about bullfighting and the best bulls for the ring. Interesting detail of the origin of the veronica. Well, there's also the description of mixing up dance styles at the end which sounded fascinating. It may be enough to make this worth reading, but definitely not worth buying.
The Story
An article Annja is writing on coins and mythological heroes has garnered her an invitation to view a new collection of coins in Cádiz with a side benefit of a small dig outside town.
It's Annja's exhaustion and frustration with hostel living that finds her in a hotel room next to a murdered man. Naturally, being who she is, Annja can't resist checking things out. Only she's not very thorough about it.
The Characters
Annja Creed is an archeologist first and a TV show host for Chasing History's Monsters second. In fact, the television side only has a mention now and again in this story.
Garin Braden was Roux's squire back when Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Now he's an immortal bad boy billionaire with an interest in Annja, and he happens to be in Cádiz. Manuel Bravo, El Bravo, is "this generation's greatest bullfighter from Cádiz" and a friend of Garin's. Cristo is El Bravo's personal assistant; he raises bulls on the side.
James Harlow is the head of acquisitions at the Museum of Cádiz. Jonathan Crockett seems to be a professional in the field, but without any current affiliations. Simon Klosky is a newbie on the dig. Rockford LePlante is an über Indiana Jones. Hannibal Drake is a black market dealer; naturally, he's a friend of Garin's.
Chief Inspector César Soto is with the Cádiz PNP; Maria Alonzo is a junior cop.
Diego Montera is a guitarist from a family of toreros, bullfighters. Ava Vital is a flamenco dancer/sniper/spy; both she and Diego work at the Gato Negra (hey, I'm just typin' what's there).
The Cover
The cover is the series theme's yellows and browns with Annja in a yellow T-shirt and incredibly wrinkled chocolate brown pants, standing sideways and holding her sword in both hands in front of her, the tip pointing down. The edges are a fade-in to the central, very Roman-looking corrida.
The title is the clue, The Matador's Crown.
My Take
Doing a riff on the cover's tagline, Archer "will write anything to crank out another Rogue Angel". I wonder if he was on drugs when he wrote this? It's terrible. He leaps from accusation to possibility with everyone. It's so incredibly disjointed...that I have no words.
This story doesn't even manage to achieve a C-level. I'd rather watch commercials. Annja is being stupid. Garin is all over the place. Soto is playing both sides and seems to be equally earnest. The seeming reason he allows the murderer such leeway is beyond me. Harlow doth protest too much. What was with Ava? I don't see the point of bringing Drake in. What was the point of going to that warehouse? Why would the "thieves' ignore them and then chase them later?
In the confrontation at the dig when Annja and Garin find the dead body, why doesn't Crockett at least ask Annja what's up? Why doesn't she ask/he tell what he saw? Instead he simply makes a blanket statement and Annja never asks for details.
There are so many loose ends and flapping bits. And obviously no one has any clue about the feminine/masculine agreements in Spanish. Gato Negra?? Ava calls Annja a loco americano?? Oh, brother. I also suspect that he meant to say "clink" and not "brink".
The best I can say of this story is we do learn about bullfighting and the best bulls for the ring. Interesting detail of the origin of the veronica. Well, there's also the description of mixing up dance styles at the end which sounded fascinating. It may be enough to make this worth reading, but definitely not worth buying.
The Story
An article Annja is writing on coins and mythological heroes has garnered her an invitation to view a new collection of coins in Cádiz with a side benefit of a small dig outside town.
It's Annja's exhaustion and frustration with hostel living that finds her in a hotel room next to a murdered man. Naturally, being who she is, Annja can't resist checking things out. Only she's not very thorough about it.
The Characters
Annja Creed is an archeologist first and a TV show host for Chasing History's Monsters second. In fact, the television side only has a mention now and again in this story.
Garin Braden was Roux's squire back when Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Now he's an immortal bad boy billionaire with an interest in Annja, and he happens to be in Cádiz. Manuel Bravo, El Bravo, is "this generation's greatest bullfighter from Cádiz" and a friend of Garin's. Cristo is El Bravo's personal assistant; he raises bulls on the side.
James Harlow is the head of acquisitions at the Museum of Cádiz. Jonathan Crockett seems to be a professional in the field, but without any current affiliations. Simon Klosky is a newbie on the dig. Rockford LePlante is an über Indiana Jones. Hannibal Drake is a black market dealer; naturally, he's a friend of Garin's.
Chief Inspector César Soto is with the Cádiz PNP; Maria Alonzo is a junior cop.
Diego Montera is a guitarist from a family of toreros, bullfighters. Ava Vital is a flamenco dancer/sniper/spy; both she and Diego work at the Gato Negra (hey, I'm just typin' what's there).
The Cover
The cover is the series theme's yellows and browns with Annja in a yellow T-shirt and incredibly wrinkled chocolate brown pants, standing sideways and holding her sword in both hands in front of her, the tip pointing down. The edges are a fade-in to the central, very Roman-looking corrida.
The title is the clue, The Matador's Crown.
