New Book Alert: Van Ops: The Lost Power by Avanti Centrae: Thrilling, Suspenseful, And Engaging Treasure Hunt Begins New Series

New Book Alert: Van Ops: The Lost Power by Avanti Centrae; Thrilling, Suspenseful, and Engaging Treasure Hunt Begins New Series

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews



Spoilers: Thanks to the Da Vinci Code, for a time in the early to mid 2000’s, you couldn't throw a rock without hitting a book about a treasure hunt. Several books were written where the protagonists looked for some treasure or knowledge that had been hidden for centuries that could shake up the known usually western world. The protagonists are on the run from dastardly villains, usually working for the church or government that are determined to keep the secret.

One of the better of those treasure hunt novels was 2005’s Labyrinth by Kate Mosse which involved books that contained references to the Holy Grail, the history of the Cathars in France, a commentary on gender roles, and two strong female protagonists in modern day and 13th century France.


We return to that trend that now reaches 20 years old (yikes) with Avanti Centrae’s The Lost Power, a book in her Van Ops series. When done right, these treasure hunt novels are interesting lessons in history and speculative fiction, filled with intense suspenseful action-based passages, and feature interesting characters that guide the action. Lucky for us, Centrae gets it right.

Twins, Will and Maddy Argones are invited to visit their father who tells them that he has important news. Before he can reveal it, however both he and Will’s wife, Maria, are killed by an assassin's bullet. The twins barely have time to grieve before their father’s attorney sends them a letter which tells them to return to the family's ancestral home Aragon Castle in Spain and locate the Aragon Chassé, a small box that contains an object of immense power. This quest takes them and their old school friend and current military man, Teddy “Bear” Thorenson on a journey through Spain, Israel, and Egypt with dangerous assassins in hot pursuit.

The book is an escapist fantasy of exotic locations and roller coaster actions designed to end several chapters with cliffhangers. There are various tense situations where the Argones Twins and Bear hide from assassins in various locations including the Dome of the Rock and a hot air balloon. There is an interesting subplot when the trio take part in various tests to determine their strength, knowledge, and worthiness to find the Aragon Chassé.

The characterization is brilliantly executed. Will and Maddy both shine with individual moments. Maddy is a seventh level Dan and martial arts instructor and uses those skills to defend her loved ones. She is also psychic and has premonitions of people being hurt or kidnapped. She shows a strong maternal bond with A.J., a young student who unfortunately gets caught in the middle of these struggles.

Will is also well written. He is a skeptic where Maddy is intuitive. While it stretches credibility over how skeptical he can possibly be, with not only a psychic sister but going on a journey that includes some unexplained phenomena, but this can also be attributed to Will’s stubborn nature. Also, the plot offers scientific possibilities which gives Will, an engineer opportunities to use his expertise. On an emotional front, Will shows genuine grief over Maria's death which is refreshing to see when in many novels of this sort ignore the personal tragedy when someone dies in favor of action. This book shows the grief that would be involved when someone dies particularly when they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Bear isn't as developed as the twins but he offers some interesting possibilities when it is revealed that he is part of Van Ops, a secret military organization that studies unexplained phenomena. He also harbors a secret crush on Maddy and shares some sweet heroic moments with her.

The antagonists are fairly decent as well. The stand out among them is Ivan, a gun toting hit man who hides a heart as big as the number of his confirmed kills. Ivan can be a ruthless killer, but that's not all to his story. Centrae reveals that he is worried about his kidnapped son whom his employers hold hostage in an attempt to get Ivan to obey them. Ivan also shows protectiveness over the kidnapped, A.J. revealing the fatherly side he hides behind his gruff violent exterior.

The search for the Aragon Chassé is pretty tight as clues are given and tests are required to find the object. When the Chassé is revealed, it proves to be every bit as powerful as advertised and during the climax that power is unleashed in a violent and ultimately satisfactory moment.

The Lost Power is a treasure hunt worth going on with a thrilling plot, great characters, and a truly intriguing adventure.