The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown--Book Review

The author Dan Brown has done it again! Read this review without fear--I promise--no spoilers!

The Lost Symbol is yet another in his masterfully woven stories combining real history and places with fictional characters. There is plenty of suspense, mystery and intrigue for lovers of mystery novels, and an equal amount of adventure, chases, double-crosses and evil players for those who prefer the action-adventure genre.

Welcome back his recurring character, Robert Langdon, a university professor of cryptology and history, and amateur sleuth.

All of Dan Brown's books fascinate me because of the precise research he does. Not only is there the underlying story, but you also manage to always learn something new as historical or etymological facts are slipped in here and there. You may learn the origins of a word or something previously unknown to you about some aspect of our accepted history.

As with any good work of fiction, whether it be a romance or a crime drama, there must be a blend of good and evil characters for the requisite tension and resolution in the storyline.

Dan Brown is a past-master at creating this interwoven tension and release in cycles throughout the book. Just when I thought it was winding down with a resolution to the crisis presented, I discovered there were yet another two chapters to read!

There is everything here from teen angst to psychotic breaks, murder, kidnapping and theft. Something for everyone!

Just as his equally well-researched and written works, The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons wove a story around various aspects surrounding the Catholic Church, The Lost Symbol traces its way through the symbology and mystery surrounding the Masons.

He characterizes this group well when he has one of his characters make a statement that the Freemasons are not a "secret society"--because everyone knows they exist--but that there are secrets within Freemasonry.

It is these secrets or supposed secrets around which the main plot hinges. The story is set in Washington, D.C., and as per Mr. Brown's usual talents, he weaves fictional places in between real ones as easily as a mother cat moving her kittens.

The fast-moving plot escalates to a point at which you simply cannot put the book down until you finish it.

 The concluding scenes are as surprising in their twist as the rest of the story was in its captivating storytelling.

I highly recommend this book along with the other works of author Dan Brown.