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Paula Wynne
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The Grotto's Secret: A Historical Conspiracy Mystery Thriller (Torcal Trilogy Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Paula Wynne (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 903 ratings
See all formats and editions

Winner of THE PEOPLE'S BOOK PRIZE ~ Best Fiction 2017!


A Historical Conspiracy Thriller for fans of Glenn Cooper, Kate Mosse and James Rollins


A healing herb kept secret for centuries. A TV show host who stands to lose everything.


Castile de Granada, 1492: Risking her life, Spanish author Ana-María de Carbonela vowed to keep an unknown yet powerful healing herb’s location hidden. It remained a secret …


Until now.


TV show host Kelby Wade is forced into the search when her niece is targeted by the relentless assassin who killed her brother. She is pursued on a perilous quest, from a grotto in rural Andalusia to a bizarre hospital in Surrey, to uncover the mystery found between crumbling sheets of parchment in the ruins of a rural Spanish farm.


In a race against a conspiracy who want the herb’s power, she struggles to piece together the puzzle and follow the trail her brother left to trace the mysterious plant before the deadly conspirators locate it.


It’s only a matter of time before the ancient secret gets exposed ... ­


Read the reviews!


If you love an action-packed conspiracy thriller, download a sample to see for yourself! Or grab free sample chapters at Paula Wynne’s website.

And then follow the story into the next book ... The Sacred Symbol.


The Sacred Symbol Readers Recommend:


The Sacred Symbol, which has been recommended by reviewers for fans of CJ Sansom and SJ Parris and Dan Brown.


 

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  1. Book 1 of 3
    Torcal Trilogy
  2. Print length
    379 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    April 1, 2016
  6. Reading age
    16 - 18 years
  7. File size
    2720 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

As an award-winning entrepreneur and author of the Writers'Resource Series, Paula Wynne has appeared on TV several times, including the BBC Show, Escape to the Continent, which showed her and herhusband's quest to live in Spain so Paula could become a full timewriter.

The Grotto's Secret is a fast-paced thriller that lacestogether historical and modern global settings with a supernatural hint. Described by readers as a 'must' for fans of Glenn Cooper, Kate Mosseand James Rollins.

Paula is currently writing more conspiracythrillers with historical mystery twists. She brings her love forthrillers and history, along with the beauty of countries like Spaininto her books.

Paula occasionally gives away books and otherbonus material for readers, so join her news to find out more:eepurl.com/byjPVT

Find out more about Paula at paulawynne.com

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01DQXNPIQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Prado Press; 1st edition (April 1, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 1, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2720 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 379 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 3.9 out of 5 stars 903 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Paula Wynne

Paula Wynne

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Paula Wynne is the award-winning author of The Grotto's Secret which won The People's Book Prize in 2017. She has appeared on TV several times, including the BBC Show, Escape to the Continent, which showed her and her husband's quest to buy a second home in Spain so Paula could become a full time writer. They now live between Newbury, Berkshire and Malaga, Spain where Paula spends her time writing.

The Torcal Trilogy series is described by readers as a 'must' for fans of Kate Mosse and Dan Brown. Paula's first World War II Thriller is said to be "her best book so far" by reviewers.

Paula is currently writing more conspiracy thrillers with historical mystery twists. She brings her love for thrillers and history, along with the beauty of European countries into her books.

Paula runs regular book giveaways, so join her news or find out more about Paula at https://www.paulawynne.com.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
3.9 out of 5
903 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Betsy
5.0 out of 5 stars Be prepared for a journey instead of just an adventure. Wonderful read!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2016
Verified Purchase
The Grotto’s Secret is my first adventure with books by Paula Wynne. What a pleasant surprise! I thoroughly enjoyed the side-by-side stories of Maria and Kelby, one during the Spanish Inquisition and the other today. The joinder of the two stories is the “magic” herb named rizado. In Maria’s story, of course, it is the original discovery and use of the herb in the healing arts, with the eventual efforts by find it, the people who use it, the fear of it, and the attempted destruction of all. In Kelby’s story, it is the pursuit of and the two pathways available if actually found - either use for the good of mankind or the destruction of for the continuance of current medications, research, and, of course, the massive funds generated as a result of both. Not to spoil the story, both adventures continue through discovery, use, tragedy, flight, and then on to a very satisfying conclusion. I had a bit of difficulty at the very beginning since the technique of switching can be a bit confusing at the very beginning and the characters and their relationships were very complicated, but it didn’t take long to realize the genius of this type of presentation. The story is long, but this is not a detriment since we are actually reading two stories at once. This is actually a plus for me since I love the longer stories which you can actually get deep into and spend lots of time with the characters and their adventures. Other reviewers have described the situations, dangers, and, of course, the characters - good, likeable, not so likeable, greedy, and very, very evil - so I don’t feel I need to describe them here other than to state that the situations are exciting, perilous, sad, and, for brief moments, a bit romantic. The characters are very complex and you come to either really, really like them, or really, really dislike them. As noted above, I loved this story. I can’t wait for the next two to follow. This book is highly recommended.

I did receive a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, but I loved it so much I purchased it.
One person found this helpful
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G Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2016
Verified Purchase
Kelby who works on a TV show becomes embroiled in a mystery about an ancient herb. It is a secret for which she thinks her brother may have been killed. Now it seems like someone is stalking her. The story alternates with scenes from the past in the year 1492 when Ana-Marie and her mother discover the healing powers the herb rizado. This story was interesting but seemed to get off to slow start. I could have done with a little less violence.
* I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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Don D
3.0 out of 5 stars Rob Roy Lives
Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2016
Verified Purchase
Two strong women, one in the present time and one in the fifteenth century, fight through big losses to battle and to prevail against evil forces.

