The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud

I had never read books of Julia Navarro. The first book of her that I read was the Clay Bibble. It was a very nice book, very descriptive and very nicely written. As a catholic person I have always been interested in religion. La Hermandad de La Sabana Blanca is very interesting and describes all the happenings and trips that La Sabana Blanca went through. She is able to put together several stories and finally tie them together. She is able to keep the suspense until the last page and the endings are always interesting and never disappointing. I would recommend this book to anybody. Spanish is my mother tongue and I enjoy reading in Spanish to keep my vocabulary and grammar. I loved this book!!

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.

Julia Navarro is a well known journalist in Madrid. She is currently a political analyst for Agencia OTR/Europa Press and a correspondent for other prominent Spanish radio and television networks and print media. This is her first novel. It was a number one best seller when it was published in Spain and is now being published throughout the world. This book is a work of fiction, but much of the content is based on fact. It tells a riveting story about one of the world's most controversial relics, The Turin Shroud, believed by many Christians to show the facial features of Jesus Christ. Many experts discount it as a medieval, or even more recent fake. Julia Navarro has woven a splendid novel around one of the most famous and most talked about relics in the world today. A badly mutilated body is found at the Cathedral of Turin, home to the famous Turin Shroud. What begins as a normal police investigation rapidly escalates into a desperate race to save the Shroud from people who will stop at nothing to acquire the Shroud and with it the power that it is supposed to contain. Over hundreds of years many mysterious sects and cults have attempted to gain ownership of the Shroud. Some say even the Knights Templars coveted it. It looks as though this time the powers that be may be unable to stop someone from achieving what others have tried for over 2,000 years.

I just finished reading The Brotherhood of the Holy Shroud and found it hard to put the book down. On more than one occasion, the book's contents drove me to the internet to verify fact from fiction. In reality, the book followed the historical elements of the Shroud without deviation. What gaps exist in history regarding the Shroud, the author cleverly applied her imagination and provided a "possible" truth to her fiction. I was so impressed with her novel and writing, that I have already marked my calendar for 2008 to be on the lookout for the English translation of her second novel, "Bible of Clay." The author's writing is fast paced, and characters well drawn and developed with the story line. If you like historical mysteries, then this is not to be missed.

This is a very well written book. It has all the elements to keep you interested from the first to the last page. The final it's very well articulated. In the line of Da Vinci Code this book is maybe even better. Navarro is a great writer and I hope to read more from her. Congratulations!. Highly recomendable.