Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Grand Central Publishing, Kindle Edition, 449 pages
Description
"Frustrated suffragette and would-be archaeologist Ellie Mallory stumbles across a map to a city that shouldn't exist, a jungle metropolis alive and flourishing centuries after the Mayan civilization mysteriously collapsed. Discovering it would make her career, but Ellie isn't the only one after the prize. A disgraced professor and his ruthless handler are hot on her heels, willing to go any extreme to acquire the map for themselves. To race them through the uncharted jungle, Ellie needs a guide. The only one with the expertise is maverick surveyor Adam Bates. But with his determination to nose his way into Ellie's many secrets, Bates is a dangerous partner. As Ellie gets closer to her goal, she realizes it's not just her ambitions at stake. A powerful secret lies hidden in the heart of the city - and if it falls into the wrong hands, it could shake the very fate of the world" --from Amazon.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member passion4reading
Eleanora Mallory is not happy: young, intelligent and university educated with a degree in natural science and ancient history, she nevertheless has to earn her living as the only female archivist in the Public Records Office – it is 1898, after all. While waiting in her superior’s office
I really don’t want to give anything more away about the plot suffice to say that it is a fast-paced adventure whose inspiration clearly lies with the Raiders of the Lost Ark and Romancing the Stone films, with a strong heroine at its centre; Eleanora Mallory is resourceful, plucky and determined and has much in common with the Amelia Peabody character in the historical mystery series penned by Elizabeth Peters. Apparently the author is an award-nominated playwright, and her ability to write with visuals and atmosphere in mind is very apparent here, the only surprise being that this is her debut novel, it is so assured.
Yes, it is pure escapism with a healthy pinch of hokum, with critics not being entirely unjustified to call the plot predictable in places, but in some way there lies a sense of enjoyment in this, in my opinion, as you sort of know what’s coming and can look forward to observing the characters having to deal with whatever the author decides to throw at them. I wouldn’t want to read this genre all the time, but I feel there needs to be a place for it in this hectic world where one can just take some time out and be transported to a different time and place, not having to think too much and enjoying being swept along by a good story. I always find that I’m on to a winner when I’m itching to go back to a book, which was definitely the case here.
Some of the plot strands are left deliberately open, so even though this could well be a stand-alone novel, the possibility of a sequel exists. I only finished reading this morning, but I already miss following Eleanora and the maverick archaeologist Adam Bates on their thrilling adventures. More please.
(This review was written for Amazon's Vine programme.)
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waiting to be officially dismissed from her job, she discovers an ancient psalter hiding a strange medallion and a map of a region in Central America. Having always dreamt of excavating an ancient civilisation and determined to investigate further, she ‘borrows’ the volume, but very soon it becomes apparent that she’s not the only interested party, and the two men who have been sent to retrieve it have been instructed to acquire it at all costs. Eleanora finds herself on the run to the colony of British Honduras, believing that she has shaken off her pursuers, but even in her wildest dreams she could not have imagined the adventure that is awaiting her …I really don’t want to give anything more away about the plot suffice to say that it is a fast-paced adventure whose inspiration clearly lies with the Raiders of the Lost Ark and Romancing the Stone films, with a strong heroine at its centre; Eleanora Mallory is resourceful, plucky and determined and has much in common with the Amelia Peabody character in the historical mystery series penned by Elizabeth Peters. Apparently the author is an award-nominated playwright, and her ability to write with visuals and atmosphere in mind is very apparent here, the only surprise being that this is her debut novel, it is so assured.
Yes, it is pure escapism with a healthy pinch of hokum, with critics not being entirely unjustified to call the plot predictable in places, but in some way there lies a sense of enjoyment in this, in my opinion, as you sort of know what’s coming and can look forward to observing the characters having to deal with whatever the author decides to throw at them. I wouldn’t want to read this genre all the time, but I feel there needs to be a place for it in this hectic world where one can just take some time out and be transported to a different time and place, not having to think too much and enjoying being swept along by a good story. I always find that I’m on to a winner when I’m itching to go back to a book, which was definitely the case here.
Some of the plot strands are left deliberately open, so even though this could well be a stand-alone novel, the possibility of a sequel exists. I only finished reading this morning, but I already miss following Eleanora and the maverick archaeologist Adam Bates on their thrilling adventures. More please.
(This review was written for Amazon's Vine programme.)
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LibraryThing member Cherylk
This book really did have the feel and experience of Indiana Jones. However, Ellie was the female version of Indy. I loved that she was fearless and smart. Ellie and Adam's first meeting of each other may have been an enlightening one but I found them to make a great pair. As the story progressed,
The author did a very good job of describing everything in detail. Instantly, I got a mental picture of everything that Ellie and Adam encountered on their journey. There was never a dull moment. Which was very helpful as this helped keep my intrigue. In addition, to Ellie, Adam, and the legendary city of El Diablo. I read this book in two sittings. I anxiously look forward to reading more books by Jacquelyn Benson.
