This is a fun, fast read in the vein of The Da Vinci Code, National Treasure, or anything with Knights Templar that involves finding lost items, and/or sleuthing to reach an objective. For me, you really, really need to suspend all reality for this one. Take Dues Ex Machina and run it into the ground. Apostle stones missing or hidden for 2000 years are rather easily found and retrieved in just a matter of days. Toss in some loyalty and betrayal, a three-pronged motivation to gain the stones, some sexy, fit characters and boom – you’ve got the story. Action starts fast – a nun burned alive in Varanasi with some weird atmospheric occurrences. The Pentecost stones – scattered through the ages – hold power that can cause great good or harm. Now the race is on to gather the stones to save or destroy the day. Toss in some cool religious architecture, and super-secret agencies, a tight timeline, and there you are. Like I said – it was entertaining. This book (and I assume the others) are travel reads and/or guilty pleasure escapism.
3 of 5 Stars
From the Publisher:
India. When a nun is burned alive on the sacred ghats of Varanasi, and the stone she carried is stolen, an international hunt is triggered for the relics of the early church.
Forged in the fire and blood of martyrs, the Pentecost stones have been handed down through generations of Keepers who kept their power and locations secret.
Until now.
The Keepers are being murdered, the stones stolen by those who would use them for evil in a world transformed by religious fundamentalism.
Oxford University psychologist Morgan Sierra is forced into the search when her sister and niece are held hostage. She is helped by Jake Timber from the mysterious ARKANE, a British government agency specializing in paranormal and religious experience. Morgan must risk her own life to save her family, but will she ultimately be betrayed?
From ancient Christian sites in Spain, Italy and Israel to the far reaches of Iran and Tunisia, Morgan and Jake must track down the stones through the myths of the early church in a race against time before a new Pentecost is summoned, this time powered by the fires of evil.
