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One of History’s Most Sacred Treasures. . .
An Age-Old Secret Conspiracy. . .
Now the Truth Is Revealed. . . .
Marco Valoni, chief of Italy’s Art Crimes Department, is convinced a fire in the Cathedral of Turin that leaves a strangely mutilated, unidentifiable body on the scene was no accident. It is merely the last in a long type of mishaps, going back over 100 years, which may have occurred in the church – which happens to be home from what an incredible number of the faithful believe is that authentic burial shroud of Jesus Christ.
Valoni and his crack team of specialists embark on an investigation that soon leads them into dangerous territory, territory handled by a few of the most powerful men on earth. Not merely do they discover evidence of a secret Christian sect that traces its priests to the disciples of Jesus himself, but also that the Knights Templar – supposedly destroyed forever when Philip the Fair of France watched their last Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, burn at the stake in 1314 – might not exactly have disappeared at all, and could indeed be very much alive and mixed up in 21st century.
Julia Navarro skillfully weaves the Italians’ thrilling present-day investigation with the spine-tingling history of the Holy Shroud itself, and with a chilling tale of ancient rivals, equally devoted to the relic, and equally willing to sacrifice anything – maybe even their immortal souls–to have it.
From communities of the center East founded by Jesus himself, to medieval Byzantium, to the highest councils of the Vatican and the boardrooms that run the globe today, The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud is a provocative page-turner of the highest order – one that will challenge you to believe.
"The screams of the tortured men echoed within the thick walls of the dungeons. How many days had passed given that they were arrested? The Templars had lost count. . . .
A man, his face concealed by the hood, watched the suffering of the knights from the shadows, these knights who had once wielded their swords and risked their very lives to guard the Cross. Reveling in their torment, sick with avarice and cruelty, Philippe signaled the torturers to move on…. Broken and bloodied, Jacques de Molay could not see, but he sensed who it was beneath the hood. A smile came to the Grand Master’s lips when the king demanded that he confess where he previously hidden the holy shroud of Jesus.
At last Philippe saw that it was futile to keep. De Molay would not yield….
Fire started to burn the Templars’ ravaged flesh. Jacques de Molay’s eyes remained fixed on Philippe, and before him and the people of Paris the Grand Master proclaimed his innocence and called down divine justice on the king of France and Pope Clement, summoning these to stand with him prior to the judgment of God within the entire year.
A shiver ran down Philippe’s spine as de Molay’s words rang out. No, God cannot be privately of the Templars, these heretics. He, Philippe, king of France, was obeying the laws of the Church.
But was he obeying the laws of God?"
—From The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud
From the Hardcover edition.
