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Trust No One

Written by James Rollins

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About this book

From the #1 New York Times bestselling master of international intrigue comes a shocking new stand-alone thriller that thrusts a group of university students, falsely accused of murder, into a treacherous hunt across Europe, all to unlock the secrets buried within a centuries-old book that could change humankind forever. Knowledge can be magic--until it falls into the wrong hands. The ritualistic murder of a British professor at the University of Exeter points to a startling cast of suspects: his own students. All are enrolled in a postgraduate program covering the history of witchcraft, folklore, and spiritualism. All evidence points to Sharyn Karr--an American student. Prior to the professor's death, he had thrust a centuries-old book upon her. It appears to be the handwritten and encrypted diary of an eighteenth-century mystic and occultist, the Comte de Saint-Germain. The professor begged her to keep the text safe, ending with a warning. Trust no one. Such a responsibility forces her into cooperation with Duncan Maxwell, a fellow postgrad and the sixteenth in line to the British Crown. Already, Duncan has proven himself a savant with encryptions. Unfortunately, the pair clash at every level, but they both need one another. Especially when they discover the book's opening words: Herein lies the secret to my immortality. Come find me, if you dare. As dark forces close upon the pair, she and her friends are forced to flee, pursued by law enforcement and hunted by a powerful cabal. In an explosive chase across Europe--from the Tower of London to Parisian chateaus to a fortress in the Italian Alps--Sharyn must learn the true secret hidden in Saint-Germain's text. It will send her and the others across history and deep into the heart of one of the world's greatest mysteries, a secret buried at the roots of Western Civilization, a discovery that could topple empires and change humanity forever. For what lies at the end of Saint-Germain's diary is as shocking as its opening words.

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Reading guide

Themes, characters and key ideas in Trust No One, written by Chaptra AI.

  • about 9 hours
  • intermediate
  • mysterious
  • suspenseful
  • adventurous

James Rollins's "Trust No One" plunges university students into a high-stakes international thriller after one of their professors is ritualistically murdered. Falsely accused, American postgraduate Sharyn Karr and British royal Duncan Maxwell must decipher a centuries-old, encrypted diary of the Comte de Saint-Germain, a mystic claiming immortality. Their quest for truth propels them across Europe, from London to the Italian Alps, as they evade both law enforcement and a shadowy, powerful cabal determined to seize the book's profound secrets. The ancient text promises a discovery capable of reshaping humankind, forcing the clashing duo to cooperate to unlock a mystery buried deep within Western Civilization's roots before its dangerous knowledge falls into the wrong hands.

Trust no one.

Key themes

Knowledge and Power
The central theme, highlighted by the quote 'Knowledge can be magic--until it falls into the wrong hands.' The ancient diary contains information that could 'change humankind forever,' presenting a moral dilemma about who should control such profound secrets and the destructive potential if exploited for selfish gain.
Trust and Betrayal
Explicitly stated in the title and the professor's dying warning, 'Trust no one.' This theme permeates the narrative, forcing the protagonists to constantly question motives, discern allies from enemies, and navigate a treacherous landscape where betrayal lurks around every corner.
Conspiracy and Secrecy
The entire plot is driven by a vast, centuries-old conspiracy involving a powerful cabal seeking to control a secret 'buried at the roots of Western Civilization.' It highlights the idea that significant historical events and truths might be hidden from public knowledge, manipulated by unseen forces.

Worth discussing

How does the concept of 'immortality' presented in Saint-Germain's diary challenge or align with traditional understandings of life and death?

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