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Book Reviews May 2006

This book is a stunning international thriller of psychology and conspiracy, espionage and prophecy, history and suspense. After someone he has under surveillance is slaughtered, literally, CIA agent Jack Dunphy is ordered to leave London immediately and return to the US, where he is dumped into a tedious desk job that seems calculated to make him quit. Determined to learn why, Dunphy uses all his CIA tradecraft on the agency that has turned against him and discovers the fragments of a story that seems too wild to be true, providing him with evidence of a conspiracy that goes back to the time of Christ, a conspiracy so vast and deep and old that the CIA itself is but a cover for it. Embroiled in a plot far more elaborate than he ever could have imagined, with players too powerful and consequences too deadly, Dunphy must uncover the shocking truth or die trying...From the Publisher
A gripping, page-turning novel in which a CIA man goes on the run from a sinister cabal, intent on maintaining the secret identity of the last survivor of the line of Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ. By the co-author of the bestseller (250,000 sold in Arrow) The Genesis Code. Review: doesn't let up for an instant, another take on the Jesus gospel conspiracy theories, but that doesn't come out until near the end. Heart-stopping action - almost like a Die Hard movie, and if I was called upon to cast it for the cinema, Bruce Willis would be my first choice for the part of Jack Dunphy

An orthodox Jew is found shot dead in Montreal, the mutilated body is barely recognisable. Extreme heat has accelerated decomposition, and made it virtually impossible to determine the bullet trajectory. But just as forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan is attempting to make sense of the fracture patterning, a mysterious stranger slips her a photograph of a skeleton, assuring her it holds the key to the victim's death...The trail of clues leads all the way to the Holy Land where, together with detective Andrew Ryan, Tempe makes a startling discovery - but the further Tempe probes into the identity of the ancient skeleton, the more she seems to be putting herself in danger...From the Publisher: The latest gripping thriller from world-class forensic anthropologist, Kathy Reichs, bestselling author of Bare Bones and Monday Mourning. Review: Yet another take on the Jesus conspiracy theories, this time involving the discovery of ossuaries and bones from the time of Christ, and suggestions of a Jesus dynasty. This one's based on fact (see my review of the Jesus Dynasty on the Harper page) and the forensic science is compelling and fascinating. I can see why it's the number one bestseller at the moment.

She wore a gold dress, short-sleeved, its skirt full-length and slightly flared. He could see the faint indentation on her left hand, a pale circle of skin giving away the fact that, until recently, a wedding ring had been there. She looked peaceful, lying there on the bed, her arms resting easily together, the left hand on the right, a slender silver cross and chain encircling her neck, and not a wrinkle, not a fold of her dress out of place. And, perhaps, she truly was at peace. For she was dead. This was the sight that greeted Detective Inspector Frank Elder on his first case with the Serious Crimes Unit. His first case and never solved; no one was ever charged; the murderer never found. At liberty to walk the streets, and to kill again. Eight years later, Elder's estranged wife contacts him in his Cornish hideaway. Her friend's sister Claire - a quiet and withdrawn widow in her fifties - has mysteriously disappeared. Elder, reluctantly, agrees to dig around and see what he can find. Then Claire is found, dead, arranged with meticulous detail on her bed, and it doesn't take long for Elder to make the connection. It's obviously the work of the same unbalanced individual and, to find the killer, Elder must shine a light into the darkest recesses of human behaviour, the dark and twisted recesses of a disturbed human mind...From the Publisher: 'John Harvey is one of my favourite authors. Whenever he has a new book out it goes straight to the top of my reading list.' - Peter Robinson. Review: John Harvey never disappoints. This is another Frank Elder mystery, a little reminiscent of the New Tricks series about to start a third series lon BBC One, but it's a great story, well filled with believable and sympathetic characters. Bring on a TV version of Elder - it would be great. First class.

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Gateway is published by Paul Edmund Norman on the first day of each month. Hosting is by Flying Porcupine at www.flyingporcupine.com - and web design by Gateway. Submitting to Gateway: Basically, all you need do is e-mail it along and I'll consider it - it can be any length, if it's very long I'll serialise it, if it's medium-length I'll put it in as a novella, if it's a short story or a feature article it will go in as it comes. Payment is zero, I'm afraid, as I don't make any money from Gateway, I do it all for fun! For Advertising rates in Gateway please contact me at Should you be kind enough to want to send me books to review, please contact me by e-mail and I will gladly forward you my home address. Meanwhile, here's how to contact me: Gateway banner created by and © Paul Edmund Norman

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