Published in paperback 21st February 2026 (ebook 6th March 2026).
From the cover of the book:
An ancient code. A deadly killer. A truth buried beneath the sands of time.FBI Special Agent Charlie Rebb thought the Surgeon - a notorious serial killer - was a ghost from the past.
But when a new series of murders erupts, each marked with strange, arcane symbols, the trail leads Rebb across continents to Egypt... and to a chilling revelation: the Surgeon has returned, and this time, his killings follow a
pattern—one tied to a purpose more terrifying than anyone imagined.
Meanwhile, in Egypt, Alex MacLure has uncovered more encoded messages in ancient tablets. An ancient Egyptian was searching for a forgotten symbol. His name appears in a programme written by a brilliant AI student. The student reaches out with a wild theory - but before MacLure discovers the truth, he’s arrested for a murder he didn’t commit.
Thrown together by fate and hunted by forces beyond their understanding, Rebb and MacLure must unlock an ancient secret. They must stop the Surgeon before he unleashes a plan, millennia in the making.
***********
The dismembered body of a missing young man is found under a building housing a controversial new church in Atlanta, Georgia. Soon more bodies of young men are found, each tattooed with a strange symbol. FBI Special Agent Charlie Rebb fears that the notorious serial killer, the Surgeon, is back - but this time he seems to have an unknown purpose. A trail of clues takes Rebb to Egypt, where the Surgeon appears to be continuing his disturbing mission.
Meanwhile, Egyptologist Alex MacLure has been busy uncovering the secrets of the curious tablets he discovered during his earlier adventures in Egypt. The story he has been decoding takes an unexpected turn when the tablets tell of the search for a powerful ancient symbol. Unfortunately for MacLure, he is not the only one interested in what the symbol could mean, and when his name appears in an innovative AI programme he becomes a target.
When MacLure is framed for a murder he did not commit, he becomes a person of interest to the Egyptian police, and Rebb realises that his case might actually be related to her investigation into the Surgeon's dark purpose. Together they must find a way to stop the Surgeon, before he can bring about the fulfilment of a plan set in motion millennia ago...
This second book in the gripping Egyptian Stones series begins in good old American serial-killer-hunt country. An FBI investigation gets underway, with some great interactions between the federal agents and local police, via unsettling interviews with smarmy religious zealots and skin-crawling satanists. What they discover sends Special Agent Charlie Rebb off to exotic territory, in the heart of Egypt, where she has to negotiate a very different way of working - especially when it comes to how women in law enforcement are perceived.
Meanwhile, MacLure has been unearthing more discoveries in dusty tombs, and this time the 'truths' the tablets convey point to something far more incredible that tales of religious unorthodoxy. Soon, he and his journalist girlfriend (hello again, Rebecca) become embroiled in dangerous conspiracy theories, the Surgeon's search for a lost symbol that will unleash a long-held secret on the world, and the murky machinations of rival secret societies.
The threads of Rebb and MacLure's sides of the story gradually draw together, setting them on a collision course with the Surgeon that requires all of MacLure's considerable intellectual skills to fathom out what the lost symbol actually is; what its rediscover might mean; and where the gripping climax of the story will play out (with very personal consequences for MacLure himself).
The action is relentless in this second adventure for MacLure, with full-on vibes of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon's stories, as Bailey's very likeable protagonist drives the twists and turns with his intellectual leaps forward. I thoroughly enjoyed the double act between Rebb (whose character develops nicely across the story) and MacLure, and there is a great supporting cast for the both - many of whom I would like to see again.
This was whip-smart, non-stop fun Murray Bailey style, full of fascinating detail about Egyptology, archaeology, mythology, religion, and symbolism that sent me down endless rabbit holes - and I suspect there is a lot more to come in book three... which I cannot wait to read!
The Mark of Eternity is available now in hardcover, paperback and ebook formats.
Thank you to Murray Bailey for sending me a ecopy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to join this blog tour.
About the author:
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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