Rating: 5 stars
Buy Links: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novel
When Percival Endicott Whyborne receives a telegram from his friend Christine telling him she needs him in Egypt right away, Whyborne doesn’t know quite how to respond. After Griffin’s family turned their backs on him, things are just settling down for the men and Whyborne can’t imagine leaving Griffin for so long. Not to mention that Whyborne has barely ever traveled away from Widdershins, and the idea of going all the way to Egypt and the certain difficult conditions are hard for him to even imagine. But Whyborne also knows that Christine would never have summoned him if it wasn’t important, and after Whyborne is attacked at the museum by a beast that may be connected to Christine’s archaeological site, Whyborne and Griffin take off for Egypt.
When the men arrive in Egypt, they journey deep into the desert to the site of Christine’s dig. Lots of troublesome things are going on, including some suspicious deaths, dire warnings that they should abandon their dig, and encounters with beasts that seem to combine jackals and humans. As the group continues the dig, Whyborne transcribes hieroglyphics that paint an even more serious picture, that of an ancient sorceress risen from the dead who commands the beasts and feasts on the dead. They realize it is a race to find the burial site before the sorceress reaches it herself and claims the powers hidden there. Once again the fate of the world may rest on Whyborne, Griffin, and Christine’s shoulders as they must brave harsh conditions, an evil sorceress, and cannibalistic ghouls in hopes of preventing mass destruction.
Necropolis is the fourth book in Jordan L. Hawk’s amazing Whyborne & Griffin series and I think it may be my favorite so far. It is everything I love about the series — wonderful romance, great thriller, and fabulous paranormal. I am always impressed how Hawk is able to create such amazing world building that each book in the series has a creative and unique suspense plot. It would be easy for things to become routine with so many “end of world” crises, but in each book the conflicts they face and the mystery at hand are distinct and so fascinating. This time we travel to Egypt where we are immersed in the desert, following along the dig, learning about what archaeology was like during that time period, and facing new enemies. And of course, through it all we have the constant of the wonderful relationship between Whyborne and Griffin. Seriously, I could not adore these guys more. Individually they are each strong and brave and clever, and together they have such a tenderness for one another, along with an incredible sexiness. We can see their relationship grow as they deal with new challenges and face things together. I love in particular seeing Whyborne come into his own over the series. Here we see even more expansion of his confidence and his magical powers, and I love the way Whyborne’s increased confidence is such a turn on for Griffin.
I have often mentioned in my past reviews how much I adore Christine, Whyborne’s friend and museum archaeologist, and in this story she really gets a chance to shine. Although she has been a critical side character all along, in this book we learn much more about her past and her family and we get to see her in her glory, directing the digs and managing the site. Can I tell you how much I love Christine? I seriously have a total girl crush on her; she could not be more awesome. Christine is smart and brave and incredibly talented. She is also totally no nonsense and doesn’t suffer fools. She does what needs to be done with confidence and never backs down. This is a woman who has defied society to do exactly what she wants in life. Despite all her accomplishments, there are still many people who think her real goal in life should be to settle down and get married, and she will never get the respect she deserves because she is a woman. I particularly love Christine and Whyborne together. They are best friends and really understand one another. Both live lives contrary to what society expects and it gives them a real connection to one another. I also love the way the two interact and they often crack me up. For as much as I love Whyborne, he can be a little prissy and uptight, tending toward the dramatic, and Christine is the total opposite. I get such a kick when she rolls her eyes at him like “get it together man!” I also enjoy that while Christine is a side character and not part of the main relationship, she is incredibly important and well integrated into the overall series. I have been thrilled to see how her character has been developed over these first four books, and in this story in particular we see her softer, more vulnerable side, which I really loved. I can easily say she is one of the most engaging female side characters I have read in any romance genre.
So this was another hit for me and I love every minute of Necropolis. It was wonderful to get to see more of Christine and learn more about her character. The suspense element was once again creative and quite thrilling, and Whyborne and Griffin are fabulous together as usual. Definitely another must read book in this incredible series.
