By Kayla Hamilton

Selling one million copies in its first day alone, Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” remains a best-selling novel today since its release in 2009. Brown is also the author of other bestsellers like “The Da Vinci Code” and “Angels and Demons.”
The Lost Symbol starts out like any of Brown’s novels—-with a mystery. Robert Langdon, the infamous Harvard symbologist, who somehow always finds himself the center of attention, receives a call from his dear friend Peter Solomon to lecture at the U.S. Capitol Building. Willing to do almost anything for Peter, Robert is whisked off to the event at no expense (that he is aware of).
Upon his arrival, Langdon is put into the midst of another mystery of even more epic proportions. Langdon finds Peter Solomon’s severed hand laden with symbology and a mystery that needs to be solved in order to save Peter’s life. Langdon must decode the mystery in order to unlock a “world of ancient mysteries and hidden knowledge.” Along with Solomon being kidnapped, Langdon finds that a maniac criminal is his captor, and if this weren’t enough, the CIA is involved.
Brown effectively ties events and characters together to give the reader no doubt that this mystery could indeed exist. Supporting all that he says with historical facts concerning freemasonry and its roots in our country make this story just that much more believable.
Although Brown can tie everything together, he can also drag the story on. Just when you think the end is near, another twist is wound in giving the book a never-ending story kind of theme. Fact after fact may seem like it is getting old, but it is all worth it for the truth at the end.
The New York Times correctly calls Brown’s book ‘a roller coaster ride.’ The plot will always keep you guessing for Brown’s mysteries are never as cut and dry as black and white. I would recommend this novel for anyone who is a mystery and history lover. Rich with interesting facts, Brown’s The Lost Symbol will not be lost any time soon among readers of any age.