Van R. Mayhall Jr.

This was a quick read that kept me interested from beginning to end. Being Catholic, I enjoyed how the author wove bits of the Bible throughout the book, including some very interesting discussions around the Gospels. I was afraid the book would "preach" religion at the reader, but it didn't at all. It only talked about how the verses discussed were relevant to the story, which also helped move the plot along. The characters were well written and the plot was engaging. The settings were described quite well, also.

All in all, I enjoyed this book very much and look forward to continuing with the series.

5/5 stars.… (mere)

I received an e-copy of this story for an honest review.
I was thoroughly engaged with this story; so much so that I read it in one sitting. (Well with a few breaks, here and there, for sustenance and the bathroom.) The mystery appealed to the questioning, puzzle-solver in me, while the suspense appealed to the thrilling action-lover. And, there were times when I would have to go outside to contemplate what I had just read, because it would make me question what I have known (or is it not known?) about the Holy Scriptures.
Even though the author says in his Afterword "Every work of fiction intersects at some level with fact." and you know this is a fictional story, it makes you wonder: What else is out there that hasn't been found yet? Who else in our past has something that is half-known or half-acknowledged about themselves? Or worse, been accused of something that they did not do? And, how would it impact our world (and lives as we know it) if something is found that completely blows our knowledge out of the water?… (mere)

Dr. Clotile Lejeune, scholar of ancient languages, and her son J.E., return from Seattle to her hometown of Madisonville, Louisiana, after the murder of her estranged father. Thib's death appears to be the the result of a break-in, and he managed to shoot the intruder when the intruder shot him. But the police can't identify the dead intruder, and it's not immediately obvious what he was after.

Things get stranger when Clotile, J.E., and Thib's parish priest, Father Aloysius, attend the reading of Thib's will. The house has been left to the parish, to support charitable work, except that Clotile is to take any items she wants from the house first. The one specific bequest to Clotile is an ancient oil jar, that Thib found in a cave in Tunisia during World War II. He's left a letter telling her the story of the jar--and it quickly becomes clear that the jar is what the intruder was after. He didn't find it and clear out before Thib awoke and they had their fatal encounter, because Thib had become alarmed by an attempt to buy the jar from it and moved it to the church for safekeeping.

And he wanted Clotile, whose career he had followed, to find out the secrets of this jar bearing the name of Judas Iscariot, in Greek.

Of course Clotile accepts the challenge. And of course, despite the murder of her father, she has only the dimmest idea of just how dangerous this will become.

This is a very solid thriller built around an intellectual puzzle, some speculative history, and smart, strong, complex characters, including a nicely challenging and evil villain.

Recommended.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.… (mere)

I have not read books by this author before and this seems to be the second book. I did not read the first one, so at times it did feel as if I missed a bit of the history. But this can be read as a standalone.

I was blown away by this book. It read like a hybrid of Stephen King's "The Stand" and Dan Brown's Robert Langdon books. It literally kept me glued to the pages. But I have to admit to a bit of dissapointment. The title of the book is "7", so one would assume that the 7 would be the main characters of the book. Not so. Dr Cloe Lejeune and her team were. The 7 were mostly relegated to the sidelines when things were heating up, and a lot of time was spent on how they got together and wondering as to the purpuse of them being together. In my opinion this book could have been extended and the book fleshed out in order for the 7 to play a more pivotal role.

Other than that small gripe, this was an excellent book. I would recommend it to anyone who loves apocalytic books as well as Dan Brown fans. Maybe even to "The Stand" fans.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.… (mere)