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I even found Ellie to be a bit sassy. Although, even with her smarts, she really did owe Adam a lot of credit for getting her as far as he did. The author did a very good job of describing everything in detail. Instantly, I got a mental picture of everything that Ellie and Adam encountered on their journey. There was never a dull moment. Which was very helpful as this helped keep my intrigue. In addition, to Ellie, Adam, and the legendary city of El Diablo. I read this book in two sittings. I anxiously look forward to reading more books by Jacquelyn Benson.
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LibraryThing member Ronrose1
What a great book. I haven’t had this much fun reading an adventure yarn since I read Romancing the Stone, by Catherine Lanigan some time ago. From the streets of London in the last days of the nineteenth century, to the steaming jungles of Central America, the action and adventure are non-stop
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as Eleanora Mallory lives her dream of pursuing archaeological finds through a male dominated world. Ellie, as she prefers to be called, has spent her life fighting against the bigotry and pressures of the men who dominate her field of study. Her high marks and outstanding performance in university have only been rewarded by a menial job as an archivist in the Public Record Office in London. The highlight of her life so far has been when she was arrested for chaining herself to the gates of Parliament in protest for women’s rights. This of course has not been looked kindly upon by her employer, who promptly fires her. As a last act of defiance Ellie confiscates an old map and artifact that she comes across on her last day at work. She is sure no one else has even the remotest idea of the importance of the items and cannot bare to see them languish in the dusty halls of the Archives, never to be noticed. She soon finds that she was wrong, as two mysterious and very intimidating men soon come calling at her house inquiring after the missing artifacts. Only her quick thinking and pluck allow her to evade their search. With the help of a friend, Ellie assumes a new identity and finds herself on the way to British Honduras and the adventure of a lifetime. The search for a lost city predating both the Aztec and the Mayan cultures is overshadowed only by Ellie’s chance meeting with local archaeologist, Adam Bates. His less than charming attitude toward her are overshadowed only by his vast knowledge of the local terrain and perhaps his disarming blue eyes and muscular physique. The heat builds up fast in this tropical paradise, as Ellie tries to maintain her false identity, while staying one step ahead of her pursuers, and out of the arms of her disarmingly handsome guide. Book provided for review by Amazon Vine. Show Less
LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
This definitely has the feel of an Indiana Jones story. Eleanora and Adam make a charming pair and their adventures are exciting. I want to go explore ruins now - but only nice safe ones without paranormal powers!
LibraryThing member Carol420
[The Smoke Hunter] by Jacquelyn Benson
3 stars
From The Book:
Frustrated suffragette and would-be archaeologist Ellie Mallory stumbles across a map to a city that shouldn't exist, a jungle metropolis alive and flourishing centuries after the Mayan civilization mysteriously collapsed. Discovering it
To race them through the uncharted jungle, Ellie needs a guide. The only one with the expertise is maverick surveyor Adam Bates. But with his determination to nose his way into Ellie's many secrets, Bates is a dangerous partner.
As Ellie gets closer to her goal, she realizes it's not just her ambitions at stake. A powerful secret lies hidden in the heart of the city - and if it falls into the wrong hands, it could shake the very fate of the world.
My Thoughts:
Historical novels are not really what I would normally pursue as those that know me well can verify but this one wasn't bad. There was lots of action, a touch of romance, and a wonderful setting in Belize, a very interesting and colorful country. This is Jacquelyn Benson's first novel and I will have to say that it showed a lot of promise. Her heroine was well ahead of her times as she didn't take any crap off of anyone and was very capable of standing up for herself and for 1898 that says a lot in itself. Who knows? I just might try book #2.
3 stars
From The Book:
Frustrated suffragette and would-be archaeologist Ellie Mallory stumbles across a map to a city that shouldn't exist, a jungle metropolis alive and flourishing centuries after the Mayan civilization mysteriously collapsed. Discovering it
Show More
would make her career, but Ellie isn't the only one after the prize. A disgraced professor and his ruthless handler are hot on her heels, willing to go any extreme to acquire the map for themselves.To race them through the uncharted jungle, Ellie needs a guide. The only one with the expertise is maverick surveyor Adam Bates. But with his determination to nose his way into Ellie's many secrets, Bates is a dangerous partner.
As Ellie gets closer to her goal, she realizes it's not just her ambitions at stake. A powerful secret lies hidden in the heart of the city - and if it falls into the wrong hands, it could shake the very fate of the world.
