After narrowly surviving a suicide-bombing while on assignment in Iraq, British journalist Rob Luttrell is ordered to return to London. Instead, he decides to relax for a while in Tel Aviv.

Now healed and ready for what happens next, he receives the call he was waiting for. His next assignment? Go to Kurdistan. The excitement drained out of him when he realized he was going to an archeological dig rather than his usual war-related assignment.

A remarkable archeological discovery on a dig in Turkey reveals a civilization older than the Pyramids or Stonehenge, and Luttrell is sent to furnish his London newspaper with the details.

When he arrives at the Gobekli Tepe (Gob-eckly Tepp-ay) site, he meets German archeologist Franz Breitner who is leading the dig. He also meets biological anthropologist Christine Meyer.

From the moment he arrives, Luttrell senses the tension on the site, and that the workers helping with the dig are unhappy with Breitner.

What was intended as a routine assignment while Luttrell continued to mend soon turned dangerous when Breitner was murdered, the site jeopardized, and the locals placed a curse on those working at the site.

Meanwhile, back in London the police are investigating a series of grisly murders that look to be cult-related. They soon discover there may be a link to the site in Kurdistan.

Luttrell and Meyer join forces in an attempt to solve the murder of Breitner. Rumors begin to spread that the dig has uncovered the Garden of Eden.

Rob returns to England when his daughter is reported missing, and soon joins forces with the police to stop the killer before he strikes again. They realize there is a tie-in between the Gobekli dig and Lizzie’s disappearance.

The Genesis Secret is a well-paced debut murder mystery written by Tom Knox, a pseudonym of London journalist Sean Thomas. Knox has obviously researched his topic because he provides detailed knowledge about an ancient subject.

When Luttrell returned to London, and the plot continued with the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of his daughter, some of the local flavor of the archeological site seemed missing from the story.

That said, the London leg of the investigation continued as an intriguing thriller. Knox soon remedied the loss with a bang-up finish. The tension never let up throughout the book.

Knox wrote with vivid detail that drew the reader into each scene causing readers to feel they were actually involved in the chase. The proverbial surprise ending is just that, and will leave readers well satisfied.