River of Ruin

Jack Du Brul

Dec 2002 · Philip Mercer Book 5 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

In the heart of Panama, a volcanic lake feeds a serpentine river—its stone banks laid by the Inca, who took back the gold and jewels plundered from them by the conquistadors. Legend has it that the Twice-Stolen Treasure has been buried for centuries in the Panamanian jungle. Discovering it means surviving the unpredictable black waters of the River of Ruin....

 

It begins at a Paris auction house, with a favor granted by an old high school friend to geologist Philip Mercer: the opportunity to buy a rare diary written during the French attempt at digging the Panama Canal. But Mercer isn’t the only one who wants it. Three Chinese assassins have been dispatched to get it, forcing Mercer into a subterranean game of cat and mouse that takes him from the hellish maze of l’empire de la mort and through the sewers of Paris.

 

Mercer realizes he has uncovered an intricate Chinese plot to trigger a deadly shift in the world’s balance of power. At stake is control of the canal, recently handed over to the government of Panama by the United States. Only Philip Mercer—with help from beautiful U.S. Army officer Lauren Vanik, a cell of tough French Foreign Legion commandos, and a crusty eighty-year-old retired sea captain named Harry White—can stop them.

 

Ratings and reviews

Fast paced action that I couldn't put down. Read within 24 hours,never done that before.

Enjoy! Interesting characters with a well-paced plot. Clever premise.

Another nonstop ride!! Thanks a lot, Jack, for several late nights. Very well done.

About the author

Jack Du Brul is a graduate of the Westminster School and George Washington University. Trying to add as much adventure to his life as he does to his novels, Du Brul has climbed Masada at noon, swam in the Arctic Ocean off Point Barrow, explored war-torn Eritrea, camped in Greenland, and was gnawed on by piranhas in the Amazon River. He collects zeppelin memorabilia and when not writing or traveling (25 countries and counting), he can be found in a favorite chair with a book and a brandy. Jack Du Brul lives in Burlington, Vermont.