The Mayan Secrets by Clive Cussler and Thomas Perry is the fifth book of 13 in the Sam and Remi Fargo Adventures Series. In this book, the Fargos are on a humanitarian mission to help people in Mexico after an earthquake. They then stumble upon the remains of a man clutching a pot which contains a Mayan codex that is larger than any previously discovered book. This leads them on an adventure to protect the secrets within the codex before a wealthy, greedy woman can claim the codex and all it reveals for herself.
The Mayan Secrets will take Sam and Remi from Mexico to Guatemala, back to their Oceanside home in California, and then to a remote mountainside village in Guatemala. Throughout their travels, they rely on the research and advice of Selma Wondrash, a trusted employee and friend. She arranges for all their travel plans, contacts knowledgeable colleagues for aid, and cares for the family dog.
True to his style, Cussler begins The Mayan Secrets with a short background chapter, set in Guatemala in 1537. There, late into each night, Dominican Friar Bartolome de Las Casas writes on parchment, by candlelight, a documentation of the Mayan culture. He hopes that his copy of an ancient handwritten book of pictures and symbols will explain to future generations the history of his Mayan converts. Soon Spanish soldiers storm the mission during the night, searching for pagan books. Las Casas leaves the mission and goes to the place where the Mayan Indians are camped, informing them of the threat to destroy their books. A man named Tepu accompanies the friar back to the mission, grabs the book from the priest’s table, stuffs it inside a water pot, and leaves with it for safekeeping after Las Casas blesses him and sends him off.
Meanwhile, the Fargos decide to delve further into the secret Mayan writings they have unearthed. They contact Dr David Caine at the University of California at San Diego, not far from their newly remodelled La Jolla home. Caine examines the Mayan pot, offers to have it carbon-dated for authenticity, and helps them unseal the container. Inside is an ancient book which he identifies as Mayan codex and traces it back to the Spanish conquest during the 1500s and into 1690. Reportedly there are only four, now five, of the codices left, unburned.
The next day, a woman accompanied by three dark-suited men visit the Fargos in a long black limo. Sarah Allersby is an attractive, young woman with a heavy British accent. Information has leaked from locals in Mexico that the Fargos have found a Mayan codex. Sarah says that her sources reveal the existence of the fifth codex, and she is determined to own it. The Fargos reluctantly allow her to have a look at the book, for which she offers them five million dollars. Sam tells her that it is not for sale and that it will eventually go back to Mexico, to be placed as a museum exhibit there. From this encounter, the adventure begins.
Cussler and Perry keep the adventure rolling forward as the Fargos enter foreign and unwelcome territory. They dive deep into the underground pool, retrieving treasures from the undisturbed limestone cavern. Above ground, they are under attack by rifle and heavy-ammo-toting men, bent on killing them. After much fear and trepidation, and under attack by forces sent by Allersby, the Fargos and the residents of the village where the Mayan treasures are located in Guatemala manage to escape unharmed with the help from Sam's former CIA-like, top-secret, quasi-military organisation compatriots who arrive in Apache attack helicopters.
Cussler fans will definitely enjoy this book. Others can enjoy it as a stand-alone adventure.