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N. S. Wikarski
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The Granite Key (Arkana Archaeology Mystery Thriller Series Book 1) Kindle Edition

by N. S. Wikarski (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 1,037 ratings
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If you liked THE DA VINCI CODE, you’ll love this series!

During the untold millennia before patriarchy was conceived, the world was a very different place…
  • Series Finale Award Nominated as Best Mystery of the Month
  • For Fans of Archaeology Adventure, Historical Thrillers, and Treasure Hunt Mysteries

THE ARKANA SERIES
A myth-shattering treasure hunt that spans continents, centuries, and lost civilizations, pitting a secret society against a ruthless fundamentalist cult. The prize is a cache of hidden artifacts that could rewrite history or end it completely. With the world hanging in the balance, only one faction can win. More importantly, only one can survive.


Volume 1 - The Granite Key
In THE GRANITE KEY, an antique dealer is murdered for a mysterious cipher stone that reveals the location of a collection of ancient artifacts. The victim's sister Cassie is stunned when she learns about her sibling's double life as an Arkana agent. She's even more stunned to discover the role she's about to play in helping the Arkana recover the cache. Along with two field agents, she travels to Crete to hunt for clues, unaware that ruthless foes are only steps behind. Cassie and her new team have only hours to find what they seek before a Minoan crypt buries them along with their quest.
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  1. Book 1 of 7
    Arkana Archaeology Thrillers
  2. Print length
    261 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    November 30, 2013
  6. File size
    966 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Series Finale Nominated as Best Mystery of the Month
Think 'MEDIUM meets THE LOST SYMBOL' and it only begins to describe the pleasures of THE GRANITE KEY - 5 Stars. (Kindle Nation Daily)

What impressed me the most about The Granite Key was the large amount of archaeological and historical detail that crept its way into this novel. It reads very much like an updated version of a Dan Brown book, matching fact with fiction until the reader is unsure of which is which... I love thrillers linking the past to present and books that teach me something. Here I learned a great deal about ancient matriarchal societies. It was a very intriguing, suspenseful and enjoyable read. (I Heart Reading)

An outstanding, well-crafted, highly suspenseful novel by author Nancy Wikarski... One girl's dream, one girl's vision many lives will never be the same. Read this FIVE GOLD KEY NOVEL to find out more. (Angie's Diary)

I found this book to be interesting and thought-provoking... I expected it to challenge my belief system. And it did...This is definitely an empowering read for women, which defies everything we have previously been taught about a world dominated by men... I like a book that can make me stop and think. I do believe that a theory like this could indeed cause a reaction from those who may want this bit of history to be forgotten--forever. (Art From The Heart)

Suspense, history, mythology and mystery all mixed in one -that's my kind of read... I loved all the scenes in the ancient tombs, and with The Arkana. Cassie made an interesting main character but the story doesn't rise or fall with or without her. It's about much more than her. In the fashion of books like "The Da Vinci Code" and "Labyrinth", The Granite Key definitely deserves to be on your reading list. (I'm An Eclectic Reader)

I loved The Granite Key. It was a great book... I especially loved how the main character had the ability to touch objects and then find out their origins. I hadn't read about this before, and it was very original... The pacing was fast, and I couldn't stop reading once I got started. (365 Days Of Reading)

The setting was great. There wasn't a lot of time wasted on endless descriptions, but instead we got an action-packed story fueled with history, mysteries and ancient secrets. I'm a huge fan of history novels, history books, and the History Channel, so I really "dug" the quest for the truth buried in the past. (Bookish Madness)

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004NIFTI8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ ; 3rd edition (November 30, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 30, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 966 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 261 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ B09QP1Y9Y5
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 1,037 ratings

About the author

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N. S. Wikarski

N. S. Wikarski

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"There's a 52% chance that the next Dan Brown will be a woman ... or should we just make that 100% now?" --Kindle Nation Daily

Nancy Wikarski is a fugitive from academia. After earning her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, she worked in corporate America for two decades before becoming a historical mystery author. Her books highlight unknown aspects of women’s history and contain elements of magical realism. In her Arkana series, she foregrounds the latest archaeological discoveries about prepatriarchal cultures around the planet and weaves these facts into fictional artifact hunts. Her Gilded Age Chicago books depict the real issues of first-wave feminism while following the fictional adventures of two amateur sleuths. Both her series have been award-nominated and have ranked on Amazon’s bestseller lists.

The author is a member of ALLi, Mystery Writers of America, the Society of Midland Authors, and has served as vice president of Sisters in Crime-Twin Cities and on the programming board of the Chicago chapter. Her short stories have appeared in Futures Magazine and DIME Anthology, while her book reviews and essays have been featured in Murder: Past Tense, Deadly Pleasures, and Mystery Readers Journal. She is currently writing an Arkana spinoff series called The Trove Chronicles that will continue to feature discoveries about global prepatriarchal cultures. More mysteries from the casebook of Gilded Age detectives Evangeline LeClair and Freddie Simpson are also in the works.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
1,037 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

DD Gott - Donadees Corner
5.0 out of 5 stars Saving the world's artifacts can be dangerous!
Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2018
Verified Purchase
The Granite Key -The Arkana Mysteries Bk 1 - Written by Nancy Wikarski

Archaeology That Defies History - Two rival factions launch a global hunt to recover a cache of priceless artifacts. A secret society known as the Arkana wants to preserve it for posterity. A fanatical cult called the Nephilim wants to exploit it for a darker purpose. Caught in the crossfire is an innocent teen who may be the only living person capable of finding their coveted prize.

What did I like? I would like to think that someone out there is doing just this, saving the world’s greatest treasures. It would be even more awesome if there was someone just Cassie that could also tell the fakes from the real ones. Guess we will never know. Cassie was my favorite part of the whole book. That girl was thrown into a whirlwind and for a change came out smelling like a rose!

What will you like? Suspense, Intriguing, Ferocious, Intense, History, Mystery, Mythology, and a gripping action-filled read. This book is well written with lots of details but not overwhelming and descriptions that are very clear and take you right into the book. I could not lay it down until the wee hours of the morn and then it swirled around in my head. The characters are awesome and so individualized to capture the story and keep the humor and action going. Awesome read, plus a little history lesson included at no charge! LOL
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Lartronics
4.0 out of 5 stars You must enjoy archology tobreally this volume
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2023
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An exausting read. Twists and turns galore. A truly interesting read. And it isonly the beginning. Keep up the good work.
2 people found this helpful
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Charles Hall
3.0 out of 5 stars A lead-in for the series
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2023
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The book had me very interested, but as I got towards the end I wondered how all the plot lines could be resolved? They were not. To follow the story to the conclusion you must buy the next book in the series.
8 people found this helpful
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JerzeeTomato0109
5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Entertaining Read
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2017
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"The Granite Key" is the introductory novel of the 7-series Arkana novel. Cassie has a deja vu-ish dream about her sister, a faceless menacing cowboy, and breaking glass. She wakes up to see her dream turn into reality with a horrifying twist: her older sister, Sybil, is dead. As the days progress, she finds out she didn't know her sister at all Not only that, she realizes everything she thought she knew about her parents wasn't quite accurate. She even begins to wonder about herself... She then meets people from a secret organization who know more about her family than she ever did and want to help her... And the adventure begins!

Although this novel is geared toward young adult readers, grownups will be entertained by its intriguing tale. There were a few 'laugh out loud' moments for me. It's a good mix of ancient history, mythology and anthropology, a sort of Bullfinch's Mythology meets Western Civ meets Clan of the Cave Bear, but not as long-winded and more readable. I found it entertaining, educational with splashes of nerdy adolescence. Cassie, the protagonist, is developing into a very likable character. One senses her confusion, fear, and self-doubt, but as she begins gaining confidence, she is helped ably along by such as Faye the mother-figure, Erik the protector and Griffin the scribe (my titles for them.) There are other characters, both good and not-so-good, but, not everyone is what they seem.

I'm looking forward to reading the next installment, as the novel was written in cliffhanger fashion.
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HoMaster
4.0 out of 5 stars Book 1 of 7
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2019
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This book is not a stand alone novel but instead lays the foundation for the series. While there isn’t a cliffhanger, there isn’t resolution either, it rather lays the groundwork for what to expect moving forward. The book explores the idea that our species isn’t hereditarily warlike but peaceful instead. That we only accept our warmongering ways because our recent recorded history says that is the status quo. The secret society ‘Arkana’ looks for artifacts from our distant past and hordes the evidence they find, which somehow is substantial and globe encompassing, with the intention of revealing it to the world when they feel the time is right. They treat this knowledge as if it will be too much for humanity to handle in it’s current frame of mind. I just don’t see how it’s so mind boggling unless I’m missing some subtle implications but it’s apparently worth having a secret society for. All in all the book/series introduces some unique perspectives and includes modern day treasure hunting adventures with world impacting ramifications while simultaneously stopping the bad guys from unleashing the End of Days. In short: FUN!
3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

David McNamara
1.0 out of 5 stars Long and Slow
Reviewed in Canada on August 27, 2022
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Very slow paced. Drags out. Will not read any more of the series. Good story line - just drags on.
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John Vickers
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting and compelling
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2021
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Pardon the cliche but I found this book a real page turner. I knew nothing about this book before I started to read it and I was hooked from the first couple of pages. It reminded me of the first time I read the da Vinci code by Dan Brown. I will definitely be reading book 2!
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SAIRENU
5.0 out of 5 stars Great!
Reviewed in India on November 13, 2019
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As an Indian woman, many discoveries mentioned in this book resonate well with me and make me proud. A very well written book.
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Darklldo
2.0 out of 5 stars This would appeal to the younger readers
Reviewed in Australia on February 22, 2023
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I found the book to be immature. The story is simplistic, and the characters young in their personalities. Maybe the author is young and if this is so then it is a good attempt at what is a complex subject but it did not hold me and I think many others would find the same.
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BlackBrigand
3.0 out of 5 stars Nice young adult story with interesting feminist theories.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 10, 2013
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THE GRANITE KEY N S Wikarski Kindle Edition

This was quite an entertaining story but I think it is targeted at the older children/teenage reader rather than the adult market. My granddaughter certainly enjoyed it but as an adult the writing style was not really strong enough to hold my interest although the storyline was interwoven with some interesting anthropological theories.

Not the authors fault but I do wish there was some way that adult books could be separated from teenage fiction in the Kindle listings before purchase as the reader demographic is seldom made clear in the book description.

The Kindle Edition: Some typo and spelling errors but overall well presented. Score 4/5
4 people found this helpful
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