THE INQUISITOR'S KEY by Jefferson Bass is a thrilling ride
connecting the past and the present, turning the world we
know on its head before carefully bringing us home rattled
and euphoric.
A set of mysterious bones are found inside a stone ossuary
inscribed with a lamb and a cross at the Palace of the
Popes in Avignon, France. Dr. Bill Brockton is called in by
his research assistant Miranda Lovelady to examine the
skeleton and determine if they could truly be the bones of
Jesus of Nazareth.
From the beginning, both have their doubts, but as they dig
into the past, connecting the skeleton to the face on the
Shroud of Turin they find themselves in the middle of what
could be the biggest archeological find ever.
Bill Brockton shows a surprising vulnerability which
creates an instant connection. He's smart, talented,
driven, an expert in his field even, and yet he's
touchingly human with his goofy sense of humor and his
uncertainty when dealing with Miranda. Even secondary
characters are given wonderful stories, rounding out their
personalities.
The tiny details of THE INQUISITOR'S KEY, from small
characterizations
to vivid descriptions of the settings add layers to the
story. While it is intricate in the amount of detail that's
used, the story isn't dull. There's never the urge to skip
ahead past all the technical jargon or just skim over the
parts describing the history. The pacing increases as you
ready, building that steady tension as all the elements
come together for an unexpected finale.
I think my favorite element of THE INQUISITOR'S KEY was how
the past
truly came to life. It wasn't simply talking about events
that happened, but it gave those events a face, a story. In
doing so, it made the bones so much more than an important
archeological find. It made them a person who loved, who
died horrifically, who touched others through his life and
death. It also magnified how people, no matter the century,
are still people; flawed, creative, talented, faithful,
compassionate, greedy people.
THE INQUISITOR'S KEY is evocative, intriguing, astute, and
just plain fun to read.
Miranda Lovelady, Dr. Bill Brockton's protege, is
spending the summer helping excavate a newly discovered
chamber beneath the spectacular Palace of the Popes in
Avignon, France. There she discovers a stone chest inscribed
with a stunning claim: inside lie the bones of none other
than Jesus of Nazareth. Faced with a case of unimaginable
proportions, Miranda summons Brockton for help proving or
refuting the claim. Both scientists are skeptical—after all,
fake relics abounded during the Middle Ages—but evidence for
authenticity looks strong initially, and soon grows
stronger.
Brockton and Miranda link the bones to the
haunting image on the Shroud of Turin, revered by millions
as the burial cloth of Christ, and then a laboratory test
finds the bones to be two thousand years old. The finding
triggers a deadly tug-of-war between the anthropologists,
the Vatican, and a deadly zealot who hopes to use the bones
to bring about the Second Coming—and trigger the end of
time.
Set against an international landscape, and
weaving a rich tapestry of religion, history, art, and
science, The Inquisitor's Key takes Jefferson Bass to
an exciting new level of suspense.
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