Surprised that his brother Simon, a Roman Catholic priest still hadn't arrived for dinner, Alex Andreou, a married (but separated from his wife) Greek Catholic priest, gets a desperate call for help from his brother. Dashing off to Castel Gandolfo, Alex is shocked by what he sees. After calling the police and finally being allowed to go home, Alex is still shaken after seeing the body of his friend and a famous museum curator whose exhibit is just about to open at the Vatican. Why would someone kill him? Why was Simon there?
Later after arriving home, Alex finds Peter, his five year old son, and Sister Helena who had been caring for the boy, unharmed but frightened, after a break-in at their apartment. What is going on? Are these events related? Will the brothers, divided by their religious orders, but united by family and history, find out what is really behind these events? Are their lives in danger?
THE FIFTH GOSPEL is written by Ian Caldwell who spent over ten years of his life devoted to developing this very intriguing and intricate mystery. His research and careful plotting of every word makes THE FIFTH GOSPEL an amazingly easy book to read as the words flow so beautifully and clearly; yet it is so stimulating and resplendent in detail that I absolutely did not want the story to end. Co-authored with Dustin Thomason, Caldwell's first book, THE RULE OF FOUR was a best seller on the New York Times list for over a year and I am sure THE FIFTH GOSPEL will be just as strong a best seller as well!
THE FIFTH GOSPEL moves very quickly from an ordinary family scene, then swiftly builds the suspense so quickly that you just want to keep reading on and only stopping once in a while to catch your breath! It is an action packed story that is nicely balanced by fascinating historical details about the early Christian church, Biblical interpretation, relics (including the famous Shroud) and church politics. Fans of conspiracy, religion and Vatican stories are sure to enjoy the thrill of the story behind the discovery of the Diatessaron (fifth gospel) and its implications for potentially reuniting together again the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic branches of the Christian church.
In THE FIFTH GOSPEL, Caldwell carefully illustrates the discrepancies between the various gospels while still upholding the overarching truth they contain. The result is a storyline that is intelligent, captivating and filled with art, history and theology, interlaced with political undercurrents. THE FIFTH GOSPEL is set in 2004 as Pope John Paul II is nearing the end of his time as head of the Roman Catholic church and Caldwell takes us right into the inner sancta of the Vatican. The settings in THE FIFTH GOSPEL are so vividly described and the story is filled with such realistic characters and strong human emotion that at times it is hard to believe this is a novel.
To tell you any more would be unfair to your reading experience and to the secrets in THE FIFTH GOSPEL! Don't miss out on this fascinating reading treasure!
In Ian Caldwellβs masterful follow-up to his international
sensation The Rule of Four, a lost gospel, a contentious
relic, and a dying popeβs final wish converge to send two
brothersβboth Vatican priestsβon an intellectual quest to
untangle Christianityβs greatest historical mystery.
Ten years ago, Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomasonβs The Rule
of Four became a literary phenomenon that earned
comparisons
to Umberto Ecoβs The Name of the Rose and Donna Tarttβs
The
Secret History. Hailed as "ingenious...profoundly erudite"
(The New York Times), "compulsively readable" (People),
and
"an exceptional piece of scholarship" (San Francisco
Chronicle), it spent forty-nine weeks on the New York
Times
bestseller list, sold nearly two million copies in North
America, and was translated into thirty-five languages
around the world. Now, after a decade of painstaking
primary
research, Ian Caldwell returns with a new intellectual
thriller that confirms his place among the most ambitious
popular storytellers working today.
In 2004, as Pope John Paul IIβs reign enters its twilight,
a
mysterious exhibit is under construction at the Vatican
Museums. A week before it is scheduled to open, its
curator
is murdered at a clandestine meeting on the outskirts of
Rome. The same night, a violent break-in rocks the home of
the curatorβs research partner, Father Alex Andreou, a
Greek
Catholic priest who lives inside the Vatican with his
five-year-old son. When the papal police fail to identify
a
suspect in either crime, Father Alex, desperate to keep
his
family safe, undertakes his own investigation. To find the
killer he must reconstruct the dead curatorβs secret: what
the four Christian gospelsβand a little-known, true-to-
life
fifth gospel known as the Diatessaronβreveal about the
Churchβs most controversial holy relic. But just as he
begins to understand the truth about his friendβs death
and
its consequences for the future of the worldβs two largest
Christian Churches, Father Alex finds himself hunted down
by
someone with vested stakes in the exhibitβsomeone he must
outwit to survive.
At once a riveting literary thriller, a feast of biblical
history and scholarship, and a moving family drama, The
Fifth Gospel is a novel about the depths of sacrifice and
the power of forgiveness. Rich, authentic, erudite, and
emotionally searing, it satisfies on every level.
No excerpt available.
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