Paula Wynne writes well. Her clear words and short chapters keep the story moving and the reader interested; and a liberal sprinkling of foreign lingo, mostly Spanish, adds flavor to the tale.

This action mystery has many characters, all distinct and well drawn. The exception might be Barker. Yes, he's well made, but is he Jon Thompson? Was that clear? Also, why was Zelda rewarded rather than punished; and, in the end, was rizado a boon or a bust for Big Pharma? Did it matter or not? But maybe family love and not selfish greedy hate stands well enough as the whole point of the tale.

All in all, a good story, a good read, though maybe one more for feminists than everyone.

Thank you, Paula Wynne. 
4 people found this helpful
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Uma Iyer Van Roosenbeek
5.0 out of 5 stars History, mystery, thrills and suspense - a great combo and an outstanding read! Read it to find out!
Reviewed in the United States on August 17, 2016
Verified Purchase
Kelly Wade, a reality TV star, CEO and a high profile woman gets pulled into something that is way too eerie and strange because of her brother’s death which she refuses to believe was a suicide. She is totally devoted to the brother's daughter, her niece Annie though she is at loggerheads with the brother’s wife, Stacey. She is approached by two strangers, a brother Roy and sister Marina, who tell her that she will find answers to her brother’s death if and when she follows the path that they are talking about. This path is the same one that was tread by the female ancestor of the sister. This ancestor Ana Maria was a literate person in the 1400s, a big rarity, in addition to being a healer with erudite parents, the father encouraging her to read and write and the mother is a healer herself! The story alternates between the past and present and beautifully connects the two. Kelly discovers that her brother was healed by the herb, brought it back and gave it to the pharmaceutical company to analyze the herb. The ancestor Maria writes a book about her mother’s healing career and also writes about a miraculous healing herb called Rizado which is so well hidden that no one has been able to find it. Big pharmaceutical companies, other unscrupulous characters and everyone who knows about the herb is scrambling to find it even prepared to kill to achieve their objective.
Against this background, a remarkable story is woven involving Kelly, Roy who is also a doctor and Annie, the little girl. Annie seems to be receiving messages from Maria and provides important clues to Kelly which is used by Kelly and Roy to pursue their investigation. The book takes the readers over a roller coaster of adventures along with Kelly and Rob to find the herb, to find the brother’s killer and safely return back. Plenty of twists and turns during this journey make the book very difficult to put down!
A fantastic book that makes the reader long for the next two installments!!!
4 people found this helpful
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Eric Provencher
4.0 out of 5 stars The story is good. But there is an annoying thing...
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
The story is good.
The annoying thing about this book is that the author is alternating sub-plots very rapidly. Over 180 chapters in a 410 pages book!! Each chapter is around a page long on my Kindle. Hard to keep a hold of the continuity when you read only a few pages a day!
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Top reviews from other countries

Mr C
4.0 out of 5 stars I don't do book reviews
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 26, 2022
Verified Purchase
I don't do book reviews like you keep seeing, as I find that some give too much of the plot away and I personally hate that, as it makes the book not worth reading. I much prefer to take the authors back cover write up as a review as it can either intrigue you enough to read the book of provide you enough information to make you decide that the book is not for you.

My review rules are: The more stars, the more I liked it.
If there are too many typos or errors the less stars I give
If the storyline or plot is poor or contains too many errors, the characters are too weak, the ending lacking something, then the less stars I give.
Simple, uncomplicated and to the point without giving anything away.
Some of the books I read have been given to me by the author as a pre-release copy and this does not bias my reviews in any way.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read
Reviewed in Canada on January 11, 2018
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed the storyline of this book, a little bit mystical, a little bit historical fiction, a thriller, all wrapped up in one. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys any of those kind of books
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Mandy Walkden-Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars A totally riveting thriller.
Reviewed in Australia on September 17, 2016
Verified Purchase
I thoroughly enjoyed the two intertwined stories, past and present, five hundred plus years apart. Meticulous research by the author really evoked the historic atmosphere beautifully.

Action, conspiracy and a shady group intent on doing wrong. Throw in a psychotic stalker, an evil henchman and a couple of kick-ass female main characters, one of whom is trying desperately to protect her niece, the other, her mother, and it's a recipe for a very satisfying read. There's even a glimmer of romance.

Definitely a book to add to your must-read list. Highly recommended.
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mim
4.0 out of 5 stars Many twists
Reviewed in Australia on March 18, 2017
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The story is fast paced and at times rivetting. There were a co uple of slips mainly towards the end but on the whole very enjpyable.
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Books R Best
5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT RESEARCH
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 11, 2016
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this book, particularly once it for into its stride. I particularly liked the flashbacks to an earlier period and the parallel stories from the Spain of Isabella to the present day. What a shame rizado doesn’t exist! The book flowed easily although I would have liked to connect more with the heroine Kelby. I got irritated with her at one point as she pauses to read a book – OK it was a special book – but she was in fear of her life at that moment. I also got a bit confused with the various ‘baddies’ and wasn’t sure who wanted the herb for what purpose, there were so many of them. I feel the author did a lot of research to make the historical sequences authentic and for reason I will add the extra star I would have deducted from the story itself.
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