11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling story, lavishly detailed, January 8, 2007
This review is from: The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud (Hardcover)
Absorbing mix of fact and fiction, The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud is a history lesson within a mystery. Julia Navarro's journalistic instincts are evident in this fascinating re-telling of the origin of the Holy Shroud of Turin. The story is so rich in detail, with historical characters so vividly portrayed, that the reader can forget these events happened centuries ago. Skillfully relating crimes in present-day Turin, Italy with the ancient storyline connects a scheme that deals with secret societies, hidden relics and ancient intrigue to resist the passage of time. This thriller should not be missed!
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Interesting Premise, March 7, 2007
This review is from: The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud (Hardcover)
Ms. Navarro's work of biblical historical fiction is NOT your everyday Da Vinciesque knockoff. She strives for and obtains a more interesting look at one of the great modern day biblical mysteries: What really is the Shroud of Turin? In the process she weaves a tight story of intrigue, historical facts, and possible interesting conclusions with excellent character development and story telling. Actually, The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud is two storied wrapped into one: A modern day mystery coupled with an age old history of a simple piece of burial cloth. Ms. Navarro does an excellent job of joining the two time-lines in a dramatic way to make her premise concerning the Holy Shroud an interesting possibility. Excellent use of historical fact to keep the reader involved. Good use of both time-lines to keep the story moving. The only weakness was a tendency at times to overwrite the story but due to the complex nature of events that can be forgiven. Just use the dates at the beginning of "historical" chapters to keep things in perspective.
Although the plot of the Shroud of Turin seemed simplistic in the beginning, the dramatic turn of events approximately half way through is in itself worth the read. Excellent use of twists and turns to keep the reader engrossed in the story.
Character development was excellent although keeping track of the characters at time can be a little daunting. Again good use of historical fact.
Highly recommended especially if you are a devotee of the Da Vinci Code and Holy Blood Holy Grail genre. I am looking forward to Ms. Navarro's next book.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating and fast-paced novel, January 11, 2007
This review is from: The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud (Hardcover)
Few relics associated with Jesus have inspired such curiosity as the Shroud of Turin, and certainly none has been subjected to as much scrutiny, speculation and scientific analysis. The shroud, purported to be the burial cloth of Jesus, bears the image of a man's face, but despite countless tests --- on the very rare occasions when scientists were allowed access to the highly venerated piece of linen --- modern science is at a loss to explain how the image was transferred to the cloth. And even many skeptics who have viewed the cloth in person, myself included, admit to feeling they have been in the presence of something holy and supernatural.
What better relic to write a novel about? Dan Brown focused on the Holy Grail, something no one today has actually seen unless you believe that the unknown descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene qualify. But hundreds of thousands of people have seen the shroud, and to build a mystery around efforts to destroy, steal or preserve it is genius. The premise is entirely plausible, and author Julia Navarro pulls off dual storylines with seeming ease: that of the legendary history of the shroud through the 14th century and a contemporary criminal investigation into a string of arsons and break-ins at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Turin, Italy, where the shroud is permanently housed.
The book opens by setting up the backstory of how the shroud came to leave first-century Jerusalem and quickly shifts to the aftermath of the most recent fire at the cathedral. Marco Valoni, who heads up the Italian government's Art Crimes Department, is called in to investigate what turns out to be a web of intrigue involving a mysterious cabal of men whose tongues have been cut out --- voluntarily --- to keep them from disclosing their secrets, their plans and the nature of their mission: to steal the shroud that they believe is rightfully theirs.
Threatening to thwart their efforts are three factions: Valoni and his team of investigators, which includes Sofia Galloni, one of the country's top art history experts; Ana Jimenez, a journalist from Barcelona who begins to get a bit too close to the truth; and the modern-day version of the Knights Templar --- yes, the same Knights Templar who populate so much of contemporary fiction and nonfiction alike. The Knights Templar believe that they are called to be the sole guardians of the shroud, and they intend to protect it with their lives.
Navarro intersperses the storyline involving the current crime at the cathedral, and others dating back a hundred years, with the legendary story of how the shroud survived from the death of Jesus through to the 14th century --- which is when carbon-dating has indicated that the cloth was actually made. (As an aside, Navarro offers a fascinating explanation for how linen no older than the 1300s could bear the image of Christ.)
The modern-day story is fast-paced, with believable action and well-defined characters. The historical storyline, however, suffers a bit from the unavoidable --- an overabundance of characters, some imagined, some historical. Navarro had few options in that regard, but the sheer number of players does tend to slow down those chapters. Still, given the amount of territory she covers, the plot moves along quickly enough to sustain the reader's interest. In fact, it moves almost too quickly at the end; I found that I wanted another chapter or two of wrap-up, not so much because of any loose ends but more because it just felt so abrupt.
All in all, THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE HOLY SHROUD is an excellent effort on Navarro's part. Kudos also go to translator Andrew Hurley for his masterful job in rendering Navarro's Spanish-language text into idiom-rich English.
--- Reviewed by Marcia Ford [...]
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