10. Countdown, by Iris Johansen
In this entry in the Eve Duncan series, Eve's adopted daughter, Jane MacGuire, survives a sudden, shocking attack that leaves a friend dead. It soon becomes apparent that it wasn't just a random act of violence, and the attack is linked to a legend surrounding a chest of gold belonging to an ancient Roman actress, Cira, who may or may not ahve died in eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD.
This novel had a lot of build-up, and is apparently a direct sequel to an earlier novel in the series. There's a bad guy who collects antiquities, wants the gold, and is skilled at brainwashing people into becoming assassins or even suicide bombers. There's a guy from Jane's past who also wants the gold, but isn't a bad guy (but isn't exactly a good guy, either).
The novel built up well, but the resolution, what there was of it, was too fast and didn't mesh with the earlier part of the book.
