The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud

October 30, 2006
For readers who can't get enough of the religious suspense genre, here's a heaping helping of more of the same. When the unidentified body of a tongueless man turns up in the ashes of a suspicious fire in the Turin cathedral, home of the Holy Shroud of Turin, Marco Valoni, director of the Italian Art Crimes Department, investigates. This gruesome find reflects a pattern of tongueless men and mysterious fires that goes back many years and centers on the shroud. A history of Jesus' burial cloth through the ages alternates with a modern mystery involving several shadowy, anonymous groups of powerful, wealthy men, who either want to steal the sacred cloth or protect it. Marco and his band of art crimes cops and researchers must piece together who wants what and why. This was a bestseller in Europe, and while Navarro never gets up to Da Vinci Code
speed, she does neatly solve the pesky problem of just why carbon dating puts the age of the shroud at the 13th or 14th century.

November 15, 2006
Can you read one more Brotherhood of Something or Other book? This one was powerful enough to vanquish Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" in Navarro's native Spain. But will it be as popular here? There's a fire in the Turin Cathedral, home of the Holy Shroud, and investigators with the Art Crimes Department start to suspect that the history of accidents at the cathedral has been anything but. Things turn dangerous for the investigators when they get too close to two secret societies, one of them the Templars and both sworn to protect the Shroud. First novelist Navarro weaves a tale of mystery and intrigue that begins in Edessa in the ancient Middle East, circa 30 C.E., and ends in modern Turin. With rich detail, she traces the journey the Shroud has made from its origin as a simple burial cloth to the venerated relic it is today. She even explains why testing dates it from the Middle Ages. "Brotherhood" is to the Holy Shroud what "Da Vinci Code" is to the Holy Grail. Recommended for most popular fiction collections. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 9/1/06.]Laura A.B. Cifelli, Ft. Myers-Lee Cty. P.L., FL

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2006
This internationally best-selling first novel takes place in modern-day Italy and across the ages. A fire at the Turin cathedral, where Jesus' shroud is about to be displayed, leads to the discovery of a secret group that is after the holy relic. Descended from a disciple of Jesus who obtained the original shroud, those sent to reclaim the cloth cut out their tongues so they will not disclose their mission. Out to foil their plans are modern-day Knights Templar, who believe they are the true guardians of the shroud. Navarro's story flips back and forth, covering the Italian police's investigation into the fire and following the shroud's journey from the first century CE. Plenty of action and a cast of well-drawn characters will satisfy" The Da Vinci Code" fans, though, as in Dan Brown's book, the biblical history is not always accurate. But fans of the genre will find much to like here, and Navarro even provides an explanation as to how the Shroud of Turin can be a true relic even though the cloth has been carbon-dated to the Middle Ages.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)

February 26, 2007
The Da Vinci Code
, in all its many incarnations, has a lot to answer for. This latest entry in the religious suspense sweepstakes is by a bestselling Spanish novelist, who stirs up the pot by mixing fact and fiction to tell what happened to the legendary Shroud of Turin, supposedly Jesus' burial garment. Several centuries of sturm und drang—including perhaps one severed tongue too many—whiz by, lightened only by the odd liturgical chant, as reader Langton uses his best Masterpiece Theater
British accent to hit the high points. Of course there's a modern detective who develops some new leads. But unless you positively can't live without your daily dose of anti-Vatican paranoia, this is probably one to skip. Simultaneous release with the Bantam hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 30).