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The Hidden Assassinsby: Robert Wilson |
The Grail Conspiracyby Lynn Sholes & Joe MooreThe Grail Conspiracy, by co-authors Lynn Sholes and Joe Moore, is sure to delight all Catholic murder-mystery fans, especially those who believe in Lucifer as the fallen essence of evil and the Vatican as the be-all and end-all of Christianity. In spite of their orthodox take on some Biblical quotes, the authors' unorthodox ideas of a possible 'Second Coming' make an excellent fictional tale with a basis grounded in truth. The Grail Conspiracy takes one of Christianity's holiest (as yet actually undiscovered) relicsand creates a murder mystery involving it that rivals anything written to date with a supernatural twist. Cotton Stone is dumped out in the middle of an Iraqi desert, and unexpectedly comes upon an archeological dig just in time to witness the deaths of two contenders for a find – one of whom murmurs the identical words of Cotton's twin sister just before he dies; in a language supposedly known only to the twins themselves. The find itself is in a black box which apparently has no lid or any other way of discovering the contents. Cotton is a TV journalist, working under her boss, Ted Casselman. Ignoring his directions, she had wound up in Baghdad, bent on exposing the plight of women and children refugees (while getting a jump on her own career in a hostile, male-oriented setting). When Cottom eventually arrives back in New York she meets John Tyler, a priest on vacation – who opens the box. When they discover that it contains a cup, they take it to the Vatican in Rome for authorization. Charles Sinclair leads a group of highly influential men called the Guardians. They're also interested in securing the cup – now authenticated as the Grail – for their own purposes. Cotton has misplaced one of her video tapes, and it evidently fell out of her backpack at the archeological dig – meaning anyone interested in the Grail could trace it back to her. Ben Gearhart (associate of Sinclair), Robert Wingate (presidential candidate), Cardinal Antonio Iannuci (Vatican Curator), Vanessa Perez (close friend of Cotton's), and Thornton Graham, a previous lover and TV news idol are all names important to the story. The struggle for ownership of the Grail between Sinclair's Guardians and Cotton (with John, with whom she's feeling an increasing attraction) involves the usual murder and unusual circumstances such as Sinclair's rather odd advisor. The Grail Conspiracy concludes with the Grail being restored to Vatican archives. The novel possesses all the requisite suspense plus supernatural forces plus a satisfactory ending. If you happen to be of the Catholic faith, as I've already mentioned, and believe in the Bible as the implicit Word of God, then this mystery is a real find. But even if you're not a Catholic and just a murder-mystery fan, The Grail Conspiracy presents an entirely different concept and a fascinating mystery as well. Alan Paul Curtis |
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