A priest from the Vatican is found nailed to a cross in Norway and he is jus the first of such murders across the globe.
A scroll is found in long forgotten Catacombs in Italy. The two are linked but how? Running for their life Dr Boyde and his assistant Maria must find out who is so desperate to stop them validating the information held in the scroll and bringing Christianity to its knees.
There is a real influx of books based around
religion at present. Some have made a re-appearance and most have jumped on the hype that The De Vinci Code created. The Sign of The Cross has been very well researched and blends fact and fiction together well. Unlike a lot of books along the same vane the author does not explain what is real and what is not in their notes at the end of the book. Allowing the reader to carry on
believing or not believing or to go and find out for themselves about the history of religion and that of the Roman Empire.
The book rattles along at a good pace with short and snappy chapters so it is easy to pick up and read a quick snippet. Where it does fail is in the connection with the characters. Dr Boyde is a stereotypical Brit – even though he seems to be American. Maria and another character are Italian and there are a fair few “Mama Mia!” are thrown in for good measure. Anyway also seems to have been the author’s word of choice and you’ll notice this a fair few times when reading this book.
I would recommend this book. It’s a nice and easy read and not very taxing. You can see it being a no brainer Hollywood blockbuster and one that this reader would enjoy watching a lot more than The De Vinci Code.