The Forgotten Fortune

An Archaeological Thriller (The Jack Reilly Adventures, Book 1)

By: Matt James

Narrated by: Matthew Crow

Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

Unverified reports tell of a hidden treasure trove deep beneath the Owl Mountains in Poland. Many have tried, but all have failed to locate the legendary Nazi gold train.

Jack Reilly mourns the loss of his grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, and an esteemed historian. In memory of her, the retired Delta operator tours the place of her imprisonment, the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, site of the infamous Nazi concentration camp.

Suddenly, the crowded complex is taken over by a well-armed force. They’re led by a woman on a personal quest. The mercenary commander yearns to uncover the lucrative haul with the help of a journal that once belonged to Heinrich Himmler, leader of Adolf Hitler’s ruthless paramilitary organization, the Schutzstaffel. She shanghaies Jack into service after she learns of his past.

With innocent lives on the line, Jack agrees to help. If he fails, people die. But if he succeeds, and he unwillingly helps resurrect the Nazi party, even more people will die. Never in his life has Jack been stuck between a bigger rock and a harder place.

The Forgotten Fortune is the first book in international best-selling author Matt James’ action-packed archaeological thriller series The Jack Reilly Adventures.

©2020 Severed Press (P)2021 Severed Press

A fun quick read.

They advertise this as a modern Indiana Jones type story. It's not quite that, but it is an entertaining listen with a likable hero who would probably get along with Dr Jones. Not a ton of character development here, the prose has little room for anything but jumping right into the action. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Our hero is a recently retired special forces officer who was very good at his job but got disillusioned by all the pointless killing he saw. Now he works in a national park as a ranger. Then his beloved grandmother passes away. In an effort to honor her memory, he visits Auschwitz since she survived it during World War 2. As luck would have it, he visits on the same day that some second generation Nazis take everyone prisoner while looking for a secret treasure hidden beneath the death camp. Queue up the hero action from that point. The rest of the book is Jack vs the Nazis in an elaborate underground maze.

Would this make an entertaining movie? yup. Would it inspire a lot of deep thought? probably not... but it is fun and the hero is likable.

I gave it 4 stars because I enjoyed it but it was not exactly original in any way. The narration was okay but they annoyingly mispronounced some words like pronouncing "ruse" as in a trick, as "rouse" as in to awaken, for example.

There are at least a couple more books in this series and I plan on checking them out. If you like this kind of action story, with a touch of archeological mystery thrown in....then I recommend it to you.

What a fun book!

I love books that bring history to the present...even if it is fictional. Matt James does an excellent job of sharing a story of a forgotten treasure that once belonged to those in power during the Holocaust. Is it true? I haven't an idea, but I love the way the story moves and keeps moving. I liked the fact that Jack is portrayed as a fallible human being who isn't able to withstand anything and everything, but keeps moving because he has to in order to survive. I was surprised several times in where the story took us, but I wasn't disappointed.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book and let me tell you, Matthew Crow is one of the best. His ability to make me believe in the characters is rare and important. It helps make the story more real for me. I always know I will enjoy the book if Matthew Crow is the narrator.
Highly recommend.

Entertaining Listen

I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook from start to finish. Awesome characters with a great flowing storyline...Will be on the lookout for the continuing stories to come. Once again Matthew does not disappoint in reading to us. I received this audiobook in a promotion and I am giving my voluntary unbiased review.

Very fun read/listen

Enjoyed this story immensely. Solid narration, nice inclusion of humor, classic archeological thriller in the vein of Indiana Jones or Uncharted. Definitely worth the read/listen if you're into that kind of story.

Want more

I can’t wait to hear more stories. Great premise, fast paced and very well told.

Great Story!

Even though this is listed as book 1, it's a stand alone story and is extremely entertaining.

Action-Packed Adventure #1

Jack takes on modern-day Nazis in this action-packed 5-hour adventure. The bad guys have the advantage and hostages, and the depths below the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum have buried secrets and devastating hazards. Jack takes them on and suffers for it, but will he prevail? Let's just say I'm looking forward to Book 2. Thanks to Audiobooks Unleashed for the listen!