The Third Gate
Lincoln Child
Anchor Books 2013
The Third Gate by Lincoln Child is yet another curse of the mummy thriller. Overall, this one is not especially different from any other such book – or movie – you might have come across. The author, who cowrites the Pendergast series with Douglas Preston, writes well and tells a good yarn but this is a book you eventually read diagonally to get to the ending. The ending itself is rather unsatisfying. Kindle at Amazon
Enigmaologist Jeremy Logan is an investigator of all things weird, creepy, and legendary. Famed explorer Porter Stone hires him as a consultant on the biggest find in all of Egypt’s history, the long lost tomb of King Narmer. There have been weird goings on at the site and Porter wants Logan to find out if there is sabotage or a curse.
Throw in a doctor whose wife was revived after 14 minutes on the other side and who has certain esp powers for good measure.
Lincoln Child creates a believable explanation for why this particular tomb has not been discovered before and he also creates an interesting setting and characters. The thing is The Third Gate never rises above being yet another curse of the mummy yarn.
If the name Lincoln Child wasn’t on this thriller, it probably would have been published by a generic paperback house.