March 20, 2017
I have had this book for a while probably 6 months..My hubbie got it for me cause even though I do like the Rogue angel series I would not have picked this one. I was waiting for my tablet to charge up so I decided to start it.Yeah it's pretty boring .If U like reading about bullfighting then this is up your alley. Not mine.I don't even think i will finish it..I have so many other books that are better and worth my time..Skip this one..
September 9, 2012
Pretty average for this series, and the ending was confusingly unclear.
June 17, 2019
I had no idea this was book 38 in a series! While there were a few references I didn't have a lot of insight into, it was easy to get lost in the novel.
Our main character is a female archaeologist wielding the sword of Joan of Arc while investigating mysteries surrounding stolen artifacts and murders. Wait, say again? Dude, TOTALLY up my alley. I'm actually kind of ticked at myself for not coming up with this story idea first.
This book did not disappoint. While thin on emotions, there was lot of fun intrigue. The plot was filled with adventure, historical urban legend, two stolen artifacts, bullfighting, an exotic landscape, and some kick ass female characters. Overall, quite enjoyable. I'll definitely pick up more of this series, especially book 1.
Our main character is a female archaeologist wielding the sword of Joan of Arc while investigating mysteries surrounding stolen artifacts and murders. Wait, say again? Dude, TOTALLY up my alley. I'm actually kind of ticked at myself for not coming up with this story idea first.
This book did not disappoint. While thin on emotions, there was lot of fun intrigue. The plot was filled with adventure, historical urban legend, two stolen artifacts, bullfighting, an exotic landscape, and some kick ass female characters. Overall, quite enjoyable. I'll definitely pick up more of this series, especially book 1.
October 3, 2019
2.5 stars.
I found this one a bit of a mess. Not sure how much is due to the adaptation into Graphic Audio but I think it's got a lot to do with the author's love of the "art" of bull-fighting. Personally, I prefer watching people dancing the Paso Doble instead :)
Unfortunately, Garin's presence in this instalment didn't improve the storyline and I really did not understand that ending at all, even after a repeat-listening!
I found this one a bit of a mess. Not sure how much is due to the adaptation into Graphic Audio but I think it's got a lot to do with the author's love of the "art" of bull-fighting. Personally, I prefer watching people dancing the Paso Doble instead :)
Unfortunately, Garin's presence in this instalment didn't improve the storyline and I really did not understand that ending at all, even after a repeat-listening!
July 3, 2020
-i got bored with the endless extended scenes and excessive details involving ALL the intricacies bull fighting and how they're teased, tortured, and killed. this book seemed less about annja and more an exhaustive homage to the violence of bull fighting/killing and why we should consider it an art. hard pass.
September 23, 2013
*Genre* Urban Fantasy
*Rating* 3
*My Thoughts*
In the 38th installment of the Rogue Angel series, our protagonist archaeologist Annja Creed, finds herself in Andalucia, Spain (Cadiz) where she settles in for a dig after being on the road for the previous two months. Annja enjoys archaeology and any time she gets to spend outside doing what she knows best, and away from her crazy TV show Chasing History's Monsters, is time away from fighting the bad guys and trying to stay one step ahead of trouble.
Of course, Annja also loves to get involved in things that she should probably stay away from. Example: illegal artefact trafficking which leads to the inevitable belief that she has a moral obligation to stop it. So, when she naturally comes across a body in a hotel room next to hers, she realizes that there is definitely something fishy going on in Cadiz. This leads Annja to an encounter with bullfighter Diego Mantera, Ava Vital a dancer/former special ops/assassin, a less than above the board museum curator James Harlow, Police officer Cesar Soto, and a reunion of sorts, with Garin Braden who just happens to be in Cadiz at the same time as Annja.
Garin, sometimes ally, sometimes nemesis of Annja, has his fingers in so many different angles, it's hard to deal with his apparent focus Annya and her Joan of Arc broadsword she carries. Apparently, Garin finds that Annja is a person of interest for both him and Roux that needs watching over. In The Matador's Crown, Garin and Annja once again join forces, albeit temporarily, and this encounter should lead to some interesting challenges for Annya in future novels.
I find it interesting that I continue with this series knowing that there are still 10 or more books out there to read and I'm totally in the dark as to who is actually writing the stories. There is a bit of inconsistency in this story, but that shouldn't surprise anyone who has read the previous 38 novels!
This series is truly hard to come by unless you choose to purchase each book via Amazon, or some place that offers them. Thankfully, there are libraries out there who have made an attempt to keep up on this series for readers like me who are obsessed and maybe a bit addicted.
Published September 4th 2012 by Gold Eagle (first published September 1st 2012)
39. City of Swords (October 2012)
40. The Third Caliph (January 2nd 2013)
41. Staff of Judea (March 5th 2013)
42. The Vanishing Tribe (May 7th 2013)
43. Clockwork Doomsday (July 1st 2013)
44. Blood Cursed (September 3rd 2013)
45. Sunken Pyramid (November 2013)
46. Treasure of Lima (January 2014)
47. River of Nightmares (March 2014)
48. Grendel’s Curse (May 2014)
*Rating* 3
*My Thoughts*
In the 38th installment of the Rogue Angel series, our protagonist archaeologist Annja Creed, finds herself in Andalucia, Spain (Cadiz) where she settles in for a dig after being on the road for the previous two months. Annja enjoys archaeology and any time she gets to spend outside doing what she knows best, and away from her crazy TV show Chasing History's Monsters, is time away from fighting the bad guys and trying to stay one step ahead of trouble.
