Deadlock by Iris Johansen

Emily Hudson is a UN artifacts expert. In times of conflict, warring factions rarely consider preserving and protecting the country's historical treasures. It's Emily's job to go in and rescue them.

On a trip into war torn Afghanistan, Emily and her partner Joel are taken hostage by a deadly mercenary. He's seeking Zeliv's Hammer. When Emily denies knowledge of the hammer, Staunton tortures Joel to death. Emily remains steadfast in her denial. She can't give him what she doesn't have. She's never heard of Zeliv's hammer.

Emily's disappearance leads to an international media feeding frenzy and the CIA is taking the heat. Finally CIA Administrator Ferguson contacts freelance operative John Garret. If anyone can rescue Emily and Joel it's him.

Garret rescues Emily literally minutes before Staunton's wrath is turned on her. Wounded but determined, she extracts a promise from Garret. He'll help her discover the secret behind Zeliv's hammer and then kill Staunton. Garret had no problem with that. Angered by the loss of his prey and in need of information to get Emily back, Staunton tortured and killed Garret's best friend. Garret wanted revenge almost as much as Emily did. But they had to figure out what Zeliv's hammer was before they could use it to pull the monster out of the shadows and into the light.

I have been reading Iris Johanson's novels for years and she rarely lets me down. Deadlock is a fast paced thriller with strong characters and timeline that keeps them hopping. It's an Indiana Jones type adventure. The action starts on the first page and doesn't let up until the very end. If you've never read any of Iris Johanson's novels, make Deadlock your first. You'll not regret it.