Summary
Do you believe?
Italy, 1631: a priest is protected from the Inquisition after levitating during a Mass.
USA, fifteen years ago: a young girl miraculously escapes unscathed from a deadly house fire.
France, this year: an elderly nun goes missing.
Germany, this year: a harmless hermit goes fishing and is never seen alive again.
Frank Kingdom knows better than anyone what connects these events. And they mean he must return to the The Desa Foundation. A secret has kept him away from its headquarters for many years. Now he must do whatever it takes to get back there and save it.
If he fails, his secret will be revealed.
If he fails, the centuries old Foundation will be destroyed.
If he fails, the zealots of Malleus Dei will launch a bloody crusade on the world.
But Kingdom will fight to prevent all of that because he doesn’t just believe.
He knows….
Characters
I was a little divided on Frank Kingdom. He was an interesting character but the way he was portrayed was underwhelming at times. Trinity was like a wounded bird but tough and resourceful. At times Christine or even the ‘villain’ were more interesting then Frank, when he should have been the most interesting character. There were long chapters with point of view (POV) breaks. Mostly the narrative follows a single character well, most of it being with Frank, but there are POV shifts right in the middle (without a break) which muddled the perspectives.
Plot
Interesting but predictable. The author leads you down a path and then fulfills that promise. Which was both nice and disappointing. There was no twist other then the additional fight scene at the end. What should have been a tense secondary climax ended like a cheesy bond villain. The story does wrap up nicely. Overall I’d label this a slow burning suspense. It’s a good book in it’s category and although it wasn’t appeal at times for me, if you like lots of detail and lots of hints, this would be great book to pick up!
I am not a fan of religious books, but this didn’t press the reader. Instead it explored history and wrapped the know with the unknown. It is less about God and Catholicism and more about believing in miracles. That play on hope is a positive aspect of the novel. I won’t give away the final ‘twist’ but it is so heavily hinted that honestly I’ll be surprised if you miss it.
Overall
The story was long winded at times. The tension in the novel could greatly been improved by making the writing punchier. There were times the story languished because of the over descriptive and detailed language. Even worse it felt like it rambled at times, almost like it was streaming someone’s consciousness. That was coupled with great analogies and great action sequences. I enjoyed the relationship and dialogue between Frank and Trinity, it was a highlight of the novel.
Rating
3.5 (rounded down)
A slow burning suspense that has a decent lead and plot.
Where did I get it?
Kindle Unlimited.
When Nitya’s yearning for adventure brings her into contact with a…
