Child's "The Third Gate" Starts Slow but Builds Excitement

Okay, I admit it. I am a sucker for an archeology thriller. Among the writers in that genre, Lincoln Child is considered one of the best researchers in the field. In The Third Gate, Child proves his admirers correct.

Jeremy Logan is a history professor with an unusual sideline. He is a self-described “enigmaologist,” a person who investigates the unusual. Logan is recruited by an old acquaintance to investigate strange happenings on an archaeological dig in the Sudan. This is no ordinary dig in the desert. It’s taking place in secret in a hellish Sudanese swamp called the Sudd. Somewhere beneath the stinking muck, famed archaeologist Porter Stone believes he will find the tomb of King Narmer, the first Egyptian pharaoh. The problem is a number of strange events have occurred at the dig site. And, of course, the tomb has a curse. Hence, Jeremy Logan is called in.

However, this not an Indiana Jones thriller, or a horror story like The Mummy. The Third Gate starts off slow and gradually builds up excitement until its deadly climax. In between is an absorbing narrative of ancient history and curses, near death experiences, and a slowly evolving mystery about who really is entombed in Narmer’s grave. A reader’s patience will be well rewarded.