Father Joseph Romano is content with his life as a professor of religious history at New York City's Fordham University. He has his daily routine, his loyal graduate students, and his Spartan but comfortable apartment. That is until he receives a mysterious phone call telling him to go to Grand Central Station to receive an original text of the Gospel according to James, Jesus' brother. Is it a hoax? Probably, but Father Romano is intrigued none-the-less.
When he arrives, a shot rings out and someone thrusts a box into his hands. Before he can get a look at the person, they are gone. Inside the box, he finds a recently fired handgun. The victim, wounded but not critically, is jounalist Brittany Hamar, who is researching a book on the ancient scriptures. How are all of the details connected?
Chasing the Grail
The meeting at the Station sets into motion a whirlwind of events that take Father Romano and beautiful blonde writer Brittany Hamar to Vienna and the south of France to dig into the mysteries of the "hidden" scriptures and the Grail. Involved are two dead Jesuit priests, one Father Romano's mentor and friend, the powers that be at the Vatican, and Father Romano's lost love. These events will put both their lives and their faith in danger, and make them both question their pasts, before the story plays out.
I confess that when I was sent this novel, I suspected it to be another DaVinci Code clone, but Wilson's novel takes a fresh approach, with new points of history and sympathetic, yet human characters. I found myself engrossed in the story after just a few pages. Father Romano is a likeable cleric, in the style of Andrew Greeley's Father Ryan and Brit Hamar is a complex, yet intriguing heroine. I hope that Unholy Grail is but the first in a series of novels featuring Father Joseph Romano and Ms. Hamar.
About D. L. Wilson
D. L. Wilson, a University of Florida graduate, turned to writing after a successful career in international business. His first work, an non-fiction book titled The Kitchen Casanova -- A Gentleman's Guide to Entertaining for Two, was featured on the Regis & Kathy Lee and CNN. Unholy Grail is his first novel. Mr. Wilson and his wife, Miki, divide their time between Buck's County Pennsylvania and Baltimore.
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