My Thoughts:
Historical novels are not really what I would normally pursue as those that know me well can verify but this one wasn't bad. There was lots of action, a touch of romance, and a wonderful setting in Belize, a very interesting and colorful country. This is Jacquelyn Benson's first novel and I will have to say that it showed a lot of promise. Her heroine was well ahead of her times as she didn't take any crap off of anyone and was very capable of standing up for herself and for 1898 that says a lot in itself. Who knows? I just might try book #2.
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LibraryThing member WhiskeyintheJar
3.5 stars
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
With a thirst for knowledge and hunger for adventure in her soul, Ellie is severely handicapped by the time period, 1898. Even with a degree and top of
As a surveyor for the British Office, Adam has mapped the area around Belize City and knows the land. What he doesn't know is what exactly a woman like Ellie is doing here but when she asks for his help and presents a map that could lead to one of the greatest archeological finds of their time, he can't help but sign on.
Battling real human dangers and myths, Ellie and Adam find themselves on the adventure of a lifetime and might just end up with more than they ever bargained for.
With a feel of Indiana Jones, Romancing the Stone, and especially The Mummy, The Smoke Hunter was a fun adventure read. The prologue starts us off in 1632 New Spain (Central America) with a friar being carried out of dungeons to a city in the throes of a small pox epidemic. The scene takes on a mystical feel as, we the reader, don't know if the friar is really seeing the things he is describing or if sickness has distorted his mind. It was an imaginative start and set-up for the rest of the story as we then jump to 1898 and our heroine.
Jailbird on Saturday, thief on Monday
Ellie was our bluestocking, struggling against the restraints to her sex, and bold heroine. Any women, who have ever been forced to step aside for a mediocre man to shine, will want to cheer her on. I liked her confidence in herself. She didn't sit and wait for Adam to do all the rescuing but showed her courage and knowledge as she shared in the saving duties. However, I did think that she was at times a bit immature and unnecessarily brusque to Adam as an over exaggeration in showing her independence. My biggest problem was Ellie's lying to Adam, it was excessively overdone in attempts to keep the angst and stretch their adventure out together but as the story and their relationship progressed, it became annoying.
He was falling for her. The sworn loner with a pathological fear of settling down---he, Adam Bates---was falling for the maddening woman. Head over ever-loving heels.
Our hero was a wonderful combination of tough and sweet, he gets the job done but with a gentlemanly air. He recognized Ellie's autonomy and intelligence but would never fail to place himself between her and danger. He had enough of a familial disapproval background and adventurous self-made man strength to make him intriguing, sexy, and fun to read about, if not wildly different from other like heroes in the genre.
"There will be plenty of time to finish what we've started once we're safe."
"Finish?" she echoed weakly, her brain still struggling to catch up.
"Oh, yeah," he replied, a dark and hungry note coming into his voice. "We're going to do a whole hell of a lot of finishing."
Ellie and Adam's building relationship was cute and sweet, those looking for bedroom payoffs will not find one here. Our couple found each other physically attractive but, with maybe a nod to the time period this takes place in, we only get kissing and making out. Of course, it could be the adventures that sometimes lead them to be covered in bat guano, too.
Because Death lives there. Death and the rest of the old gods. And he and his servants feast on the flesh of those who trespass in their realm.
The Central American locales which this takes place in, with the myths, legends, and scenery, made for a lively refreshing world, no ballrooms here. The author did a great job with mixing in real places and legends, with artistic license; why my 3.5 star rating rounds up to a 4. On the other hand, I feel that adventure stories should be faster paced than this one was. There didn't feel like much was happening in the beginning middle, the heroine lying to the hero that I talked about causing there to be no real building of their relationship and for them to have no advancement in their journey. The middle really sagged with one or two lies and a chunk of Ellie and Adam's solo adventure needing to be edited out. The last half and end picks up with some Indiana Jones' trials and mystical happenings, giving the story a bottom heavy feel.
Overall, I had fun reading The Smoke Hunter. When I saw this was a debut author, it made me even more excited because, while there is room for improvement in regards to character development and pacing, the bones are there. The ending we get is not a cliffhanger but there could definitely be more adventures on the horizon for our couple and I haven't forgotten about Ellie's bestfriend Constance heading to Egypt or her cousin Neil the adventurer who taught her some martial arts, whose stories I would be interesting in hearing. If you're a fan of the movies I mentioned or something along the lines of Loretta Chase's Mr. Impossible, you'll want to pick up a copy of The Smoke Hunter. This new author has definitely caught my attention.
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
With a thirst for knowledge and hunger for adventure in her soul, Ellie is severely handicapped by the time period, 1898. Even with a degree and top of
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her class, when it is found out that she is a suffragette, she is quickly sacked from her job in The Public Record Office but not before she commits one more act of defiance. When Dawson, a claimed archeologist and Jacobs, a man with predatory eyes, shows up at her home looking for a map and disk she took from the Office, she begins to think that maybe the treasure map is real and sees a chance to gain recognition in her field.As a surveyor for the British Office, Adam has mapped the area around Belize City and knows the land. What he doesn't know is what exactly a woman like Ellie is doing here but when she asks for his help and presents a map that could lead to one of the greatest archeological finds of their time, he can't help but sign on.
