Working as a researcher in the Vatican’s Secret Archives, Father Garbaldi stumbles across a first century papyrus that claims Jesus was John the Baptist’s disciple and the second Messiah who would drive out the Romans from Palestine and rule over the twelve tribes of Israel. If revealed, the papyrus could seriously undermine the Church’s position and cause widespread unrest. As a priest, Garbaldi is shocked by the revelation, but before reporting his find, he decides to validate the papyrus. He goes to see an old seminary friend in Boston to get the tractate independently dated.
 
The Vatican secret service, The Entity, is made aware of the papyrus and sends an assassin to eliminate Garbaldi and his friend to prevent disclosure. Garbaldi survives the initial attempt on his life and seeks protection from the authorities. It’s up to the FBI now to track down the assassin and grapple with the faceless men behind The Entity.
 
Advance review
 
This is a must-read novel involving an international trail of investigation, historical cover-ups, some damning evidence about the Catholic Church, and a whole lot of action guaranteed to make readers rethink Dan Brown for gripping drama. The author has also kept links with two interesting characters from his novel Cry of Eagles: Thomas Meecham, FBI agent, and Mark Price, Department of Homeland Security. This keeps a familiar thread running through his works and generates extra interest.
 
The wealth of background research and information certainly adds to a story that spans a few thousand years and draws the reader back into centuries-old theological battles without overwhelming the plot. An interesting, compelling novel, I recommend it highly.
- Fiona Ingram for Readers Favorite: *****