When Alex Maclure is hired by eccentric tech billionaire Simon Blanchard to work at a private California museum, he expects dusty artifacts—not danger. But when Blanchard is found dead and the museum’s security AI shows Alex committing the crime, he becomes the world’s most wanted fugitive.
The mysterious relic Alex was studying has vanished. To clear his name, he must uncover its secrets—and fast. With the help of Marie Dubois, a brilliant but enigmatic expert, Alex plunges into a global conspiracy stretching from San Francisco to Iceland, Texas to Cairo.
Hunted by law enforcement, manipulated by rival secret societies, and drawn into a deadly race for power, Alex must decipher a series of ancient clues before the wrong hands unlock a portal to catastrophic power.
The Piercing Eye is awakening.
And if Alex fails, humanity may not survive what comes next.
I'm delighted to be hosting the blog tour for Codex of the Gods today. Many thanks to Murray Bailey for inviting me and for my advance digital copy of the novel.
Codex of the Gods is the third book in Murray Bailey's Egyptian Stones trilogy and to truly appreciate Alex Maclure's dramatic story arc, I would strongly recommend reading the previous novels, The Heretic Cypher and The Mark of Eternity, first. FBI Agent Charlie Rebb also makes a welcome return here and although the two protagonists are kept apart, both narratives are equally as compulsive to read.
When Maclure was introduced in The Heretic Cypher, he had only recently quit accountancy in order to study archaeology but has since become a renowned Egyptologist, thanks to his deciphering of ancient stone tablets. After being thrust into a deadly race against time following the murder of his close friend in the first book, he has also become sought after by people who wish to use his knowledge and numerical aptitude for their own causes. At the start of Codex of the Gods he has been hired by Simon Blanchard, a tech billionaire who owns an extensive collection of priceless artefacts in his private museum in California. One of the most fascinating aspects of this trilogy is the span of history covered; from ancient civilizations whose writings predate all known translations right through to contemporary issues such as deep-fakes , conspiracy theories and the global climate crisis, the scope of topics covered and the manner in which they become intertwined is impressive throughout.
The title of the book cleverly references both the cyphers and symbols recorded on arcane ancient stones and to the powerful individuals who seek to harness their mysterious properties for their own ends. At a time when the likes of Musk and Bezos are increasingly shaping the real world, it's not surprising that their fictional billionaire counterparts have an important role to play in Codex of the Gods. However, when Blanchard's resolve to have the secret of the stone in his possession revealed results in his murder, Alex becomes the only suspect. The evidence against him looks incontrovertible but Charlie Rebb is soon on the case and the stage is set for another high octane thriller. The opening to Codex of the Gods actually finds Charlie and her partner, Peter Zhang in Iceland as it becomes apparent that a murdered man believed to have been Danish was actually an American who was wanted following the recent events in Egypt. The victim also had a strange, radioactive item stolen from him and before long, Charlie realises this case and the hunt for Alex Maclure are linked.
Alex has to figure out who he can trust, particularly as he is also deeply concerned for his brother, Andrew, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Murray Bailey ensures throughout that although Andrew is physically vulnerable, he is also a clever, astute man who immediately realises Alex is in danger. Napoleon's feats are also woven into the complex narrative as Alex translates archaic symbols which tell of the Piercing Eye Fallen From The Heavens and he begins to realise the extent of interest in these relics – and the lengths various secretive global factions are prepared to go to possess them.
Having already endured some terrifying ordeals in the previous books, he faces more danger than ever here, especially after an enforced, perplexing journey to a remote location where he seems to be given little choice but to cooperate with somebody who is clearly brilliant but increasingly deranged. Rebb has her own struggles too, including being confronted by an unwelcome face from her past but she is a determined, resolute character who has no qualms in circumventing the various obstacles in her pursuit of the truth. Although Alex is at the heart of the main storyline concerning the convoluted history of the enigmatic artefacts, Charlie is no less a compelling protagonist and as Codex of the Gods reaches its heartstopping denouement she runs into rather than away from danger.
This is a nailbiting read throughout but the final chapters are breathtakingly tense and it's never obvious what the eventual conclusion will be. The ending genuinely shocked me and although this is currently the final book in the trilogy, I can't help but hope for more in the future. Murray Bailey cleverly melds intriguing historical puzzles, dark conspiracy theories and deadly legacies with modern-day scientific advancements and global politics, and then weaves in hints of the supernatural or extraterrestrial. It shouldn't work but it does and Codex of the Gods is a terrifically entertaining thriller from start to finish.
Codex of the Gods will be published on 6th November 2026 and is available to pre-order or purchase here.
Follow the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
Murray Bailey is the author of the Ash Carter thrillers, inspired by his father's experience in the Royal Military Police in Singapore in the early 1950s. From the prequel series, based in Cyprus and Israel, The Prisoner of Acre won the 2025 Page Turner Award. A post-Singapore series is based in the Philippines. The Heretic Cypher is the first book of a trilogy featuring a young Robert Langdon-type character decrypting secret messages written by an ancient Egyptian.
Murray is well traveled, having worked in the US, South America and a number of European countries throughout his career as a management consultant. However he also managed to find the time to edit books, contribute to articles and act as a part-time magazine editor.
Murray was born in Manchester and now lives on the south coast of England with his family and two dogs, Teddy and Muffin.
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