This was on sale and it was okay for a book about hunting old Germans and their missing Nazi treasures plus going a bit further. But the reason I bought it was that mountain range on the cover and the blurbs highlighting Colorado.

*******
The Last Monument 
by Michael C. Grumley
2020
Read by Scott Brick 9h 6m
Rating: B- / crime – thriller 
*******

Whatever – two old geezers die in a Colorado plane wreck and the protagonist, Joe Rickards, finds the wreckage. It turns out that the deceased were both involved in chasing Nazis.  Angela Reed is the niece of one of the old men who was a good friend of the other.  Angela wants to know what happened and why.  So with the assistance of Joe Rickards, a suddenly unemployed FBI agent, she sets out to travel to Peru where the trail gets mixed up with old tales of gold and ancient, treasure-filled cities along with some mystical possibilities.  It seems that someone does not want them putting too much together.

The plot sometimes gets a bit contrived and complex to the point I got lost a couple times, but it straightened out for me pretty quick.  There’s plenty of conspiracy stuff and action-packed thriller scenes. And then there’s Scott Brick narrating which just ratchets up the tension – unnecessarily at times (imo).  

Overall, the book held my interest for several reasons.  First, there’s the historical background which I’m almost always interested in (and I did Google some names, places and events).  Second the three main characters are well drawn and likable. Finally, the tension and thriller parts were masterfully handled.  Grumley has a fan club for a reason.