Micro-mini book review: The Mask of Atreus

Bemo and I hit up a used bookstore, where I promptly spent more than I meant to, but got a nice haul (books as well as the first season of Penn and Teller's Bullshit!, which is very entertaining). The first book I read was The Mask of Atreus, by A.J. Hartley. I enjoy archeological/historical thrillers very much, but in the wake of the extraordinarily poopy Da Vinci Code, a lot of them have been tossed out on the market to capitalize on that book's popularity. Many of them are plagued with shoddy characterization, and really poor plotting, not to mention writing that just plain sucks.

I was very glad to pick up this book, and discover not only a fast-moving story, but a female lead who is genuinely tough-minded in a very realistic way. She doesn't spend the book as a sidekick, a damsel in distress, or a mere decoration while an Indiana-Jones type does all the heavy lifting. Instead, she thinks things out for herself, takes charge, makes mistakes but recovers from them as best as she can, and doesn't shy from physical violence when her life is in danger. She doesn't faint, whine, or simper, either. On the whole, The Mask of Atreus is a fun read, and a very decent thriller, and I'm glad I picked it up.