Battling real human dangers and myths, Ellie and Adam find themselves on the adventure of a lifetime and might just end up with more than they ever bargained for.
With a feel of Indiana Jones, Romancing the Stone, and especially The Mummy, The Smoke Hunter was a fun adventure read. The prologue starts us off in 1632 New Spain (Central America) with a friar being carried out of dungeons to a city in the throes of a small pox epidemic. The scene takes on a mystical feel as, we the reader, don't know if the friar is really seeing the things he is describing or if sickness has distorted his mind. It was an imaginative start and set-up for the rest of the story as we then jump to 1898 and our heroine.
Jailbird on Saturday, thief on Monday
Ellie was our bluestocking, struggling against the restraints to her sex, and bold heroine. Any women, who have ever been forced to step aside for a mediocre man to shine, will want to cheer her on. I liked her confidence in herself. She didn't sit and wait for Adam to do all the rescuing but showed her courage and knowledge as she shared in the saving duties. However, I did think that she was at times a bit immature and unnecessarily brusque to Adam as an over exaggeration in showing her independence. My biggest problem was Ellie's lying to Adam, it was excessively overdone in attempts to keep the angst and stretch their adventure out together but as the story and their relationship progressed, it became annoying.
He was falling for her. The sworn loner with a pathological fear of settling down---he, Adam Bates---was falling for the maddening woman. Head over ever-loving heels.
Our hero was a wonderful combination of tough and sweet, he gets the job done but with a gentlemanly air. He recognized Ellie's autonomy and intelligence but would never fail to place himself between her and danger. He had enough of a familial disapproval background and adventurous self-made man strength to make him intriguing, sexy, and fun to read about, if not wildly different from other like heroes in the genre.
"There will be plenty of time to finish what we've started once we're safe."
"Finish?" she echoed weakly, her brain still struggling to catch up.
"Oh, yeah," he replied, a dark and hungry note coming into his voice. "We're going to do a whole hell of a lot of finishing."
Ellie and Adam's building relationship was cute and sweet, those looking for bedroom payoffs will not find one here. Our couple found each other physically attractive but, with maybe a nod to the time period this takes place in, we only get kissing and making out. Of course, it could be the adventures that sometimes lead them to be covered in bat guano, too.
Because Death lives there. Death and the rest of the old gods. And he and his servants feast on the flesh of those who trespass in their realm.
The Central American locales which this takes place in, with the myths, legends, and scenery, made for a lively refreshing world, no ballrooms here. The author did a great job with mixing in real places and legends, with artistic license; why my 3.5 star rating rounds up to a 4. On the other hand, I feel that adventure stories should be faster paced than this one was. There didn't feel like much was happening in the beginning middle, the heroine lying to the hero that I talked about causing there to be no real building of their relationship and for them to have no advancement in their journey. The middle really sagged with one or two lies and a chunk of Ellie and Adam's solo adventure needing to be edited out. The last half and end picks up with some Indiana Jones' trials and mystical happenings, giving the story a bottom heavy feel.
Overall, I had fun reading The Smoke Hunter. When I saw this was a debut author, it made me even more excited because, while there is room for improvement in regards to character development and pacing, the bones are there. The ending we get is not a cliffhanger but there could definitely be more adventures on the horizon for our couple and I haven't forgotten about Ellie's bestfriend Constance heading to Egypt or her cousin Neil the adventurer who taught her some martial arts, whose stories I would be interesting in hearing. If you're a fan of the movies I mentioned or something along the lines of Loretta Chase's Mr. Impossible, you'll want to pick up a copy of The Smoke Hunter. This new author has definitely caught my attention.
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LibraryThing member Jarratt
Very good debut novel that takes place in the late 1800s. While not as exciting or fast paced as Matthew Reilly's Jack West Jr. stories, its imagination when it comes to ancient archeological wonders is quite similar.
Ellie Mallory, who studied archeology but cannot get into the field due to her
The pacing is very good and the characters well written. I'm looking forward to reading more from Jacquelyn Benson!
Ellie Mallory, who studied archeology but cannot get into the field due to her
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gender, is a bored British civil servant who stumbles upon an ancient Central American artifact. She secretly finds her way to Central America to try and discover a legendary city to prove to herself and the world (or at least England) that women are as capable as men. She grudgingly hooks up with an American archeologist named Adam Bates and off they go on an adventure.The pacing is very good and the characters well written. I'm looking forward to reading more from Jacquelyn Benson!
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