Of course, Annja also loves to get involved in things that she should probably stay away from. Example: illegal artefact trafficking which leads to the inevitable belief that she has a moral obligation to stop it. So, when she naturally comes across a body in a hotel room next to hers, she realizes that there is definitely something fishy going on in Cadiz. This leads Annja to an encounter with bullfighter Diego Mantera, Ava Vital a dancer/former special ops/assassin, a less than above the board museum curator James Harlow, Police officer Cesar Soto, and a reunion of sorts, with Garin Braden who just happens to be in Cadiz at the same time as Annja.
Garin, sometimes ally, sometimes nemesis of Annja, has his fingers in so many different angles, it's hard to deal with his apparent focus Annya and her Joan of Arc broadsword she carries. Apparently, Garin finds that Annja is a person of interest for both him and Roux that needs watching over. In The Matador's Crown, Garin and Annja once again join forces, albeit temporarily, and this encounter should lead to some interesting challenges for Annya in future novels.
I find it interesting that I continue with this series knowing that there are still 10 or more books out there to read and I'm totally in the dark as to who is actually writing the stories. There is a bit of inconsistency in this story, but that shouldn't surprise anyone who has read the previous 38 novels!
This series is truly hard to come by unless you choose to purchase each book via Amazon, or some place that offers them. Thankfully, there are libraries out there who have made an attempt to keep up on this series for readers like me who are obsessed and maybe a bit addicted.
Published September 4th 2012 by Gold Eagle (first published September 1st 2012)
39. City of Swords (October 2012)
40. The Third Caliph (January 2nd 2013)
41. Staff of Judea (March 5th 2013)
42. The Vanishing Tribe (May 7th 2013)
43. Clockwork Doomsday (July 1st 2013)
44. Blood Cursed (September 3rd 2013)
45. Sunken Pyramid (November 2013)
46. Treasure of Lima (January 2014)
47. River of Nightmares (March 2014)
48. Grendel’s Curse (May 2014)
January 31, 2013
The Matador's Crown is a refreshing change. The story doesn't get as grandiose as the previous book (nuclear-powered trains under Moscow), and there's no supernatural elements. Instead, we get a heady mix of Spain, bull-fighting, and stolen antiquities.
I did have a few quibbles with the story. Anja briefly became girly in ways I didn't quite believe, especially since it was towards a matador when her views on bull fighting are quite clear. I never really did get why Ava was so bent on revenge. And the cop, Soto, never really came clear in his motivations.
Still, it was a fun adventure, and we get another touch of what Anja does besides her television show (she was in Cadiz doing research for an article on antique coins). She also briefly talks on the phone with an over-the-top man of the Indiana Jones type, and I hope that the next time Ms Hauf writes a book in this series, she might bring him and Anja together.
I did have a few quibbles with the story. Anja briefly became girly in ways I didn't quite believe, especially since it was towards a matador when her views on bull fighting are quite clear. I never really did get why Ava was so bent on revenge. And the cop, Soto, never really came clear in his motivations.
Still, it was a fun adventure, and we get another touch of what Anja does besides her television show (she was in Cadiz doing research for an article on antique coins). She also briefly talks on the phone with an over-the-top man of the Indiana Jones type, and I hope that the next time Ms Hauf writes a book in this series, she might bring him and Anja together.
November 29, 2014
Adventurous Mayhem
As always, love the chance to tag along for Annya's adventures! Love the details of the cities, cultures, histories, the relics, customs, legends, and more. I also love the martial arts and the sword fighting mayhem that happens along the way. The details of bullfighting, flamenco dancing, and the role of the guitar in the dances was very enlightening. Ole' !
As always, love the chance to tag along for Annya's adventures! Love the details of the cities, cultures, histories, the relics, customs, legends, and more. I also love the martial arts and the sword fighting mayhem that happens along the way. The details of bullfighting, flamenco dancing, and the role of the guitar in the dances was very enlightening. Ole' !
March 31, 2016
More of a 2.5 This is was my last entry in the "Read Local" month. The writing is solid and the plot a page-turner easy reading pace, but the historian in me did some eye rolling at the plausibility of an archeologist needing to bone up on basic timelines from Western-civ 101. I like archeology/adventure books, but I prefer ones that dig deeper into historical events and conspiracies. That said, if my tween wanted to read this, I'd encourage her.
December 12, 2012
Actually enjoyed this one more than the past few I've read. Maybe because it had Garin in it...
August 16, 2014
very action packed. enjoyed seeing Garin again. cannot wait to start the next "chapter".
September 6, 2012
A little bit better than average for this series
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews