Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Altar of Bones
    Altar of Bones
    Altar of Bones
    Audiobook17 hours

    Altar of Bones

    Written by Philip Carter

    Narrated by Jim Frangione

    3.5/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    “They didn’t have to kill him…He never drank from the altar of bones.”  

    Cryptic dying words from a murdered homeless woman in present day San Francisco unlock a decades-buried secret that changed history.  Now a pair of ruthless assassins are sent to cut the few living "loose ends."  And a young, resourceful woman on the run encounters a determined man with his own connected past and vengeful agenda.  Forced to partner for survival and answers, a fast-paced and deadly game of cat and mouse ensues, taking them across the globe from the winding streets of Paris to the faded palaces of Budapest to the frozen lakes of Mongolia...where destiny, passion, and further betrayal await them.  

    The Altar of Bones has it all: The Russian mob.  KGB spies.  Presidential assasination.  A doomed Hollywood legend.  Deathbed confessions.  Corrosive power.  Shattered families.  Guardians of an ancient religious icon housing a secret others will kill to possess.  The dark promise of immortality. And it delivers on its ambitious premise to leave you stunned and breathless at the end.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMar 8, 2011
    ISBN9781442338050
    Author

    Philip Carter

    Philip Carter is a pseudonym for an internationally renowned author.

    Related to Altar of Bones

    Related audiobooks

    Thrillers For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      What Scientists Found Trapped In A Diamond: A Type Of Ice Not Known On Earth

      Mar 9, 2018

      Trapped in the rigid structure of diamonds formed deep in the Earth's crust, scientists have discovered a form of water ice that was not previously known to occur naturally on our planet. The finding, published Thursday in Science, represents the fir

      3 min read

    • Article

      Manson Inc.

      Jul 2, 2019

      The Benedict Canyon house was demolished years ago. A church looks down on the old ranch, which is now a state park. Most everyone who fell under his thrall is dead, or aging quietly in prison. None of that matters. The further events recede into his

      12 min read

    • Article

      VLADIMIR vs RA-RA-RAS

      May 18, 2023

      THE MODERN history of Russia is book-ended by a pair of Putins who are world-renowned as ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’. Since 1999, ex-KGB goon VLADIMIR PUTIN has ruled this vast superpower with a rod of iron as its first post-Soviet non-alcoholic

      6 min read

    • Article

      Hill To Die On

      Jul 23, 2022

      NOTHING SAYS COSY mystery like a bloodless death, an amateur woman detective and a tightly-knit community. The Death of Kirti Kadakia, billed as a “Temple Hill Mystery”, has all of these. The new novel by advertising professional and writer Meeti Shr

      2 min read

    • Article

      We Can’t Ignore H.P. Lovecraft’s White Supremacy

      Sep 26, 2017

      Howard Phillips Lovecraft, the mastermind of cosmic horror, brought madness and existential dread to new heights. He ruptured the imagination in tandem with history itself becoming unimaginable in the early 20th century. His mythologies seep into the

      9 min read

    • Article

      A Dusty Road

      Nov 26, 2021

      A Dusty Road
      3 min read

    • Article

      Table Talk

      Mar 1, 2019

      Table Talk
      10 min read

    • Article

      New Podcasts To Listen To This Month

      Nov 13, 2022

      New Podcasts To Listen To This Month
      1 min read

    • Article

      The road to Book Pyre Beacon

      Nov 25, 2021

      MY LITERALLY maiden aunt was a censorious miserly bitch whose hobbies and interests included sly denigrations of her sister-in-law (my mother), sponging, confecting vinegary ketchup which took the enamel off teeth and insisting that her drab house wa

      3 min read

    • Article

      International Books

      Jan 13, 2020

      Imagining the world in the first century AD (not yet called that), it’s difficult to envision Christianity (not yet called that) when it was considered a “blasphemous cult”. It’s 35AD in Jerusalem and Saul, a Jew, is hunting down Christians for execu

      5 min read

    • Article

      He’s Not The Messiah!

      May 27, 2021

      He’s Not The Messiah!
      6 min read

    • Article

      ‘The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store’ Weaves A Tale Of Love And Community

      Oct 12, 2023

      James McBride, one of today’s great American novelists, cares about his characters. In a recent episode of “The New Yorker Radio Hour” podcast, the award-winning author professed that he’s not someone who “creates characters, and runs them up a tree,

      2 min read

    • Article

      California Schemin’

      Sep 29, 2020

      California Schemin’
      8 min read

    • Article

      An Outrage Sacred to the Gods

      Dec 1, 2023

      An Outrage Sacred to the Gods
      15 min read

    • Article

      Pagan Crazy

      Sep 20, 2019

      Pagan Crazy
      3 min read

    • Article

      Don Quixote Of The Highlands

      Sep 6, 2023

      MY wife has been painting a series of portraits called ‘Secret Lives’. The premise is to render each subject as the historic or contemporary character they would like to have been in another life. The process has been instructive as to exactly how vi

      2 min read

    • Article

      Lucky For Some

      Nov 14, 2021

      Lucky For Some
      4 min read

    • Article

      4 Ways to Write Hooks for Books

      Dec 11, 2023

      Book authors have to hook readers twice. Like all other writers, authors have to hook readers with the writing in their books. But they also have the additional challenge of hooking readers before they ever crack open the spine or open the digital fi

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Best Podcasts Of 2023 So Far

      Jun 9, 2023

      Anyone who was glued to Jamie Bartlett’s previous hit podcast, The Missing Cryptoqueen, will race through this multi-layered mystery. It digs into the story of Megan Bhari who, inspired by her own cancer diagnosis, launched a charity when she was 16

      5 min read

    • Article

      Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Krauss, Cárdenas, and More

      Nov 3, 2020

      It's election day. Go vote. Then check out new titles from the likes of Nicole Krauss and Mauro Javier Cárdenas. The post Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Krauss, Cárdenas, and More appeared first on The Millions.

      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Altar of Bones

    3.5/5

    97 ratings12 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      This mystery starts off at a run and never really slows down. I read this exciting and fast paced book in one sitting. This is a tale of what people have sought since the days of Ponce de Leon - a fountain of youth. But in the case of this story not everyone wants it for the good of mankind.The book flashes back between three generations of women - the Keepers of the secret of the Altar of Bones. As the story progresses the mythology builds as the current Keeper, Zoe Dmitroff (our heroine) learns about her history and the importance of her role. Ry O'Malley (our hero) learned some horrifying history about his father at his death. Acts from his father's past have come forward send Ry's life into a tailspin. He uses all his training as an undercover DEA officer to delve into his father's secrets and to work with Zoe to - all together now - SAVE THE WORLD.I did enjoy this book immensely. It kept me riveted and turning the pages as fast as I could. The mythology was a new one which was nice; Siberia is an interesting place to have chase scenes and the like. The protagonists also found trouble in San Francisco, Paris, Budapest and just about anywhere else they set foot. The Russian mafia, corrupt politicians (really?!) and megalomaniacs all had prominent roles in this fun read. There are also a few good guys. There must be balance. The hero and heroine were well enough fleshed out to make their romance believable and of course, there are several steamy sex scenes along with the threats of poking eyes out with stiletto knives.If you are looking for a thrilling suspense novel with a novel bit of folklore at its center this would be the book for you.
    • 2/5
      Despite a slow start, a likable pair of protagonists make this story somewhat enjoyable, and they hooked me before the many insanely improbable plot elements could get me to walk away. I just had to see how things turned out for those two, and they were by far the best thing about this one. Which, in retrospect, wasn't enough to carry the day. Overall, the pacing is extremely inconsistent, with the narrative bogging down more often than not whenever the bullets aren't flying. Even the writing itself seems to be a cooperative effort here, with some chapters suggesting a masculine hand and some a more feminine touch. Nowhere is this more evident than in some of the more risqué passages, with some seeming to come from a mature feminine hand and others from a twelve-year-old boy. The dust jacket says that "Philip Carter" is a pseudonym for an internationally known author, which leads me to wonder if it's not really a collection of authors. In terms of plot, as is too often the case these days, "thriller" here seems to mean things like "over-the-top, eye-rolling action scenes" and "don't settle for a simple kill or murder when an attention-grabbing assault requiring multiple clips of ammo is available." Things like that. In short, there's an interesting premise behind this one, but it tends to get lost in the silliness. As for the characters, pretty much everyone beyond the aforementioned two principals seems to be one-dimensional, and that's assuming that they're given anything more to do beyond serving as a means for advancing the plot. All in all, a disappointment, and I kinda wish I'd been able to walk away from this one at around page 100.
    • 3/5
      The archetypal "airport novel", this starts with a bang and carries on at a fairly furious pace for 600 pages. Highly derivative in that car are on a hunt for a long lost artefact with the good guys being pursued by multiple baddies; historic events are woven into the story - I guessed what "the big kill" was at its first mention - but all all it is great fun, providing that disbelief is suspended while you are reading.
      Apparently Philip Carter is a nom-de-plume. Well the writing is better than in much of the competition (two car chase descriptions being particularly noteworthy) and it is all wrapped up at the end obviating the possibility of a sequel.
    • 4/5
      For those you interested in suspense Dan Brown style. A good long read that kept my interest.
    • 3/5
      The book started at "current" date/time, which turned out to be February 2011, with a murder. It then jumped back 74 years to February 1938. Didn't take much to think the characters may be related or even the same. The story then went to August-September (maybe even October) 2009. That type of storytelling is not my favorite. It is an easy trick for the author to make things complex, and sets off my spoiler alert detector. The book's action/chase scenes were well done. The characters lines were written with witty exchanges, that I had a hard time giving a voice to. It seemed the author wanted the situation to be very stressful and scary, and the characters were being macho/brave. Due to all the hoopla, I watched the movie, "The Interview" - the Seth Rogen one with the North Vietnam mess. That movie's action/chase scenes were well done, and the characters lines were filled with witty exchanges, but the whole thing was a farce/joke. Watching that movie messed up the stressful/scary part of this book.
    • 4/5
      It was an overall easy, fast-paced read. It was a bit slow at times, and a but on the long side. Definitely recommend it for those that like to read international mystery-thrillers.
    • 3/5
      Generations of women, called Keepers, guard a strange cave in SIberia that contains an alter made of human bones and supplies a potion capable of bestowing immortality. The downside is that the potion also bestows madness in the forms of paranoia and megalomania. Zoe learns she is the latest Keeper and with the help of Steven Seagal act-a-like Ry goes on the run to find her origins and protect the Alter and its secret. Unbelievable, no?Carter does a great job of drawing us into the story by dropping us right into the action. He provides plenty of surprises and twisty turns, weaving in three of the most iconic events of the 20th century. This is all done at a pretty fast pace with little or no downtime for philosophizing or interpersonal growth. When our heroes get down to rutting, as we knew they would, it is definitely more rescue flare than Yankee Candle.This is a long book, but does not seem it because the balance of action and narrative reality is kept just-so and we swoop along with it, always interested and always wanting to see what happens next. The Ry character is an all-action cipher, but Zoe has some interesting quirks and displays the fear that must swallow all of us when we are pushed into situations where we must act in ways we never knew we could.Pulitzer Prize winner this ain’t, but well worth a deep dive from the comfort of a soft, sunny beach.
    • 4/5
      this was a fun read with chases. Russian mafia, the heroine a San Fransico lawyer and the hero a gorgeous hunk of a DEA man. She is left a riddle by her grand-mother who has been slain while she is living a homeless life. The plot is loaded with twists and turns and covers Paris, Budapest, Siberia, etc. and brings in Marilyn Momroe, Jack and Bobbie Kennedy, all for the search for the Altar of Bones. Pretty far-fetched but you can't put it down. Not erudite reading, but sometimes, who cares.
    • 1/5
      Altar of Bones is about an altar made of bones (dah) which has magical powers and the bad guy with his girlfriend who want those powers. There is a veerrrry longggg chase throughout and conspiracy theories (Marilyn and JFK?) It lost me about halfway through.This blind date was a definite "don't call me, I'll call you."
    • 4/5
      First Line: Rosie knew the stranger had come to kill her as soon as he walked into the circle of light cast by their fire.Starting with an escape from a Siberian prison camp in 1937, Altar of Bones travels to the present day in a non-stop deadly quest for two items that several groups will stop at nothing to possess. San Francisco lawyer Zoë Dmitroff receives a letter from the grandmother she never knew telling her that she's the "keeper" of an ancient secret concerning a Siberian cave known as the Altar of Bones. At his father's death, government agent Ry O'Malley learns that the old man knew the location of a film that would rock the entire country. The two team up to stay alive and to get their hands on the secrets that others are killing to find.This is the type of book that is difficult to review without giving things away, so I'm heading straight for my reactions. The first two thirds of the book was an endless chase scene involving our two intrepid heroes, and the fact that stealth was not in the bad guys' vocabularies bothered me a bit. These people were conducting high speed chases at all times of the day and night firing endless rounds of ammunition from an assortment of guns. They did not care how many witnesses were around or how high the body count was. (Perhaps they counted on local police departments' budgets being cut so drastically that there would be no investigations.)I tired of the chase, primarily because of the psychotic conducting most of the chasing. At this stage of my life, my tolerance for fictional characters who love inflicting pain and death is practically nil. They turn my stomach, and they make me extremely angry. (I may seem to be a mild-mannered book blogger, but I do have a very nasty temper.)I was also amazed at how lucky Zoë was. She headed to Europe, using her credit cards all along the way, and wondered how the bad guys always knew where she was. She may not watch much television or read much crime fiction, but she specializes in defending battered and abused women and getting them away from their boyfriends and husbands. She knows something about flying beneath the radar. The relationship between Zoë and Ry was inevitable and made parts of the book sound like an erotic romance. However, even though characterization is not the prime directive in a thriller, Zoë and Ry were well-drawn enough for me to care about what happened to them.Even though I tired of the bad guys and the drawn-out chase scenes, I found that Zoë, Ry, and the dual prizes of the Altar of Bones and the film kept a grip on my imagination through to the end of the book. Hopefully the author's next thriller will contain a little less formula.
    • 4/5
      This mystery starts off at a run and never really slows down. I read this exciting and fast paced book in one sitting. This is a tale of what people have sought since the days of Ponce de Leon - a fountain of youth. But in the case of this story not everyone wants it for the good of mankind.The book flashes back between three generations of women - the Keepers of the secret of the Altar of Bones. As the story progresses the mythology builds as the current Keeper, Zoe Dmitroff (our heroine) learns about her history and the importance of her role. Ry O'Malley (our hero) learned some horrifying history about his father at his death. Acts from his father's past have come forward send Ry's life into a tailspin. He uses all his training as an undercover DEA officer to delve into his father's secrets and to work with Zoe to - all together now - SAVE THE WORLD.I did enjoy this book immensely. It kept me riveted and turning the pages as fast as I could. The mythology was a new one which was nice; Siberia is an interesting place to have chase scenes and the like. The protagonists also found trouble in San Francisco, Paris, Budapest and just about anywhere else they set foot. The Russian mafia, corrupt politicians (really?!) and megalomaniacs all had prominent roles in this fun read. There are also a few good guys. There must be balance. The hero and heroine were well enough fleshed out to make their romance believable and of course, there are several steamy sex scenes along with the threats of poking eyes out with stiletto knives.If you are looking for a thrilling suspense novel with a novel bit of folklore at its center this would be the book for you.
    • 4/5
      FIRST SENTENCE: Rosie knew the stranger had come to kill her as soon as he walked into the circle of light cast by their fire.... and, just like that, you are tossed giddily headfirst into a world where a homeless woman holds the keys to an ancient secret and to one not-so-ancient, a world where the KGB, the Russian mafia, Marilyn Monroe, the Kennedy brothers, and a CIA double-agent somehow all become tied together with "the altar of bones", which is rumored to contain a true fountain of youth.If this all sounds too implausible, the author writes in such a fashion that it all makes perfect sense. When Father Dominic O'Malley visits his dying father, Michael, a taped deathbed confession puts his life and that of his brother, Ry O'Malley, a former Special Forces operative now working for the DEA, in peril.Across the country, Zoe Dmitroff, an attorney who represents battered women, herself the daughter of Anna Larina Dmitroff, a Russian mafia boss working out of California, learns that a homeless woman has been murdered. The coroner found a piece of paper in her throat that she had apparently tried to swallow before her murder, and the paper had Zoe's address on it. After an unenlightening visit to her mother, Zoe herself meets a would-be-attacker, and on her return to her ransacked apartment, she also finds a package waiting for her, with a riddle on a riddle written in the hand of the grandmother she never knew.As we visit Paris, Budapest, St. Petersburg, and full circle to Siberia (where Zoe's great-grandmother Lena Orlova helped a prisoner escape many years ago), dodging would-be assassins along the way, the secret is finally revealed.This is the sort of thriller that you don't want to put down, with lots of supporting characters, action, and a plot that keeps you sitting on the edge of the seat. There are the good guys, and some very, very bad guys, including a powerful billionaire named Miles Taylor and his female "personal assistant" and Israeli-trained assassin. With a wonderful interplay that ties so many seemingly unrelated occurrences together, the author does what a good thrill writer SHOULD do. You can feel yourself riding on the back of a motorcycle in the Paris streets, the bumps, the turns, the near-spills, the danger ...I honestly felt totally drawn in to the story, and if you like thrillers, you'll love this one. I highly recommend it.QUOTES"What baloney. No God worth his salt is going to let puling sinners worm their way back into his good graces just by kissing his a**."I kept seeing Marilyn the way we'd left her, sprawled naked on her white satin sheets, her hand clutching the telephone as if there were still time for her to make one last, desperate call for help. That poor, pathetic hand, with its cracked nails and shipped polish.She would've hated the thought of dying like that, not looking her best.Zoe laughed. "You know what I like about you, Ry? You not only speak fifteen languages, but everywhere we go you know 'a guy.' A guy who can get us guns. A guy who can make us fake passports. A guy who is a U. S. senator."Writing: 4 out of 5 starsPlot: 4.5 out of 5 starsCharacters: 3.5 out of 5 starsReading Immersion: 4.5 out 5 starsBOOK RATING: 4.125 out of 5 stars