The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

The Lost Symbol is a novel by American suspense author, Dan Brown, the third volume written about Robert Langdon and freemasonry. The preceding books, Angels and Demons, and, of course, The Da Vinci Code, were bestsellers, the latter was a New York Times bestseller. The Lost Symbol became the fastest selling adult fiction of all time at its release in September, 2009, and it has been a number one New York Times best-selling book throughout half a year.

Robert Langdon, a Harvard University symbologist, gets an invitation from Peter Solomon, his mentor and friend, to give a lecture at the United States Capitol. He also needs to bring a small package that he got several years ago. As he arrives, it turns out that Solomon, a 33rd Degree Mason, was abducted, and actually the culprit lured Langdon there. The kidnapper, named Mal’akh, left Solomon’s severed hand on the scene, and blackmails Langdon to find the Mason Pyramid (supposedly somewhere underground Washington DC) – otherwise Solomon will die. When they learn who Mal’akh is, it makes things even worse…