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"After fifty years in hiding, the Nazi war criminal known as the Butcher of Spiegelgrund has finally been tracked down by Father Anthony Fowler, a CIA operative and a member of the Vatican's secret service. He wants something from the Butcher--a candle covered in filigree that was stolen from a Jewish family many years before. But it isn't the gold Fowler is after. As Fowler holds a flame to the wax, the missing fragment of an ancient map that uncovers the location of the Ten Commandments given to Moses is revealed. Soon Fowler is involved in an expedition to Jordan set up by a reclusive billionaire. But there is a traitor in the group who has ties to terrorist organizations back in the United States, and who is patiently awaiting the moment to strike"--Cover, p. 2.… (more)
User reviews
That's a pretty decent plot summary, actually. The book is NOT a fast-paced
One thing that I DO like in a suspense novel -- I love it when the author shows that they are willing to kill off prominent characters. When you know that nothing is going to happen to a main character, it takes away from the suspense. Gomez-Jurado is more than willing to kill off his characters, so the suspense remains. This would make a great beach book this summer, or a fun weekend read anytime.
The story then shifts to the present day, the doctor has been hunted down as a suspected war criminal and the candle has been recovered because of course this is no ordinary candle it contains a piece of the Copper Scroll which gives the supposed location of The Ark of The Covenant. With the backing of a multi-billionaire and the Vatican a group of archeologists,mercenaries,a couple of cooks, a doctor, a reporter and a priest head off to the Jordanian desert to find it. Nobody in this group is to be trusted, as well as operatives from the CIA and Mossad they have been infiltrated by a terrorist and the mutli-billionaire is hiding something as well. The identity of the CIA operative is given fairly early on in the story but while Jurado may be trying to keep you guessing as to the identity of both the Mossad operative and the terrorist plus the multi-billionaires secret all are far to obvious.
The reporter is the lead female character and while I think that the author was trying to create a strong character what he actually created was an unlikeable bitch. I don't think it's a good sign if you keep hoping for the lea character to be killed. I might be being unfair, maybe he did create a strong character and something got lost in translation.
Overall a quick read but far too predictable.