Enjoyed like other Steve Berry books. Similar historical mystery. Fast paced. I feel like I figured most of it out too quickly and the last part was just confirming what I suspected. I would have liked a few more twists and turns. Ghent alter piece, Cathars, virgin Mary's tomb and more. ( )

Nick Lee, ex-FBI, works as a field investigator for UNESCO, resolving those 'difficult' cultural and artistic issues that arise around the globe(?) He is in Ghent to re-connect with his ex-fiancee, who jilted him at the alter to become a nun(!) He becomes involved in a rather convoluted plot surrounding an alter piece, a secret order of nuns hiding in plain sight, the Cathars and an ambitious and ruthless cardinal. (Whew!)

This is an all-action thriller that tries to have it all, but does not quite pull all its narrative threads together at the end. Apart from the rather ludicrous job the hero holds this is a fine beach or long-haul flight read. ( )

Did not finish. ( )

There are three central themes in the story. The fate and significance of an altarpiece in the Ghent cathedral. The location of the remains of Mary the mother of Jesus. Whether there are any remains from Joan of Arc, and if so where are they. The details of these mysteries range from Ghent to southern France. Mixed into the story is the story of the Cathars, a persecuted Christian sect of the Middle Ages. A new protagonist is introduced:Nick Lee who works as an investigator for the UN and gets involved because his former fiancée who became a nun was the restorer of the Ghent altarpiece. ( )

The Omega Factor (2022) (Nick Lee #1) by Steve Berry. Not one of my favorites of Mr. Berry’s books. It is a good read, exciting and fast paced (in many places) with the usual touches of a daring investigator, a historic mystery, and plenty of details about the history of the various regions visited in the course of the book.
It is just that I wasn’t interest in the history of the southwest of France. Couldn’t care less. And I have read several books about the Templars and the break away religious sects of the area. Reading this felt like revisiting past reads and visiting areas I didn’t find very interesting the first time around.
Ghent, Belgium, is the starting point of the story and it pulled me in. A young nun is doing restoration work on the Ghent Altarpiece, specifically the reproduction of the portion that was stolen in 1934. Now someone breaks into the supposedly empty work area and tries to destroy the replica piece of the massive Altarpiece. While the nun who is working on the item stops in after hours and comes across the intruder, she is in trouble. Fortunately Nick Lee of UNESCO had made a date with his former fiancee, the nun in trouble, and arrives in time to save her but not the panel. There are detailed digital photos of every inch of the panel but the computer they are on has been taken by the intruder.
Thus begins this pell-mell tale that has echoes of the Vatican, a secret society of nuns, terrible priests (some brandish guns (for a change) and aren’t above killing) and retribution against the church. The path leads across France to the Pyrenees and into the history of Mary, the mother of Jesus. But along the way there are so many diversions it dulls my mind trying to keep on the path of the story.
This is a book for history buffs and die-hard fans of Mr. Berry. Also if you like reading about The Inquisition (bet you didn’t expect that because no one ever expects…) this is an added bonus for you. ( )

I was thrilled when I got approved for the audio version of The Omega Factor by Steve Berry over at NetGalley. Steve Berry has been a favorite author of mine for years. I did not realize that this book was a stand-alone, not part of the Cotton Malone series before I started to listen to the book. But, the characters and the story had me instantly hooked. I recommend this book warmly if you like me and love historical mystery books with some action (and some not-so-usual nuns LOL ).. ( )

The Omega Factor is a stand alone novel by Steve Berry but it has a similar theme to his Cotton Mather books: historical conspiracy theories related to great art and locations. In this case, he focuses on the Ghent altarpiece by Jan van Eyck and its long history. I was fascinated by that along with the history of the Catholic Church's attempts to put down heretics. Joan of Arc plays a role here along with the Cathars, a Catholic sect massacred in the early 13th century. I had heard of this group but didn't know much about them. As always, Berry whet my appetite to learn more and spend time exploring the Ghent Altarpiece via the Closer to Van Eyck website with an interactive view of the famous work, before, during and after restoration.

In The Omega Factor, Steve Berry introduces us to new protagonists, Nick and Kelsey. I’ve read numerous of Berry’s Cotton Malone books, so I was interested to see how this new duo would be, and while they are no Cotton and Cassiopeia, they make for a fun new crime fighting duo.

As always, I really enjoyed the history and religious aspects of the book. While many things are real, and Berry goes over the list at the end of the book, even many of the fictional parts are so in depth that it always makes me wonder if some of those could have really happened too.

I do feel like Nick’s character needs to be explored more. He feels like a lighter version of Cotton. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, I hope future books will dig deeper into his character. But I really enjoyed Keley, her determination and spirit was a nice change of pace to see in a female lead written by a male author in a more male dominated book series.

The one thing that I missed in The Omega Factor was the surprise bits that I often find in the Cotton Malone series. In this one, you knew who all the bad guys were right away and there was really no mystery to solve or an interesting twist towards the end.

All in all, a well researched and fast paced start to a new series, and one that I’ll be reading future books in. ( )

Nicholas Lee lost his one true love years ago. She unexpectedly chose to become a nun rather than accept his proposal of marriage. Nicholas has been an investigator for UNESCO for a number of years now. He regularly seeks to protect from harm cultural artifacts around the world. He is surprised when he gets an invitation to visit his old love, who is working on an art restoration for the Church in Belgium. Her job is to clean off the layers of dirt and candle soot that have accumulated on the painting as it was on display in a church in the historical town of Ghent, Belgium. Nick knows he cannot compete with God for her love, but he would like to have her in his life once again if only as a dear friend. As chance would have it, he arrives at her work place only to witness the destruction of the work of art she is working on as well as the theft of her computer that has the last remaining images of the restoration work she has done. Nick makes sure his ex-girl friend is safe, then takes off after the thief. Who would destroy a religious work of art? Who is this person who is leading him on a chase across the ancient town of Ghent. What is so valuable on the computer that someone would risk their life to steal it? The answers unexpectedly lie in the history of the Catholic Church. There are many secrets hidden beneath the robes of the Chosen. Secrets that some will be willing to give their lives to keep, while others are willing to kill to keep hidden. This is a very engaging suspense novel that could challenge some long held beliefs. It is a handful at over 400 pages, but maintains your interest with a fast pace and some surprising twists. This book provided for review by Grand Central Publishing and Novel Suspects. ( )