Customer Reviews

The Rose Conspiracy

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I want to start of by saying that I loved this book. I am a tough sell, but once I find a book I like, I just can't put it down. The Rose Conspiracy was certainly a page turner! It was well-written with a carefully developed plot. The characters were bold and life-like. It was light reading by any measure, it was very intense. Many books have me flipping to the back of the book to find the predictable ending, but Parshall kept me engaged and I read every page until the end. I highly recommend this book to those who like a good mystery. As the icing on top, there was a good, moral message that underlies the entire novel. Kudos to the author!

The Rose Conspiracy by Craig Parshall is another book in the growing genre of mysterious books and secret societies, ala The DaVinci Code. J.D. Blackstone is a hotshot D.C. lawyer with a fast car, an addiction to adrenalin, and no personal relationships. When Vinnie Archmount is accused of murdering a Smithsonian official to steal the missing pages of John Wilkes Booth's diary, she calls in Blackstone to defend her. The case quickly goes from mysterious to dangerous as there is an attempt on his life, and the deeper Blackstone investigates, the more secrets he uncovers. Throw in the Masons, the secret to eternal life, and the Gnostic Gospels, and you have plenty of thrills. I've read some of Parshall's books, and I have to say this is the weakest of them. The characters aren't fully formed beyond stereotypes, so it's really hard to care about Blackstone's grief about his lost family or Vinnie's arrest. The whole book just felt a little too slick to me. Blackstone is hard to like, and the Christian aspects are mini-sermons.

Upon receiving this book and looking at the blurb on the back cover, I was prepared not to like it. It has "conspiracy" in the title and mentioned the Freemasons in the blurb.

In addition, it was a Christian novel. I don't read many of those because they tend to be romances (UGH :) ) and are usually very predictable, with a main character getting "saved" near the end.

I was pleasantly surprised.

Parshall has woven a nice little mystery around the Lincoln assassination, the Freemasons, the Smithsonian Institute, the Bible, greed, and man's eternal quest for immortality.

The elements of conspiracy reminded me somewhat of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and the legal maneuvering made me think back to Scott Turow's Presumed Innocent.

Vinnie Archmont, a beautiful artist, is accused of killing the curator of the Smithsonian Institute and stealing the missing pages of John Wilkes Booth's diary. Financed by a wealthy Freemason living in England, she hires J. D. Blackstone, a law professor and high profile lawyer, to keep her from the death chamber.

The key seems to be a cryptic fragment purportedly from the diary. Blackstone must crack this code before the lovely artist's trial. His journey to unscramble the meaning takes him into the secrets of Freemasonry, the occult and personal danger, while he tries to deal with his own personal demons.

Then comes the day of the trial and a surprise ending. The last chapter almost ruined it for me, but was sufficiently vague as to keep Blackstone's salvation in question.

In any case this is a worthy read.

There has always been something about Craig Parshall that I love. That would have to be his passion for people, and his ability to write well and always keep me hooked in his stories. Now admittedly, I'd gotten sick of his Will Chambers books, and I've refused to read, "The Last Judgment," and I've left it sitting on my bookshelf. I suppose I may rethink that thought and pull it out with some ambition. But this time around, I wanted to see what "The Rose Conspiracy" was all about. To put it lightly, with his touch, it was something only Craig Parshall can pull off and still look good while doing it!

J.D. Blackstone, a cynical professor and lawyer, is approached by Vinnie Archmont, in hopes to avoid being prosecuted, and possibly being put to death. Horace Langley is found mysteriously murdered, and Vinnie is immediately suspected. Langley is murdered because of a diary by John Wilkes Booth, and what may be in that diary. Will Blackstone be able to get to the bottom of it?

The brilliant lawyer goes to his Uncle John, a great mind himself, and a man who knows his Bible. This man also knows about the Freemasons, possibly about the secrets they keep, and the message that might possibly be revealed in the diary of John Wilkes Booth.

In a way, while I loved this, I was kind of shaking my head near the end as well. I suppose I wanted there to be just a little more to the story, and I didn't get what I wanted, for crying out loud! But I still got a great story, and Craig Parshall still has a fan in me. I can't wait for the next time around, because I read with fascination the work of Craig Parshall. Always keeps me flipping the pages, always has me begging for more. Only you, Craig! Now I'm waiting for that next offering.

Perfect for : Personal reading, book club read

In a nutshell: This was a fun, fast-paced, page-turner of a mystery. . . it has everything, including murder, conspiracy, adventure, history, and some great interpersonal relationships (loved J.D.'s partner!). If you enjoy books similar to The DaVinci Code, you should love this one.

Extended Review: People had always claimed that there were missing pages from John Wilkes Booth's diary, and when they are given to the Smithsonian Institute, a man is murdered behind locked doors and the diary pages are stolen right before a team of experts was going to authenticate them.

J.D. Blackstone is a college professor and brilliant lawyer with a painful past. A favorite of the students, and not afraid to dig in and get to the truth - he was a character that I really enjoyed.

Vinnie, an artist in her early 30's is implicated in the murder as she was in the building just prior to the murder, and she has asked J.D. for his help to clear her name - and save her life!

From here the book takes off and we get adventure and a nice dose of the Freemasons' history!

While the book is included in Christian Fiction, I did not find it preachy or pushy in the least!

Characters: Well-developed and memorable.

Readability: A fun, easy read that will keep you entertained. I did have to look a few words up (or guess at their meanings), but I'm not at all familiar with legalese!

