Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
---|---|---|
Searching... Woodburn Public Library | McGowan | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Maureen Paschal thought she might rest and work on her book after discovering the gospel written by Mary Magdalene that revealed Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married. The truth of their story rocked the world and made Maureen a target of those who did not like her discovery and a heroine to those who did. Then Maureen receives a strange package containing what looks like an ancient letter written in Latin and signed with a symbol. She discovers that its author is an extraordinary woman whom history has overlooked -- or covered up -- Countess Matilda of Tuscany, and in the letter Matilda demands the return of her "most precious books and documents." Maureen soon finds herself in a race across Italy and France, where hidden dangers await her and her lover, Bérenger, as they begin to realize that they are on the trail of another explosive discovery: the Book of Love, the Gospel written in Jesus' own hand. As Maureen learns more about Matilda, an eleventh century warrior countess who was secretly married to a pope, she begins to see the eerie connections between herself and Matilda, connections she must trace to their source if she is to stop the wrong people from finding the Book of Love and hiding it forever. Weaving together Matilda's little-known true story and Maureen's thrilling search, The Book of Love follows two amazing heroines as their stories intertwine through time. Maureen is immersed in the mysteries of the labyrinth, the beautiful poetry of the Song of Songs, the world's greatest art and architecture, and Matilda's amazing legacy...until a potentially fatal encounter reveals the Book of Love to Maureen -- and to the reader.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Maureen Paschal, last seen discovering the secrets of Mary Magdalene in The Expected One, returns in this overstuffed sequel. Haunted by dreams of Jesus telling her to search for "the Book of Love," Maureen, now a bestselling novelist, takes off for France, where her estranged lover, Berenger Sinclair, reveals that the mysterious manuscript is supposed to be a gospel written by Christ and whose existence is merely a rumor. Both Maureen and Berenger receive strange clues pointing them toward the story of Countess Matilda of Tuscany, an 11th-century noblewoman and an early champion of the Book of Love. With the help of Maureen's cousin, a Jesuit scholar at the Vatican, Maureen confronts dangerous forces bent on covering up the truth and follows Matilde's trail though Belgium, Italy and France, culminating in a stunning sequence within the Chartres Cathedral. However, Matilda's hefty story line exists uneasily next to Maureen's contemporary narrative and relies too much on long-winded narration to explain Christian esoterica. Series fans and readers into Da Vinci Code-style church intrigue will enjoy the hell out of this. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
This sequel to The Expected One (2006), in which journalist Maureen Pascal uncovered scrolls written by Mary Magdalene, finds Pascal receiving a mysterious document, written in Latin, that may point to the secret location of The Book of Love, the supposedly mythical gospel written by Jesus Christ. A race against time ensues, with Pascal trying to bring the book to the world before various villains can stop her. McGowan, who says she began working on the first book long before The Da Vinci Code was published, has clearly tapped into the same rich vein of religious conspiracies and secret societies. A cynic might write both her books off as preposterous nonsense, but in fact the stories are intellectually engaging, forcing the reader to imagine what might happen if The Book of Love were real. On the other hand, the novel is definitely a bit ponderous: characters spend inordinate amounts of time telling each other things they should probably already know. McGowan is not an especially adroit storyteller, but it's the story itself that makes the book appealing for a large chunk of thriller fans.--Pitt, David Copyright 2009 Booklist
Library Journal Review
This second entry in McGowan's "Magdalene Line" series is sure to please fans of The Expected One and entice new readers enthralled with conspiracy theories. Following her discovery of the Mary Magdalene gospel and the subsequent publication of her fictional account of that discovery, journalist Maureen Paschal and Madgalene scholar Berenger Sinclair receive a mysterious package holding an ancient document written in Latin and in code. Research determines that the diary belonged to a little-known woman from history, Matilda of Tuscany. Her diary reveals Matilda's participation in a secret Cather society, her marriage to a pope, and her mission to protect what may just be the most important book in history-the teachings of Jesus, written in his own hand. From Rome to France, from the Inquisition to the present, Maureen and Berenger search for clues that will lead them to the brink of danger while they fulfill their own destiny. McGowan is a master storyteller, and her latest will appeal to Da Vinci Code fans still awaiting Dan Brown's next thriller. Highly recommended for all public libraries and academic libraries with conspiracy collections.-Nanci Milone Hill, Nevins Memorial Lib., Methuen, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.