The Magdalene Deception: 1 (The Magdalene Chronicles)

Product Information

The Vatican is well described, with its hidden treasures and writings, the rivalries and ambitions within, and secrets which caused many conspiracy theories to spring up. Michael becomes friends with a Swiss Guard and meets his cousin Hana who is a journalist from a very wealthy Swiss banking family. The military training and experience of the Swiss Guards was a surprise to me. When photographing them in their elaborate, multi-coloured uniforms, I thought these men served a decorative function. The Magdalene Deception was a really entertaining read for me especially considering Jesuit Priest Michael Dominic had just got a job working in the Secret Archives at the Vatican with the responsibility of going through archival documents and verifying their existence. While doing his job he stumbles across a particular papyrus that could break open a cornerstone to religious belief and show it for the lie that it is. Thus turning the words of the Catholic Church and all of Christendom on it's head. But this discovery doesn't come without danger either. Dominic is a classical medievalist whose rapid rise in the church was engineered by his mentor, Cardinal Enrico Petrini, who's known Michael since he was a boy. A forbidden secret . . . The Church's fate in the balance . . . Will a pair of amateur sleuths expose a truth that could upend the Christian world?

A rip-roaring adventure with great characters. Even if you know nothing about the Cathars or the geographic areas, you will find the story riveting. There is even a hint at things to come and a tinge of romance. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Hana is researching an article about the Vatican bank conspiring to hide gold stolen from Jews during WWII, and the two researchers are natural allies.This is a Vatican thriller with a believable storyline. The plot builds very slowly with intense action scenes near its conclusion. It is rich or dense (depending on the readers' reaction) with historic facts and speculations, making the story highly credible. Frequently pausing in my reading, I often consulted Wikipedia and Google which caused me to highly admire the author's scholarly knowledge and historical research. It was well-written but could have used some more lighter moments. First and foremost, a large thank you to Reedsy Discovery and Gary McAvoy for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review. This rather historical touch was ok for me, though I imagine that some readers could feel slightly overwhelmed by this cornucopia of historical context at times. What might have happened as a result of this much historical context is that the characters do not really have room to develop in any way. Maybe it is simply the wrong genre for that, but this focus on historical context and developments took away some suspense and atmosphere, which made the characters less interesting than I’d have liked them to be. There could have been room for Michael and Hana getting a little closer, but no. First of all the plot and style of writing do not really allow that, and in addition, Michael is a Catholic priest, so, no chance at all. However, at least they travelled through a nice European setting, with pretty accurate descriptions of the different places.

For those of you who are fans of Indiana Jones (Last Crusade and Raiders), Daniel Silva's "A Death in Vienna," or the mystery/thriller genre, you will thoroughly enjoy this book. And the sequel, in my opinion, is just as good if not better!Brother Mendoza is very excited about exhuming documents unseen for centuries, and - instead of asking for assistance - injures himself retrieving a large book from a high shelf.