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 skepticalβafter all, fake relics abounded during the Middle Agesβbut 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 Comingβand 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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