This book caught my eye today when I was releasing some books to the Paperback Swap shelf at the Wiesbaden Army Airfield Library.

Blurb from back cover: "Antiquarian bookseller Harry Blake is hired to appraise a four-hundred-year-old journal bequeathed to a wealthy landowner. At first, it appears to be only the curiously coded diary of a young cabin boy aboard Sir Walter Raleigh's celebrated 1585 Elizabethan expedition. But when Harry's client is murdered and his own life is threatened, he realizes that he's opened the door to a mystery worth killing for. Enlisting the aid of eminent map dealer Zola Khan, Harry uncovers something else. Buried in the cryptic writings are puzzling references to a "secret purpose", terrified revelations of murder at sea, and an astonishing disclosure: the location of an invaluable holy relic thought lost for more than a thousand years."

I enjoyed the story of the "secret purpose". I wasn't thrilled with the writing nor did I really like the characters that much. However, I would still say it is worth a read.

RELEASE NOTES:

Released in honor of BookCrossing's birthday. It is five years old today! The book can be found on the Paperback Swap shelves.