Overall: A very fun read, especially if you are a mystery, conspiracy or intrigue fan (if you liked The DaVinci Code, you will enjoy this book!).

For those who bother to pay attention, reality comes with some very fascinating aspects, stories, plots, characters and situations. It has the added benefit of being real. But sometimes people like to throw something extra in. Generally those stories fall in the genres of sci-fi and fantasy. Unfortunately some authors fail to grasp that unless one is writing in those genres one must stick very closely to the real and the believable. The fantastic comes across as forced, amateurish over-kill.

But before I continue in that vein, let me note that I did thoroughly enjoy Craig Parshall's new novel The Rose Conspiracy and in spite of the exaggerated character development, the plot was intriguing, to a point.

The main character, a retired law professor, now practicing law, by the name of [wait for it] J.D. Blackstone. [you may groan now] takes the case of an artist, a young woman, accused of murdering the head of the Smithsonian Institute and stealing the newly found and long lost letters of John Wilkes Booth.

The idea of the book is interesting albeit a bit tabloid.

The plot was, as I said, intriguing, but the climax a bit of a let down after so much exaggerated drama from the rest of the book.

I've never been impressed with using fiction to attack a group. I didn't like it when Salmon Rushdie did it, and even though I'm no great fan of freemasonry, there are better avenues to launch criticism of them than fiction. Attacking the practices of a group, in that way seems to me a bit unmanly. Liberals do it all the time. Conservatives should really be above those kinds of base and lowly tactics.

While there was quite a bit of interesting "historical" data, I've learned that authors often will invent history to make a story more appealing, so it's best never to assume any of it's true unless you can confirm it somewhere else.

Parshall does miss one of the most important qualities necessary for good fiction--make it believable.

"The Rose Conspiracy" has been my first experience in the fiction of Craig Parshall, but it will not be my last after this invigorated read. I read the back cover blurb and then I could not help but have a desire to go and watch National Treasure and National Treasure 2 both on Blue-Ray. It was fabulous as several of the historical characters mentioned in the second movie were all through out the historical conspiracies of this book. It put me in a definite mood with a thirst for more.



It could be that I already have a passion for stories such as this, dealing with history and Freemasons as well as religious facts and conspiracy. Either way, this book was full of fascinating detail and keep me extremely intrigued and entertained.



Toward the end as details were being fully revealed I was a little bit aggravated with the author, because the main character would find some out, but not let the thought pass through to the reader. It bothered me and made me feel on the outside, I like feeling like I am on the ride with the characters. But things were explained and in good detail. I just had to be patient enough to get to that page. *grin*



I recommend this read. It is high tensity and makes me want to go and read some more about our Civil War history. Love it!

This is an exciting book to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's an edge of your seat thriller about a lawyer who is trying to unravel a mystery in time to save his client from the death chamber.

There are twists and turns and moments when you will catch your breath. It's an exciting legal thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I would call this book a 5 star thriller!

J.D. Blackstone is perfect. Well, except that he can't sleep. He has multiple degrees, knows everything, is in great shape, rich, a professor and lawyer. He drives a Maserati convertible. He has an attractive partner at the law firm and soon after the start of the book he has an attractive and very interested defendant. If this book was somehow filmed in black and white J.D. couldn't have been more stereotyped.

The damsel in distress. The forgetful professor of religion (he forgets when he dropped off his dry cleaning. Really?) The tough P.I. who can get any information you need with just a few calls to his contacts. Everyone in this book is a stereotype! And yet, I found that I enjoyed the book.

This crime drama was fast paced, detailed and fun. The Booth diary and the Freemasons make for a fun setting for this mystery. Are we ever very surprised? Not really. But that's something we can say of nearly every crime / courtroom show on TV yet we watch those.

The Rose Conspiracy is an enjoyable diversion that keeps the reader interested throughout.

I received this book as a review copy by the publisher.

THE ROSE CONSPIRACY by Craig Parshsall is a calculated story of intrigue and suspense, with a historical spin that fascinates.
When the head of the Smithsonian Institute is murdered-while study missing pages from the famed John Wilkes Booth diary- a conspiracy is expected. Vinnie Archmont, a free-spirited and beautiful artist is implicated, and soon retains brilliant law professor J.D. Blackstone to prove her innocence. Convinced that Vinnie is being set up, J.D. embarks on a journey of discovery that points to the mystical and secretive practices of the Freemasons, a wealthy Lord in England, and possible corruption within the Washington, D.C. police force. With a sentence of death hanging over Vinnie's head, and a growing attraction to the eccentric artist, J.D. leaves no stone unturned in her defense. Soon, J.D. finds not only his career at stake, but his life as well.
THE ROSE CONSPIRACY was a fascinating read. Its historical content dealing with the Freemasons made for a thought provoking novel that challenged your own thinking. Though romance is hinted at, it is never fully developed making this an exceptional novel for men who don't like fiction that gets bogged down with personal relationships. I, myself, would have liked to see these storylines more prominent, but this did not dampen my interest in the book. The secondary characters in Professor Lamb-J.D.'s uncle, and Julia-J.D.'s law partner humanizes J.D. when he could've otherwise be seen as a one dimensional lawyer with a single pursuit in life. Though a Christian novel, the only person with a true faith in God is looked at as a daft enthusiast with unrealistic beliefs. Only when J.D. is willing to face the guilt from his past does he open himself up to the possible belief of eternal life.